Hunting old ghost towns

[relic-hunter]

I have been looking for other places to hunt, the beaches are good but sometimes I feel like hunting other places, tot lots and parks are good to, but still looking for other places. I googled florida ghost towns and found a site that seems to have a pretty good list of town that no longer exist but some still have building and other such areas that might prove to be target rich. I like old coins and jewelry, now I would not expect to find much if any jewelry but some seem like they might have the potential for some old coins. Any one hunt ghost towns? Any good tips for hunting them?

Ken

 

[dahut]

... Are invariably on private property. That will be a challenge for you - securing permission.
I mean, you wont be the first bloke to come along looking for treasure, as ghost towns are easy enough to locate. You have learned that, already. It's rare that you alone are the only one able to find the untouched 'Eldorado' in your area. Remember, detectors have been around a long time now, and the internet only puts more detecting "researchers" in the field.

You have to hope that others before you haven't ruined it by sneaking on to the land, tearing stuff up, leaving open holes and/or generally disrespecting the private ownership of the site. It is an odd thing, that, when you give a guy a detector he sometimes becomes a greedy pirate. He suddenly sees everyone elses property as his personal playground, and to the devil with those who actually own it. How dare they put up a fence or try to keep him out!

If structures remain, then things get easier. It's pretty obvious where to start.
If there are no structures remaining, then hunt in all metal until you start to find iron clutter: cut nails, fixtures and fittings, and so on. These are your friend and point the way to old structures. In time, you will start to know the difference between old and new junk.
Many many sites are mulit-use, having seen activity for decades, right up into modern times. The junk you find will reflect that.

Iron is also your enemy, as it masks good targets. So you will need a detector that offers:

1. Adequate to very good depth.
2. Good iron discrimination.
3. Good target separation around trash.
4. Good depth using a small coil.

Once you find a good item, like a period coin, plant a stake there and begin working out from that point. Grid and search will be your best method. It is slow going, but it is thorough. Create a living map as you find items, marking them down and noting their locations. If you keep at it long enough, you will begin to get an idea of how things were laid out.

Involve the landowner, too. If you keep coming back, week after week, he or she will suspect they have been missing out on something - and that you are getting over on them. Better to head that off by trying to get them on site with you, with a spare detector. Odds are they wont have the persistence needed and will leave you to it.

Also, give them something of what you find - you decide what that will be. Grit your teeth and pry open your clutching fingers long enough to allow an old Indian Head or belt buckle to fall into their hands. You aint gonna miss it for long and building a relationship with them early on only helps you... and could create a lifetime friendship.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

A first rule of thumb, is to avoid any ghost towns that are easy access, easy research, etc... Like the kind of ghost towns you'd find in a Coffee table Sunset Homes and Gardens or Triple AAA maps type of tourist traps. A buddy and I traveled the desert southwest years ago (CA, AZ, NM) md'ing all sorts of places that struck our fancy. One of the resources we gathered up before we left on our trip, was a few glossy books with photogenic places like these. The first thing we learned on our trip was to AVOID these obvious spots. Anything that inviting, whether public or private, has been pounded to death, or had their doors knocked on ad-nauseum. Instead, we tended to research out little known spots that WEREN'T in readily avaiable sources (short lived forts that have no trace of their existence left, individual adobe sites in hard to reach places, etc...)

Another thing to keep in mind is that existing cities are often just as old, and just as colorful, as "ghost towns". The only difference is, the "ghost town" froze or died in it's growth, and modern cities still kept on. So if you stumble onto old town demolition sites in existing old towns, the goodies can be every bit as old and exciting as ghost towns. Of course, old-town-urban demo's are hard to come across and hit at *exactly* the right time. They might scrape too deep, or not deep enough, they might add fill-dirt before you get there, etc.... On our trip through the desert southwest, we ended up getting as many or more old coins from urban vacant lots, and demo. sites, than we did knocking ourselves silly looking into "ghost towns".

There was a time, back in the 1960s and into some of the 1970s, that "obvious" ghost towns were ripe. But nowadays, unless you live in a corner of the USA where there simply aren't any hard-core md'rs, no good site goes un-checked. You've either got to be an ace-hunter to get more from there, or find sites that other's haven't accessed yet. You can also try researching for trading posts, stage stops, etc.... rather than whole "towns".

 

[waltship]

Go to library or historic society for the older topo maps. Also the auditor's office. Check microfilm in the libraries for the old newspapers.

 

[jackintexas]

Type in on your computer-------vanished towns and communities in (what ever county and state you are in)....I live in Texas and there is another computer site that gives gps coordinates for these locations.....Jack

 

[relic-hunter]

Funny you mention the southwest, a couple of years ago I bought a small (10acre) piece of land in a "ghost town" formerly known as Lobo TX I am planning a trip out that way next spring to do a bit of work on the property. So I figured I would bring my detector with me and play around on my own land, from what I have read about Lobo it could very well hold some interesting finds. Most recently the land was a ranch, I don't know much about it before that.

Ken