Reading The Trees...

[Critterhunter]

I posted this elsewhere but thought it might be of interest to some here as well...

Apple or other fruit trees...For one, when they are in bloom in the spring it's a great way to spot old homestead sites long since abandoned in the woods. The fruit trees they planted stick out like a sore thumb in bloom. Second, what do people do when picking fruit? Often they are bending over and picking ones off the ground too. Stuff falls out of shirt pockets and such. Any time I find a fruit tree in the woods I always hunt around it, not to mention look for nearby signs of an old homested. Also, nut trees are good to hunt around too. Walnuts and such. People from days gone by picking them in the woods off the ground around them. It's good to know the growth rate of various trees to indicate what ones are old enough to have say coins dropped around them in the 1800's and such. Not all trees grow at the same rate. A big fat walnut tree you can't put your arms around is probably at least near 100 years old for instance maybe. Apple trees don't get real huge, but when they get big you know they are old as they tend to be slow growers too. Say one about as big around as your thigh is probably easily 30 or 40 years old or more. Oak trees are slow growers. Find a big trunk about as big around as a garbage can and it could be pushing 100 or more. Watch for them in lines in the woods. Often they lined a property or the road that went to the homested. Another tip is to watch for younger growth in a squarish area among older growth. This could indicate an old homsted house site as well. Read the trees as well as the ground when looking for homesteds or areas of activity from days gone by.

 

[xwyokid]

Your post brought back an old memory. When I started detecting and looking for old homesites over 20 years ago that was one of the first things my older brother said. "Look for bunches of trees in a straight line". Don't have any intention of stealing your post but, another major thing for us out West is scattered rock that looks like it doesn't belong there.

 

[Critterhunter]

Steal away, and post any tips of your own. Good tip.

Of course old red bricks or pottery shards are a good indicator, as well as blue glass or real thick glass. Even some flowers that come back year after year or other plants not native to the area are a good indicator of an old house spot. Also, don't just rush through the woods hunting. Take time to stop and look around and observe. I've found old trails or wagon roads in the woods just because I noticed the trees 10 feet on either side were old and all the trees in a line through the woods ten foot wide or so where much younger. That's something you won't notice unless you really think "with your eyes".

 

[deepdiger60]

Just something about huge old tree,s back in 2010 i had a chance to detect some very old property the first place i hit was this 200+ year old tree in front of the Blacksmith,s shop here in town , the now long retired owner told of stories when kids played on the tree like his Grandfather , father and himself dropping coins all the time out of there pockets i must of spent 1 hour hunting around that tree just 1 example 12 IH pennys , plus countless silver coins , i leaned my detector up against the tree for a size reference HUGE !!! , also when hunting in deep wooded area,s keep a eye open for old grave stones barely poking out of the ground almost sunk you can bet there once was a house there back in the 1700,s Jim HH

 

[Critterhunter]

Nice looking spot and glad you killed the coins there!

Another thing I watch for in the woods are slight depressions in the ground that could have been cold storage or root cellars. Some times they would only dig these a foot or two deep at the right time of year and it would protect the food from spoiling. Also, I've noticed a few of these and they were dug on the north side of ridge spines, where the ridge just starts sloping down, as those spots will stay in the shade all day long, or at least a good part of it, and are the last of spots to lose the snow in late spring too, so the ground stays frozen or colder longer.

Also watch for even slight/barely seen lines in the ground. Old wagon wheel ruts possibly indicated and old dirt road through the woods. I've found these, and with the ruts to thin to be from car tires, and too old and weathered to be from anything newer, and I've seen where they placed flat stones in holes to fill the pot holes so to speak. I wasn't sure about this until I found an old hand built bridge made from local stone that they built to cross a tiny creek. Very small bridge. Just wide enough to get a wagon across. I thought I was going to HAMMER the coins where this road led up onto a ridge flat where I'm sure an old house site was. Found some pottery shards, an old iron pot lid, an old button or two, but not a single coin out of there. Distinct lack of iron signals too, so I'm not sure that was a house site or not.

 

[dewcon4414]

I normall use old county Atlas in finding homesites but there are several ways to find those old home sites especially in the spring. Before the farmer get in the field you can see high rises where you find old pottery or dish shreads. Youd be surprised how many homes were in the middle of the field...... a lot of these plots were 40 acreas from the government. In the woods daffadills and flowers that arent common as a natural plant. These can be seen a good many times from the road as you are driving. Some states had tole buildings at various corners when the roads were built. Small Schools were normally places on the same roads within walking distance about 2 miles so kids could walkt to school.... then there would be another. These were placed constantly and on cross roads. Old home sites are a jem.... especially field ones that are long gone... there just isnt any modern trash there.

Dew