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Hobo Camps ?

U

upnorth

New member
Has anyone here detected a Hobo Camp from the depression era ? I peripherally heard reference to the ''Hobo Jungle'' on the edge of town by the tracks here. I was too busy to follow up and forgot about it. But yesterday I was able to get out there for a bit and saw depressions in the ground were people must have built shelters years ago. I only had an hour and pulled out a few bits including an old bullet lighter. I'm trying to get out there again today as the race with the snow is on. It was -12 C. two nights ago. I also ran into Agnes, Mable and Becky down there. :detecting:
 
Those gals, Agnes, Mabel and Becky sure do get around. I've hunted a couple Hobo Camps over the years and while few good targets were found as I recall, they are worth hunting. Not all so called "Hobo's" were altogether down and out. Some rode the rails for the adventure of it back in the 40's and 50's and picked up odd jobs along the way. I had an uncle that did just that for a couple of years after getting out of the Navy after World War Two ended. Good luck. HH jim tn
 
I have hunted hobo camps before. They often contain coins and empty bottles. Sometimes religious things show up. A hobbo's life, whiskey and traveling, results in many hobbo's passing out in a drunken state spilling some coins out of the pockets :buds:. Check around the site too for stashed possesions.
 
Thanks for the info guys, it's appreciated. On my second try at the site I was going down the rail grade and I spooked a hen Pheasant, who in turn scared the freakin' jeepers out of me. When I got up I saw this.


No warranty claim this time. I broke it, I pay. Glad that it was just a shaft. I'll post up my bits in a couple of days. Looks like my ATP season is over, and man I had fun.:detecting: I can still pull out the Tejon for the little time remaining.
 
I hope you get some good finds there UN, and it sounds like Pheasant under glass is appropriate for dinner :rofl:, HH

Jon
 
D'oh ! I hate when that happens. Hope you get back up and running soon. I've tried to locate old hobo camps, but haven't found specific info. I've tried a number of areas around the old tracks that have evidence of having been homeless camps, but can't say I've found much of interest. Anyone have tips on locating the old camps? I guess old timers would be a good start.
 
Hobo camps are often associated with railroads and places the train made stops. Often times they were on the edge of town and usually in a wooded area. Many such camps I suspect are gone today as the result of a towns growth. HH jim tn
 
Never hunted Hobo camp but did a couple of KKK meeting places.The old tokens bring very good money.found a lot of silver and a lot of fired and unfired bullets.
 
I found one and am going to hit it in DEC
 
Walk along old railroads,approx 30 yds off the center of the track and look for lots of Wine and Whiskey bottles. Usually alot of broken glass to sift thru so wear heavy duty knee pads ,boots and gloves. I've got a couple in mind that I'm going to hit when we've had a hard freeze and maybe a heavy snow to beat down the weeds and bushes. Why? Snakes.
 
Hey UpNorth, If you just broke the CAMLOCK on the Middle Shaft, just ORDER a New SHAFTLOCK for the Garrett AT Series Detectors from Chuck Marcum at Indian Nations Detector Sales (a forum sponsor), and replace the BROKEN CAMLOCK with a Much BETTER Quality SHAFTLOCK !! Your down time won't BE MUCH!! Best of LUCK, Les
Robinson.
 
He would tell my Grand-mother (his daughter), that he was going out for a WALK, and he would DISAPPEAR for Weeks, and even a COUPLE of Months!! My Mother told Me, that they would get a Post Card from him a couple weeks after he was gone, saying that he was ALL RIGHT, and where he was at that particular Time!! She also told me, that he had VISITED every state in the U.S., except Hawaii & Alaska!! He did it all by Hitchhiking & Riding Freight Trains!! Les Robinson.
 
I went back with the Tejon and didn't find much of interest. I did dig a HUGE iron wheel bearing ? I swore that it looked like a cannon ball, lol ! Anyway, these are the pics from the first swing out there. Three Merry Widows top and bottom tin, a 61 dog tag and a bullet lighter. I had some other high tone hits but they were buried deep under some heavy roots. There was a fair bit of iron like super rusted large soup spoons etc.










 
Agnus, Mabel and Becky! The names of 3 widows that actually started the condom co., "The 3 Merry Widows" back around 1900, if my memory serves me correctly. The silver dollar size metal container crops up for a lot of diggers. HH jim tn
 
This has been one fun thread...I've been refraining from posting, but thinking about this hobo camp subject. I may have found a place that bears some exploring...old trestle, over a creek, old rails pulled up long ago, maybe 10 miles out of town, hard to get to, you either have to pole a small boat down the creek from the northern road, or a nice hike in from town on the old and overgrown grade... we used to ride our Schwinn Typhoons out there when I was a pup, remember all sorts of busted bottles, green glass, cans and whatnot from kids partying or tossing them off the trestle and shooting them in the creek below, remember swimming downstream in a big hole wallowed out, lots of poison ivy and nettles in season down in there....good trapping sign, which was my primary interest in those days, but too far off the beaten path and from the nearest road to make it worth while...catching them would have been no problem, but anybody thats hauled a bunch of dead raccoons and rats on a bicycle in the dark early morning before school would understand, easier pickings along the road.....

Anyway, since this thread first showed up, I sort of did a little talking with the old boys down at the bait store about this particular area, you know, trapping, hunting, hobos, etc......seems there was a "hermit" that lived back in there, had a dug out in the dirt, did odd jobs in town and said he made shine...so I google earthed the area for a likely southern exposure downstream from the trestle where I would dig a hole if'n I was ever a hermit and wanted to live semi protected along side a creek....I know its a long shot, and I dont know if its worth the trouble to go explore, but this whole "Hobo camp" theme sure is intriguing...whats a guy likely to find anyway? A harmonica reed or two? A load of shotgun shells and maybe some bottlecaps?

Well, the Pro sure is the machine for a job like this, and I got one, and I got waders, and a machete, and I dont think the kid next door would miss his bike for a day or two...surely theres at least scrap and lots of lead in the creek, where it has not left its channel downstream from the old trestle? Maybe even some old silver coins in the swimming hole? Maybe that old hermit that made shine tucked some jars full of silver up there in the high bank by the big old beech trees? Hell, maybe that old shine making hermit was also a good gambler, and parlayed his silver coins into gold? Not a lot to go on except the imagination!:rofl:
Mud
 
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