What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

[HunterOfSnakes]

What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

I just ordered a F2 Fisher, and am pretty excited. Ive looked around for just old looking homes, center of town areas and such. My town just celebrated its 200th anniversary, and my house is a 100 years old, so these marks come in handy for finding out where to look, but what methods do you use use to find those AMAZING spots? I could use any information in general, so I know where to go!

Thanks in advance!
HOS

 

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[Woodland Detectors]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

feel free to call us.

Much easier for me to explain than type it out!

828-242-5407
Mike

 

[warsawdaddy]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Old people.

 

[deepskyal]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Local history books, usually found in your town library....old topo maps used to compare to modern day.

Essentially, your local library will be your best source of info.

We have Penn Pilot online here which has aerial photos from the 20's, PennDot also has old road maps on line....

Check the maps forum and your state forum to see what kinds of links are posted that apply to you.

Al

 

[UncleVinnys]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Try Zillow.com, the real estate site. They list the age of houses. Look for neighborhoods that were built before 1960.

 

[TerryC]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

You'll get some good Ideas, I'm sure. But don't forget a county platt map. It will tell you the outlines of the lots and more importantly, who owns them. Then a trip to the local recorder's office to get the address of the owner for permission. TTC

 

[RGINN]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Warsawdaddy wasn't totally facetious. Elders are a very good source of information. They remember things that aren't shown on maps or in books, such as picnic grounds, chatauqua grounds, where tent revivals were held, powwow grounds, and behind which oak tree down on the creek there was always a dice game goin on behind. It's very easy to find out where the 'old' places are here in Colorado. Bein able to hunt them is a different proposition altogether.

 

[Swartzie]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Old topographic maps have helped me find a few cellar holes that have been productive. http://historical.mytopo.com/index.cfm Also, books from the library with local history are good to check out. Look for old maps in these books and maps of old pioneer trails. I have dug several musket balls and other nice finds along such trails that are now just woods. Reasearch pays off.

-swartzie

 

[mamabear]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

I live in a very rural area, with homes few & far between, but the best way I have found is look for flowers. The old homestead may be gone, but the flowers usually multiply. that's how I have found places even the old folks didn't know about. good luck.

 

[mlayers]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Old maps then the new plot maps to find out who ownthe land now.....Matt

 

[silverswede]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Mamabear made some good suggestions with the flowers and you can take it a little farther. If you have the time set your machine aside and take a slow walk over the property look for anything old. fruit trees, the size of obviously planted trees, and then eyeball the ground for old trash. Look for broken glass, pottery, glass bottles, and old rusty cans. Beverage and beer cans from the late 1950's backward will be pre, poptop shown by the opener holes. Canned milk of that era will have 2 small holes punched to open. I'm usually satisfied if I feel the surface junk means someone was there pre 1964 and crank up the machine and verify it with a pocket full of silvers and wheaties, Indians. Whoops just went into my dream world. Get that new fisher going.

 

[TerryC]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Silverswede and Mamabear are on the right track. I'll carry that line one step further.... Look for ANY vegetation and trees not native to the area, especially if in a row. You'll at least come away with a practical knowledge of trees and scrubs. TTC

 

[NHBandit]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Old postcards. Almost any antique group shop will have a booth run by a postcard vendor and a good number of them will be local subjects. One I found just to give an example showed an amusement park in the late 1800s. Not what you would think of as an amusement park today. No mechaincal rides but had a theater, shooting gallery, and other attractions and had a trolley line that ran to it from the city. Going there I found nothing but a dirt road heading out into the woods. That's where the trolley tracks ran. Everything else was long gone. Now this is shown on old maps as others have suggested but by looking at the postcards I easily found where the buildings had once been. Just another tip that's often overlooked.

 

[Bum Luck]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Look for the non-obvious.

Take your time, and remember Sherlock Holmes' words, "You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear."

Why would anyone live here? Is there water nearby? Any sign of a road in? Imagine. Learn how previous generations lived. How would they behave, and where would they have been? What would they do here? There?

It's a skill that surveyors have, but that can be learned by others.

 

[Dick Stout]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

http://www.stoutstandards.com/Research.html

 

[Tin Nugget]

Re: What Do You Use To Find "Old" Places?

Historicaerials.com may have coverage in your area and if they do they have some great tools to pinpoint areas of interest.

The library can be awesome with old newspapers on microfich that you can gleen info from.

A town that old is going to have a historical society, join it!

Talk to the old timers.

The library of congress online has maps, events, books etc.