Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Any luck detecting old Post Offices?

gseuser

gseuser

Elite Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2014
Messages
911
Location
Basehor/Emporia KS
Hey everyone!

So I've been researching some places to go and find theres a lot of old post offices dotted through the county on my old maps. Has anyone ever hunted an old post office spot? I imagine there'd be a lot of stuff to be found being there was constant traffic around there! People had to lose stuff getting their mail! Kansas has a website that has records of every post office ever established in the state. From the exact day it opened to the exact day it closed/ceased to exist, which I think is pretty cool and handy! A lot of these range from the 1850s to the very early 1900s. Some were only open a few years others are still in operation! I was just curious if anyone has ever hunted one and if it was worthwhile or productive. Im still gonna try and get permission for some just to see for myself.
 
Be aware that most of the yesteryear country "post offices" were nothing more than someone's front porch, where it was a central spot for a collection of neighbors to get their mail from. Back in the day, all you had to do was petition to the USPS, and show you had a certain # of residents in a geographic area, in order to get a "post office".

So it's not at all what we think of today as a "post office". (With a lobby, a clerk, blah blah). This was often just someone's front porch that was an agreed upon drop off and collection spot.

Thus your odds at md'ing goodies are only about as good as any other homestead would be . JMHO.
 
Yes, I have. What CA Tom said appears to be correct. My brother and I got a permission to hunt a home once. This will make you drool. The house was in the middle of the Battle of Brandywine during the Rev war. I mean smack dab in the middle. As I did my research on the bldg, I found out that it was, thru it's long history, been a country store and for awhile, the local post office. It's still lived in today. The old woman that lived there, for 80 some years, said that to her knowledge no one had ever drug a metal detector across the property. We found an old 1800's photo of the place and we could clearly see where people would have tied up their wagons/horses etc.
Well, we worked that place, about 6 acres, at least ten times. A list, to the best of my reflection, follows.
At least a dozen IHP's
At least a dozen Barbers, quarters and dimes.
Several Walkers
10 musket balls
At least 10 KG's and LC's
Mercuries,Washington's, wheat's etc
Half dozen Crotal bells
1 pewter USA button and half dozen colonial flat buttons.
This is also where I found, 10 inches deep, a full set of sterling and porcelain dentures.
That's just a partial list, buckles galore, spoons, forks you name it. It was silly good.
Granted the house was there since 1740 but yea, I've hit an old post office and it was fantastic. Good Luck. I mean come on, loads of people, gathering spot, coins changing hands for a couple hundred years. etc etc etc. Go get em!
As an aside, in the 1800's picture, in the front of the house was an unusual picket fence, hand made. When we peeked in the barn, here piled up in one corner was all the pickets to that fence, robins egg blue. We asked the old girl what her intention was for those old pickets, she merely said, "if you guys want them, you can have them". Yea, we saved them all. We got a pile of them safely stored away for some re-purposing project. Not sure what yet. Bet there's 60 of them.
 
WOW! What a great report Flyguy! I actually hunted an ancient House demolishion site right across from the Olde Towne Post office this very morning! Not 3 days ago they bulldozed and cleared the place!

I went in there before Sun-up in a cold blistering wind and worked it over!...true to form, all I found was my neighbors mail! :laughing:
 
flyguy784 said:
Yes, I have. What CA Tom said appears to be correct. My brother and I got a permission to hunt a home once. This will make you drool. The house was in the middle of the Battle of Brandywine during the Rev war. I mean smack dab in the middle. As I did my research on the bldg, I found out that it was, thru it's long history, been a country store and for awhile, the local post office. It's still lived in today. The old woman that lived there, for 80 some years, said that to her knowledge no one had ever drug a metal detector across the property. We found an old 1800's photo of the place and we could clearly see where people would have tied up their wagons/horses etc.
Well, we worked that place, about 6 acres, at least ten times. A list, to the best of my reflection, follows.
At least a dozen IHP's
At least a dozen Barbers, quarters and dimes.
Several Walkers
10 musket balls
At least 10 KG's and LC's
Mercuries,Washington's, wheat's etc
Half dozen Crotal bells
1 pewter USA button and half dozen colonial flat buttons.
This is also where I found, 10 inches deep, a full set of sterling and porcelain dentures.
That's just a partial list, buckles galore, spoons, forks you name it. It was silly good.
Granted the house was there since 1740 but yea, I've hit an old post office and it was fantastic. Good Luck. I mean come on, loads of people, gathering spot, coins changing hands for a couple hundred years. etc etc etc. Go get em!
As an aside, in the 1800's picture, in the front of the house was an unusual picket fence, hand made. When we peeked in the barn, here piled up in one corner was all the pickets to that fence, robins egg blue. We asked the old girl what her intention was for those old pickets, she merely said, "if you guys want them, you can have them". Yea, we saved them all. We got a pile of them safely stored away for some re-purposing project. Not sure what yet. Bet there's 60 of them.
Click to expand...


