Old home site location - no results, what to do?

[riverguy]

On the large property that I can search has 8 homesites marked on an old topo map. The primary site is known to me, where I found a copper spoon. So with the topo map and compass it was easy to locate all the other sites from the known point by pacing off the distance on the proper bearing from the known site.

Yesterday I located all sites. The terrain around here is woods and a series of small hills and gullies leading down to the river. The second home site was a flat area (in an area that sloped down to a stream) devoid of large old trees so I was pretty certain of the location. However I searched it for about 30 minutes to test it and got no signals at all, not even metal. Now I am wondering if it was really a home site. When you find absolutely nothing at a suspected home site in the woods after 30 minutes do you write it off? Or do you go back and search it more methodical?

The primary home site has yielded up the copper spoon, and several plow or cultivator pieces of steel.

After that on the way home I stopped by an old bridge site on the river (bridge is not there now, but the old road leading to the bridge is there). They were small roads back then, probably 12 - 14 feet wide. On bank above the road going to the river found a 1946 D wheat. So that at least tells me that site has potential. Also found many, many hits of old rubber foils. Must have been a popular place for kids getting away on their own, plus lots of old fashioned beer cans that were opened with the church key. Soil was sandy being so near the river so easy digging.

Also found a small tinned meat can and some more modern beer cans that come in as a solid +28 to +34 so I expected to find a coin. What is it with these that provides such a good coin signal? No there were no coins in the cans I checked for that.

 

[Keith Southern]

here in North Georgia and they are very difficult to find. You say you found one with plow points and big iron then walked off the other ones with a maps and pacing. Man I wish it was that easy! Theres probably more there but just walking to them is difficult to do lots of leg work.Remember house site were in areas that couldnt be plowed usually in the mid to late 1800's good flat land was for farming the houses in the hilly areas of N.Georgia usually sat out on points or close to the old Road .Road beds are a must to get to the houses find the old road depressions and walk them out . just about every old house will have a large Oak tree sitting in the middle of pine trees most of the time there is a well hole or depression in the ground where the well filled up and a must and I say a must is the chimney it will be either partially standing or fell over in a nice little pile of rocks.

You wont find too many houses in sites were theres pine trees growing those are the old fields after they quit plowing them the pine tree just naturally take over since they are more hardier than the hardwoods they win out in the ecosystem.

Just remember the old house site will have a large Oak or the oak will be felled by the loggers 70% of the time but they all have some sort of chimney.

Locating house sites are very hard I mean hard you will develop a 6th sense for it after awhile but nothing written in stone I've seen them without well hole a chimney or an oak tree but theres usually something to let you know.If its a cleared plowed field of many acres ride by when the sun is low and you will be able to see old glass reflecting out in the fields quite easily!

Good luck

Keith Southern

 

[WTnFred]

where the majority of the relics had been pushed to one side. The old home sites, pre civil war, have been cleared and modified for the production of crops. The sites were graded, with the "trash" pushed off toward the low side. No id of wells or chimneys other than the broken bricks and glass in a definite pattern, even after plowing. One of the oldest sites, 1830s, I did not find any bricks or glass visible on the ground.

It has also been my experience that the home sites were on spurs of high ground, but not on the highest point.

These are rural, early for West Tennessee and relatively meager home sites. Out of 4 home sites I have found 24 flat buttons, one possible large cent, iron scissors and assorted iron.

Hope this helps and good hunting.
Fred

 

[kasparov747]

riverguy just curious but what kind of detector are you using?