What type of structure is this

[PaJim]

I was scouting an area that a map from the 1870s said had a house on it. Went to the spot and found this. Is it possible this is what was marked on the map, or do you think a house was close by. The floor is flooded, some flowing water around the whole structure.

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[d2]

Perchance a well or spring house?...d2

 

[PaJim]

I was thinking spring house. Right next to a good size creek

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[Tony in SC]

Could be a spring/well house, but could also be a root cellar? Tony

 

[PaJim]

Good sign a house was near right?

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[can]

nice finds

 

[kingskid1611]

put some mud clothes on and check it out. could be a good cache in there.

 

[d2]

I bet there was a house right close...d2

 

[releventchair]

Spring house sounds good.
For domestic use or..if dairy cattle existed in numbers a good place to cool milk cans before transporting them.
Looks small to be an ice house by the time sawdust or other insulation was packed in.

 

[Crappies-n-Coins]

 

[Backwoodsbob]

The root cellar if water run through it

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[releventchair]

The root cellar if water run through it

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Hard to regulate humidity for root crops if always wet.
Freezing to follow in winter in Pa. to boot.

 

[PaJim]

Seems liked the water was flowing around it more so than through it. I think the water was inside because there is no door left on it. This structure is actually not far off the road, not exactly hiding. I might take a detector to it, might not.... hard to say if it will be worth it or not unless I actually do it. I imagine it's been hit over the years... There were other structures in the same general area as well that I might hit. The underbrush is a bit dense though.

 

[Anduril]

I'm thinking spring house. (stone construction to keep in the cold, no windows, open door, flowing water..)
And if so, the house and/or barn would be nearby but still far enough away to prevent the animals from contaminating the water.

The house would also been on a higher elevation if the area is prone to flooding.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe this structure was used by local government for water quality testing, monitoring well, etc...
But if so, I would think it would at least some evidence of electrical power - unless the measurements being made didn't require power (i.e., manual recorders / instruments).
It looks like there might be a padlock on the left side door frame?
I can't tell by the photo, but if the door frame looks modern, (maybe complete with modern hinges or hinge hole patterns), then I might be inclined away from thinking "spring house".

 

[Dr. Syn]

That looks a lot like the one that used to be on my farm. It was both a spring house and a well house. Spring still runs to this day, well hasn't been used for decades. It never had a door on it. Had a fence around it to keep the cows out. Used to scare the doo doo out of me if I had to go check on it. Was always on the look out for snakes.

Like said our old house sat above it and maybe 50 yards away. Some of the sweetest water you ever drank.

 

[PaJim]

Funny.. this little guy was not far from the door!

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[Crappies-n-Coins]

There's always a giant serpent guarding the treasure

 

[PaJim]

When the weather warms up, I'll check this area out again. I'm thinking the house was about 30-50 yards away farther up the hill. The area this is in, is just too wet to think a house would have been there and too close to the creek. I'm sure that area floods. I also have to scout out the area where the hotel was, a few grist mills, and several other house sites that are long gone. Even a school house. This is all within a state park that allows detecting.

 

[Dr. Syn]

Ah but you need to think when the house was there. Nature and man change things. That area could have been dry as a bone when the house was there.
Somebody might have dammed up a stream or creek or old mother nature changed the route of such, and what was once dry is now wet, or visa versa.

Something else, other then the one large tree in the background, most of the ones in the picture are not that large.
Those trees aren't that old as compared to the big one. So they are a more recent part of the event of change.

Need to look at the big picture to see the details sometimes. If you are in PA, that could have easily been strip mined for coal, I've got spots on mine where such was done when I was a wee lad, and the trees there are similar in size to those in the picture.

Funny there is/was a bit of an apple orchard by the spring at my place. The one tree closest to the spring is nearly 4 feet in diameter. It's been there a long long time. The other trees of different species farther away barely are a foot across.

Maybe take a look at the Penn Pilots site, lot of nice aerial maps of Pa, going back to the 1930's.
Might give you a look see into the past, and you may see a lot more info of the area.

http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu/

 

[Dr. Syn]

Something else I just thought of. The structure itself can tell you a lot. Like when it was built and by whom.
My old Grandpap taught me that. Masons are very strict in their buildings. Each has a signature of who built it by the construction.

If you look at the stones, you will see a common scheme in the lay out. And how the grout was done. Each mason had his scheme/signature lay out of the stones. You'll find some with the squared off stones, plain old field stones, and a mix of different kinds. On my farm when the house was built the mason included a large triangle shaped stone in each side of the home, all the stones show their face. He did a few other homes in the area of his time, and all of them have this signature. Right down the road is my Great Uncle's place, built by a different mason. The stone placement is entirely different, most of the stones were laid on their side like bricks.

Find similar signatures and you can track down the mason, and the time he did his work.