Thinking Outside the box with the CTX

[GateKeeper]

Digger and I have been talking about hunting area's. On how other detectorist's have no good area's to hunt. Hobbiest's have asked him, myself, and probably even you, where can I go? Well what we have been doing is research. I know that sound's like too much work, but it has uncovered thousands of new site's in my county alone. What Digger and I (as well as some other's) have been doing is going to our local library and historical societies, and finding the oldest maps we can and overlaying them on Google Earth. To speak for myself, I found maps that date back to 1874, which shows every house in the entire county. I have found where picnic groves, family gathering's, church's, and even where a county fair was held. One of the coolest things I found was not even a relic, it was a trail left by a stagecoach that traveled thru a huge set of woods. I was able to enable my GPS and upload the trail in my Xchange 2. Nobody even knew it was there, not even the historical society.

I guess what I'm getting at is this. We all wanted the MOST extreme machine that the market has to offer, the Minelab CTX 3030. Why not think outside the box a little bit and try to find the most extreme find's we can. You might even get to learn more about our history while your at it.

 

["Dr.Tones"]

Yeah... What he said

 

[nolanation]

I have been doing a little of that myself, you can uncover some pretty cool spots, like a newer athletic park up the road from me....you could hunt the soccer field for clad OR I did a little research and found out there used to be an old house in a now slightly wooded area of the park, ill have to check out.

 

[396nova]

Like you said Gatekeeper. Spend some time researching and you will have more places to hunt than time to hunt them. I use aerial maps from 1938 (learned about aerial maps from someone on the forums), and overlay them on Google maps, then I used a hand held GPS to locate. Now, with the CTX3030 it is easier in the field.

 

[GateKeeper]

@396Nova, dont limit yourself to those aerial's. Dig deeper for those older 1800's maps. Those will help you find the Barbers, Seated, and Bust's. Good to hear your having great luck with your research.

 

[396nova]

@396Nova, dont limit yourself to those aerial's. Dig deeper for those older 1800's maps. Those will help you find the Barbers, Seated, and Bust's. Good to hear your having great luck with your research.

I am sure I could find maps on the internet also, might cost something though. My aerials have kept me busy. Thanks for the info.

 

[silverchef]

Totally agree with your post and I've been doing some research as well. Have located some old foundations and really enjoy woods hunting.But I have never found a picnic grove. Any hints?

 

[GateKeeper]

I typed: pre 1900 history for my state, county, and township into Google search. From there I read everything I could. Also local historians are just begging anyone to hear their stories. Find one that want's to share. They are the best learning tools there is. I have been talking to 5 of them on a regular basis. I share what I learn between all of them and then fill in all the pieces.

For example, one just told me where a well is in a corn field where his great grandfather used to farm. If there was a well, there was a house. It dates about 1890. He also told me where a hotel used to be that burned down around 1910. It was located in an uninhabited patch of woods.

There are so many places to hunt. Parks are great and all, but it is really great to hunt a site that has never been touched.

 

[jimmyk]

I live in a town of 5000 pop. built in the 1880's when the railroad came through. A historical marker in town referred to the original town being moved here from a location to the South. Asked at our small town library and found research and the location of the town. Turns out it is three miles South of town, on a four corners gravel road that was the original roads when the town was started in the 1840's. I took these pics after doing some hunting during a snow storm. I'm standing at the four corners. Just in front of me is the location of a hotel that was built during the Civil War and used as a headquarters for a Union cavalry detachment. The area is literally carpeted with nails. Looking to the rise in the distance is a mound with a post sticking out of it. It's the location of two graves of a mother and daughter buried in 1864. This is what remains of a grave yard that was moved to the new town location in the 1880's. There was a cemetary to the right of the mound. To the right of that is the location of a brick church built in 1854. It was also used by troops and was burned by Southern partisans during the war. That spot has a lot of nails and pieces of brick. Across the road there was supposed to be a couple of stores and a doctors house, but I found it to be relatively clean of nails and junk. Did find two nice coins between the road and the pond. An 1856O half dolla and an 1832 half dime. Found about three dozon Civil War era bullets. on both sides of the road. Some where shot and some were "drops". Found some interesting relics, but the two silver coins were the best. Am in the process of rehunting it, as it was plowed this Fall. Research does pay off, and it's always nice to have a good spot close to home.

Thanks for looking and keep on diggin;

jimmyk in Missouri

 

[GateKeeper]

Great post Jimmy. Those picture's are great. No one would ever take a second look at that property. And that's the great thing about research, finding virgin site's that have been undisturbed for over 100 years. I imagine when you go back Jimmy, you will find more.

 

[C&RHunter]

historicmapworks.com...is an excellent place for finding old maps. I use this site a lot. I just do a "print screen", then I use PAINT to crop the area I want, and save it. I can then do an overlay in GoogleEarth to acquire GPS coords for sending to the CTX......For me the GPS and XChange2 are extremely helpful for the type of detecting I prefer. the more I use the GPS, the more uses I find I for it.....HH

 

[GateKeeper]

Thanks CR. I just checked that site out and found a few more maps.

 

[nolanation]

So where can I get some maps from the 1800's

 

[GateKeeper]

So where can I get some maps from the 1800's

Just like CR said....... Go to historicmapworks.com or research your local liabrary or historical society. You have to do some work. It might seem like some work, but it will be worth it. I myself just got 3 new maps from 1874. I croped them and saved them so that I can overlay to google earth later.

 

[nolanation]

I have been using historicaerials.com...also a good site.

 

[GateKeeper]

I have been using historicaerials.com...also a good site.

Your right, that is a good site, and it might be all you need. Imagine going farther back though, way before planes, and finding sites that did not exist after the turn of the 20th century.

 

[Larry (IL)]

I have been kept busy with a handful of plat and Atlas maps on CD's for my county and neighboring counties, most of them from the 1800's. Search Ebay for your State and you will have many to choose from and prices are usually negotiable. I got mine for $7 each, and they are a wealth of info.

 

[GateKeeper]

Thats awesome Larry. How well have you done with those maps?

 

[Larry (IL)]

Fantastic Phil, the first place I found was a fairgrounds from the 1850's and that produced fairly good finds but sparse. I am now hunting a town that existed from 1830 to the 1850's which is now farmland. It had a stagecoach stop but the town soon succumbed to the neighboring town with the iron horse 5 miles away. Like many have said, there are so many places of interest, I can't begin to hunt them all even if I had the time.

 

[GateKeeper]

Isnt that amazing Larry. One could literaly have hundreds to thousands of places to hunt within their county. One could only have to drive no more than 30 minutes for the rest of their lives. Also search "Ghost Towns" for your state.