Wagon road and creek alongside railroad?

[Chroma]

I have access to a wooded area that borders a railroad dating to the 1800s. On an 1890s survey map of my area, a wagon road is shown running alongside the railroad in what is now the wooded area. There is also a creek running through these woods. On a 1950s aerial photograph it looks like part of this wooded area was an agricultural field. I have no record of home(s) in this spot, but in the late 1800s there were several houses nearby on the same wagon road. I'm trying to think outside the box with my detecting locations, so I'm wondering:

Have any of you ever had any luck detecting a place like this, sort of going in blind? Do you think it's worth checking out? I know the wagon road would have seen traffic. I'm wondering if people spent time around the creek just off the road.

 

[hoser]

Oh yes, it is definitely worth the effort as long as you get the permission to hunt this land. I would be all over that place. The real drawback is location. It could take you a long time to pin down the sites of the homes. But to me that would be worth the effort. I do hope you get this opportunity and you can post some over the top finds from it.

 

[Chroma]

Oh yes, it is definitely worth the effort as long as you get the permission to hunt this land. I would be all over that place. The real drawback is location. It could take you a long time to pin down the sites of the homes. But to me that would be worth the effort. I do hope you get this opportunity and you can post some over the top finds from it.

To clarify, I do not have any records of homes existing in this wooded area, but my oldest map is from the 1890s. In the 1890s there were several houses nearby, one of which was on the opposite end of the same property--about half a mile away from this wooded area and the railroad tracks. I have detected that house site several times and mostly found wheat pennies and scrap metal. There could have been an earlier homestead in this wooded area, though. I guess I'll find out.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

This has been debated on past forum threads before. And my opinion is : No: You do not simply wander along "random wagon roads" or "random RR tracks" or "random creek". Instead you want to know where people had reason to stop, recreate, camp, live, etc... Ie.: Some purpose. Because the random fumble fingers odds of someones loosing coins in the "middle of nowhere" or "happen-chance as they walked between 2 disparate points", is very slim.

Perhaps in Europe they can hunt "any old ag. field". Since there's 2000 yrs. of continuous cultivation over there. But the USA has no such history time-line. So for here, you're going to be looking at where old homes were (cellar holes, etc...). Or where a stage stop or ferry-crossing was. Or a recurring camp spot, or battle spot, or whatever. But not just middle-of-nowhere.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Example: My buddy and I did quite well at a stage stop here in CA. Pulled numerous seateds, some reales, a gold coin, etc.... And the wagon path that leads away from it (leading to the next stage stop 7 or 8 miles further down) is still evident. A modern rutted path, that exactly follows the yesteryear wagon road. So we had the same notion that we would simply walk this wagon road the entire 7 or 8 miles, to the next stop (where we had also pulled seateds, busts, and a gold coin there too).

Lo & behold, the moment we got 50 yards distance from the ground-zero of each site, the ground went totally sterile. You could walk for 10 minutes and hardly hear a grunt. It became painfully evident that this was a mistake, and that we were better off at our "ground zeros". Doh !

 

[Chroma]

This has been debated on past forum threads before. And my opinion is : No: You do not simply wander along "random wagon roads" or "random RR tracks" or "random creek". Instead you want to know where people had reason to stop, recreate, camp, live, etc... Ie.: Some purpose. Because the random fumble fingers odds of someones loosing coins in the "middle of nowhere" or "happen-chance as they walked between 2 disparate points", is very slim.

Perhaps in Europe they can hunt "any old ag. field". Since there's 2000 yrs. of continuous cultivation over there. But the USA has no such history time-line. So for here, you're going to be looking at where old homes were (cellar holes, etc...). Or where a stage stop or ferry-crossing was. Or a recurring camp spot, or battle spot, or whatever. But not just middle-of-nowhere.

Well my hope is that there was something going on there. If there was a house there that disappeared before the 1890s, I have no way of knowing besides a blind search. I'm wondering if the creek could have been a stopping/resting point for wagons due to its proximity to the road. That is my theory at least.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Well my hope is that there was something going on there. ....

Ok, sure. Then that merely supports my assertion that we don't hunt "middle of nowhere". And that we hunt where activity was.

As for knowing where activity was, another way to know (rather than swinging the detector nilly-willy in middle-of-nowheres) is to look for visual clues on ground and by satellite. Eg.: Out of place trees, rose-bushes, scars on the landscape, etc... Can indicate prior habitations. Confluences of creeks can be recurring camp-spots. Or where travel routes of antiquity crossed creeks, etc....

 

[stetam]

Ok, sure. Then that merely supports my assertion that we don't hunt "middle of nowhere". And that we hunt where activity was.

As for knowing where activity was, another way to know (rather than swinging the detector nilly-willy in middle-of-nowheres) is to look for visual clues on ground and by satellite. Eg.: Out of place trees, rose-bushes, scars on the landscape, etc... Can indicate prior habitations. Confluences of creeks can be recurring camp-spots. Or where travel routes of antiquity crossed creeks, etc....

In the East we CAN hunt "the middle of nowhere and find stuff".

Steve

 

[Tom_in_CA]

In the East we CAN hunt "the middle of nowhere and find stuff".

Steve

You guys certainly have a better shot than us west coast guys, for "wandering random ag. fields". Since you have 100 to 200 yrs. more history.

HOWEVER : Wouldn't you agree that in-said-fields, that you're going to be better off hunting where activity (habitation, commerce, battle, or whatever) took place ? Presto, we agree then !

I hunted back east in Virginia at one of the relic shoot-outs before . Hundreds of hunters over a thousand acres or whatever. And the trend was that vast areas were silent (or .... very random targets, and some occasional can-slaw). Contrast to when you got up near where the CW and antebellum activity had occurred, and then it was a plethora of targets. Hence even east coast guys will agree that when they pick a field, they are going to go (or are "looking for") places where human activity took place. Not "middle of nowhere".

Contrast to the Europe guys, where ....... sure .... if you have 2000 yrs. of hand-labor on crops, in continuously cultivated fields, then sure : They can go to "middle of nowhere". And even in Europe, they will tell you that some places are red hot (where villages once stood, etc...) as opposed to others that simply aren't worth it.