I have some Fisher finds I'm not posting but thought I would pass along

[BarnacleBill]

some research tips since Paul was so kind in providing a resource. First is to point out that much of the past has been lost and or is still hidden away in attics. Many times I will search the official records on line and find scant little, but a great resource has turned out to be Ebay. Many old postcards and advertisements are sold on a weekly basis that mention places you will not find elsewhere on line. In particular if a town/location/building has a unique name, something like "Buzzards Bay", then a weekly search of Ebay can bring up some great info. An example follows, today I took an out of focus pic based on an old image from Ebay that confirmed a old camp location for me, without Ebay I would have never probably found it even though it's ten minutes away from me. This is a pre-1900 camp, I can smell the silver in the water now.
[attachment 41887 lodgeold.jpg]
[attachment 41886 lodge.jpg]

Next thought, rivers, lakes, ponds, towns, even railroad stations change names over time. And the older the location the more this may have happened. So if you are reading local histories always keep in mind the time reference when the information was recorded. And even within the same time frame it may have different names, i.e. I have seen official state documents where the the Railroad Commissioners called a certain train station by it's locale's town name, whereas the B&M Railroad called it something different for marketing purposes. The marketing purpose was to portray these rural locations as idyllic country paradises to entice the city folk to travel the rail line for vacations. Let's say the town name was Smithville and it was near Crystal Lake, well who wants to vacation in Smithville? Crystal Lake Station is thus born.

The railroad changed town configurations virtually overnight as commerce congregated around the railroad stations. Originally the bulk of a town may have been situated on a proven land route or waterway. Then the railroad arrives and the population and commerce center of the town shifts. So let's say you're detecting around a railroad station and finding nothing older than 1900, yet the town dates from 1770. Do some research and just look around at the geographic layout to look for older structures.

Trolley lines, they were famous for building parks & amusement parks. One problem Trolley lines faced was low ridership on Sunday's, so a destination and purpose was created. Picnic on Sunday at a park or amusement park that all you need to do is pay the Trolley fare to get there. Look on old maps for defunct Trolley tracks or where in an existing park the Trolley station was.

Just free advice in case you're running out of places to hunt, take it for what it's worth.

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Might add local flea markets, yard sales and the like you can find info along these lines and many times in your backyard so to speak...

 

[Anonymous]

n/t

 

[AllenOK]

I've seen many instances, in both OK and MI, where the town was locally known by one name, but the post office was known by another name, since the local name for the town was already in use as a post office somewhere else in that state.

Also, while the name of the town and post office might be the same, the railroad station might go by a different name, since the person who managed that particular RR station used his own name for the station.

Many times, in OK, a RR would be built, and would come near an existing town, but not actually enter the town. The entire town would pick up and move the few miles to the RR. I'm not sure is buildings were actually moved, or just abandoned.

HH from Allen in OK

 

[Bill Ladd]

winter research is always a good thing to do....especially when the ground freezes and we can't dig.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

I have bought picture post cards off ebay of the early resorts and lodges in the area. Not only for the Th'ing aspect but, they are fun to collect.

Here's some water finds from last summer found where a fishing lodge once stood.

Tom<p><center>[attachment 42021 x70wag.jpg]

 

[BarnacleBill]

I had intended to include, which is amazingly helpful. On line you can probably find many of the old atlas's which are pre-1900. Many times at the "town" level these not only included the shape and size of a structure, but the principal occupant of the household as well. In the example image I have included below from about 1895, there are an amazing number of women listed as the principal occupants, and I find this is consistent from all the towns in my state. Now the underlying reasons could be that many men were lost to the Civil War and/or that women simply outlived men.

Nonetheless, I use these to locate cellar holes or maybe just a stone foundation.

[attachment 42031 atlas2.jpg]

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[chuck ky]

how would you go about looking for these atlases online.

 

[Tinfoil]

n/t

 

[BarnacleBill]

Hi Chuck,

Many times these were done by private companies and varied in style from state to state. But a good place to start is usually the Library of Congress or a state university system.

With a little browsing I found this page on Kentucky;

http://www.cagenweb.com/quarries/states/kentucky.html

Which looks to me it may have all sorts of interesting links and info. I would begin there about a third of the way down the page and start following links, and then if I end up in a dead end, contact some people at some of those links. The people who put that page together have already done a huge amount of footwork there. Dropping them a thank you note may also pave a future road for you with them should you need help finding information.

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[BarnacleBill]

You need to go back and find if an atlas has been made for your area. Then see if it has been digitized and is available. I use regular commercial sites like this one to see if anything exists.

http://www.davidrumsey.com/view.html

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Tinfoil]

n/t