You’re right I AM drooling!! But that spot was wayyy more than just a country post office. Still, I’m willing to go give a few a shot just to say been there done that.
 
Great thread/info/ideas/results...instead of the latest greatest machine,a good lead on a good site will trump that any day.
 
Post Office

My brother in law and I got permission in a field that had a post office (1800's) in a corner. Dug a lot of buttons and coins. HH Jerry
 
flyguy784 said:
Yes, I have. What CA Tom said appears to be correct. My brother and I got a permission to hunt a home once. This will make you drool. The house was in the middle of the Battle of Brandywine during the Rev war. I mean smack dab in the middle. As I did my research on the bldg, I found out that it was, thru it's long history, been a country store and for awhile, the local post office. It's still lived in today. The old woman that lived there, for 80 some years, said that to her knowledge no one had ever drug a metal detector across the property. We found an old 1800's photo of the place and we could clearly see where people would have tied up their wagons/horses etc.
Well, we worked that place, about 6 acres, at least ten times. A list, to the best of my reflection, follows.
At least a dozen IHP's
At least a dozen Barbers, quarters and dimes.
Several Walkers
10 musket balls
At least 10 KG's and LC's
Mercuries,Washington's, wheat's etc
Half dozen Crotal bells
1 pewter USA button and half dozen colonial flat buttons.
This is also where I found, 10 inches deep, a full set of sterling and porcelain dentures.
That's just a partial list, buckles galore, spoons, forks you name it. It was silly good.
Granted the house was there since 1740 but yea, I've hit an old post office and it was fantastic. Good Luck. I mean come on, loads of people, gathering spot, coins changing hands for a couple hundred years. etc etc etc. Go get em!
As an aside, in the 1800's picture, in the front of the house was an unusual picket fence, hand made. When we peeked in the barn, here piled up in one corner was all the pickets to that fence, robins egg blue. We asked the old girl what her intention was for those old pickets, she merely said, "if you guys want them, you can have them". Yea, we saved them all. We got a pile of them safely stored away for some re-purposing project. Not sure what yet. Bet there's 60 of them.
Click to expand...
What? All hunted out ?? Well, if you ever go back, get in touch. I'm in that area all the time.
 
Wom 27 said:
What? All hunted out ?? Well, if you ever go back, get in touch. I'm in that area all the time.
Click to expand...

No, no, I'm sure if we could visit the site again there's still more goodies. Here's the story. During the period of time we were hunting the property, the owner (the old woman) got sick and moved to a facility. The family decided to sell the place. The original serpentine house is right along the road, as many older houses are now. Of course "the road" when the house was built was merely a wagon trail. The property sold and the new owners built a new, $800,000.00 home behind the original house. Historic regulations in that township won't allow them to remove/demolish the old house. I repeat, this house was in the middle of the battle. Thousands of Continentals and then thousands of Brits, Hession's etc ran across the property as the Americans were routed. Fighting all the way.
Well anyway, there is now only a tiny portion of the property that hasn't been dug and modified. New driveway, garages etc. Not to mention a gigantic house footprint. There may come a time I approach the new owners about hunting the still viable area. They just finished construction 6 months ago and we've been working other viable locations.
We have another, nearby location, that was basically "the last stand" for the colonials as they protected Washington's flank as he and his troops escaped toward Philadelphia. In this location we've also found musket balls, buttons, musket parts and coins. It's the location I found the 1795 US half dollar, half dozen reale's, numerous LC's, KG's and my brother found his rev war bayonet scabbard part (frog). This property as well has been sold, we're still allowed to hunt there but we're waiting for some grading to be done to go back in. Very soon I'm sure.
 
