Research ideas

[Larry (IL)]

Researching the way thing were, old maps, atlases, talking to old timers, finding old aerial photographs.......... even checking out the historical societies for leads. Railroad stations, pony express routes and stops, one rooms schools. This is a start of a list, let's add to the list and see what we can come up with.

 

[geodehunter]

I use old plat books. If you can find the older ones they will show where the old 1 room school houses and churchs used to be.

 

[flinthunter]

A lot of small town restaurants have what I call a farmers table where the local farmers get together in the mornings for a cup of coffee and some local gossip. Go up to the table, introduce yourself, and explain what kind of information you're looking for. You might be surprised at the leads you can get and also the places they might allow you to hunt.

 

[Nancy-IL]

I like coffee! Great idea Daryl.

 

[dave5710]

The Kewanee Star Courier runs a small article on area events that happened 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 years ago that week.
I remember the story of the Sheffield police department confiscating 25 cases of beer from the local "Tourist Park", during prohibition. This was an area where people traveling across country, could park for the evening and rest overnight. If the location was still undeveloped it could be a good site for locating Barbers, Mercs, etc.
Articles like this also give us a time frame of events such as circuses, carnivals and rodeos. Using newspapers just prior to these events, we can obtain clues as to where these events where held, property owners etc. Then cross reference that information with maps, plat books etc..
Books devoted to the history of an area or town also provide many clues, sometimes photos, of places and events where large numbers of people gathered. For example Baker Park in Kewanee was willed to the city in I believe 1917, and Francis Park just outside of Kewanee was given to the city, around the same time.

 

[Steve1825]

Post Cards. Glen Oak Park in Peoria is depicted in a few cards. Also look for Train Stations along the Rock Island Trail in the small town stops.

 

[millejn3]

Sidewalks
There are small towns every where. Most of these small towns have the original sidewalks and have never been replaced. Everything on the outside (road side) is city property and usually fair game. I have only been MDing a few months but sidewalk hunting has produced some really awesome finds.Its very easy to spot the older sections of sidewalks. They are usually pretty broken up with lots of grass coming through. Some times you will even come across portions of old bricked sidewalks which date back to the time when the sidewalk was a more popular and frequent traveled route of people then it is today. Simply stop in or call city hall to make sure it's OK to hunt the roadside of the sidewalks and if it is make sure you do not cross over on to private property (anything inside or on the house side)without permission. Make sure you pickup any trash you see as you are hunting and be sure to use this as ammunition for getting permission as you talk with the city hall.
I have had several people come out to greet me and ask if I would be interested in hunting their yard just so they can see what kind of treasures they have been walking over for years.

 

[geodehunter]

I forgot to mention that I use terraserver.com I can get a look at where I am going before I get there.