The House should be here, right?

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Silver Member
Dec 10, 2004
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East Central Kentucky
I recently ventured out into Montgomery County Kentucky, hoping to find a mid 1800's home site along the banks of a large creek. In 1879, the home belonged to Mrs. Brockway. Based on an old map, a current map overlay and the features on the ground, I was certain that finding it would be a slam dunk. Well, not so easy. In the vicinity of where I thought the site should be sits a small modern tobacco barn with a tin roof. I've hunted around them before, they are a nightmare...nails on top of nails, so I stayed well clear of it. I was finding the occasional iron target in a 20 foot perimeter around the barn but nothing that said to me that I had found the place. I increased my perimeter and the targets became less frequent. Time to drop back and punt. The barn provided a nice relief from the sun on an otherwise unseasonably warm day for October. So, I dug my map out and started another "feature" search of the land around the creek...maybe I had missed it by a hundred feet? Maybe it was a little higher on one of the knobs?
 

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As I'm pacing back and forth inside and outside the barn, something on the ground catches my eye!
 

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I'm seeing small pieces of broken glass and plate ware....hmmmmm. Then I start to study the inside of the barn....wow. Angle cut boards on two ends of the barn, re-purposed floor joists with square nails. It's starting to look like the barn was built right over top of the home....
 

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I immediately turn my trusty Tesoro on and begin scanning the dirt and mud inside the barn and wouldn't you know it, my first target was a thimble. Then a lock plate, square nails, a button. Yes, this is the house! So, I step back out of the barn and start swinging right up against it....wow, who would have guessed. Fooled by a dilapidated barn!
 

19xx Standing Liberty quarter, 1944 Mercury dime, 1909 Wheatie, mother of pearl button, small caliber musket ball....
 

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And they just keeping popping out all over the place. what a wonderful site to hunt, Congrats!
 

Very Nice finds, I have a couple sites that once stood a home and one even a church that is now a barn. Good you stuck with confidence and found proof of the site.
here is a pic of one of my sites that isphoto (65).JPG a 1800's Church that sits in a field, that was transformed into a barn.
 

yes, I found quite a few buttons, some coinage from turn of the century and several parasol parts.
 

Congratz on a great hunt! Way to stick with it!
 

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