Mud-puppy said:
WOW! What a great report Flyguy! I actually hunted an ancient House demolishion site right across from the Olde Towne Post office this very morning! Not 3 days ago they bulldozed and cleared the place!

I went in there before Sun-up in a cold blistering wind and worked it over!...true to form, all I found was my neighbors mail! :laughing:
Click to expand...

Thanks Mud.
 
flyguy784 said:
No, no, I'm sure if we could visit the site again there's still more goodies. Here's the story. During the period of time we were hunting the property, the owner (the old woman) got sick and moved to a facility. The family decided to sell the place. The original serpentine house is right along the road, as many older houses are now. Of course "the road" when the house was built was merely a wagon trail. The property sold and the new owners built a new, $800,000.00 home behind the original house. Historic regulations in that township won't allow them to remove/demolish the old house. I repeat, this house was in the middle of the battle. Thousands of Continentals and then thousands of Brits, Hession's etc ran across the property as the Americans were routed. Fighting all the way.
Well anyway, there is now only a tiny portion of the property that hasn't been dug and modified. New driveway, garages etc. Not to mention a gigantic house footprint. There may come a time I approach the new owners about hunting the still viable area. They just finished construction 6 months ago and we've been working other viable locations.
We have another, nearby location, that was basically "the last stand" for the colonials as they protected Washington's flank as he and his troops escaped toward Philadelphia. In this location we've also found musket balls, buttons, musket parts and coins. It's the location I found the 1795 US half dollar, half dozen reale's, numerous LC's, KG's and my brother found his rev war bayonet scabbard part (frog). This property as well has been sold, we're still allowed to hunt there but we're waiting for some grading to be done to go back in. Very soon I'm sure.
Click to expand...

my grandmother lives in kennet square, I drool over that entire area when im down there. Would love to detect that whole county.
 
Tpmetal said:
my grandmother lives in kennet square, I drool over that entire area when im down there. Would love to detect that whole county.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, great place for this hobby. Accesses can be tuff but man, when you get one it's exciting. Settled in the early 1600's. Mills, dams, farms, rev battles, industry. We had it all.
 
flyguy784 said:
I hear ya, great place for this hobby. Accesses can be tuff but man, when you get one it's exciting. Settled in the early 1600's. Mills, dams, farms, rev battles, industry. We had it all.
Click to expand...

literally everything. My grandmother lives on the old cedarcroft estate right next to that old mansion that the owners are letting go to waste
 
flyguy784 said:
No, no, I'm sure if we could visit the site again there's still more goodies. Here's the story. During the period of time we were hunting the property, the owner (the old woman) got sick and moved to a facility. The family decided to sell the place. The original serpentine house is right along the road, as many older houses are now. Of course "the road" when the house was built was merely a wagon trail. The property sold and the new owners built a new, $800,000.00 home behind the original house. Historic regulations in that township won't allow them to remove/demolish the old house. I repeat, this house was in the middle of the battle. Thousands of Continentals and then thousands of Brits, Hession's etc ran across the property as the Americans were routed. Fighting all the way.
Well anyway, there is now only a tiny portion of the property that hasn't been dug and modified. New driveway, garages etc. Not to mention a gigantic house footprint. There may come a time I approach the new owners about hunting the still viable area. They just finished construction 6 months ago and we've been working other viable locations.
We have another, nearby location, that was basically "the last stand" for the colonials as they protected Washington's flank as he and his troops escaped toward Philadelphia. In this location we've also found musket balls, buttons, musket parts and coins. It's the location I found the 1795 US half dollar, half dozen reale's, numerous LC's, KG's and my brother found his rev war bayonet scabbard part (frog). This property as well has been sold, we're still allowed to hunt there but we're waiting for some grading to be done to go back in. Very soon I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Just a little funny story. The gold tooth , my avatar, was found at the Kennett Meeting house ! Also, three or four coppers. Do you know the old church just down the road towards Philly? There's a little house there that's rented out. I gave the two young brothers that live there each an Ike dollar I had recently found, trying to grease the wheels. No luck !!!
 
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