The Official Louisiana Plantation Dig.

KONO

Full Member
Jul 2, 2013
190
66
Detector(s) used
Garrett ACE 350
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ladies and Gentleman,

The Moment you have all been waiting for, the commencement of The Official Louisiana Plantation Dig Thread.

Let the digging Commence...



Historical Background:

The Plantation is located in South Louisiana, the current property is a conglomerate of several plantations and there sub-facilities. The Plantations were conglomerated over the years and according to Conveyance Records, at least 10 Transactions occurred from the 1840's until the early 1890's (though the property reached its current size in the 1880's) and the Property has been continuously owned ever since (120 years). The Plantation's operations ranged from the French Colonial Period in the 18th Century until the early 1920's after which the property was leased for farming and livestock. The leases to farmers were ended in the 1960's. The Plantation is currently a Private Hunting Estate and most recently a Dig Site. The Plantations initially produced Sugar Cane and then converted to Rice Production sometime from the 1880's-1890's. There are believed to have been no fewer than 5 Plantations from various eras on the Property. Slaves were used on the Plantations and were freed after the Capture of New Orleans during the Civil War. Share Croppers worked the land from the time after the Civil War until the early 1920's. The History of the property is unique in consideration of the large number of transfers of land and conversions that took place. The Properties were sold and auctioned off frequently due to Bankruptcy, Mortgage interest, widows liquidating assets, The Civil War, and unknown reasons. The constant transfer of the Plantations caused many structures with their contents, tools, and all objects associated with the Plantations to be abandoned and disregarded. The Plantation is long since overgrown. Nearly all of the original Plantation implements are still in place, though weathered, buried or sitting in ruble. No complete buildings remain after years of Hurricanes and storms, although locations of the majority of former structures are known. Currently, at least 100 structure sites are known and have been explored. Each Plantation had its own Plantation Home, Slave Quarters, Sheds, Workshops, Livestock facilities (pins, sties, and corrals), Sugar Cane Houses (warehouse/storage), Sugar Cane Boilers, and other various structures. Several brick structures remain intact including A sugar cane boiler, and a brick structure where a large steam engine was mounted atop to pump water into a canal irrigation system with a paddle wheel. A Railroad passed through the Plantation and various remnants remain including: The raised slag Railroad bed, intact Telegraph Poles, Telegraph wire, Telegraph insulators, 100 year old cyprus fence post still in place, and railroad track of various length. The Plantation being of considerable size, utilized state of the art cultivation and processing techniques in its day. As of now, The Plantation is in the early stages of historical examination and digging that will surely take years to complete...

Historical Information is based upon:
-First-Hand Accounts of Ownership (from current owner) including: description of property when structures remained, and vast personal knowledge of property.
-Private Records
-Conveyance Records (incomplete research, only traced to 1840's; Conveyance Records provide: transfers of land and assets through various means, number and description of structures, manifest of slaves consisting of name and age, manifest of Plantation equipment (including all tools, machines, and wagons/carts), manifest of livestock, and production output numbers.



This Thread will serve as an exhibition to the Public, and a Catalog of our Finds.

The property has never been closely historically examined underground... Until Now.
 

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The first find on the Plantation with a Metal Detector took place in the 1980's.

An old, cheap, Metal Detector let out a scream as it detected a large object at the foot of a Mid 19th Century Sugar Cane Boiler. The Boiler is a large brick structure with a stoking area underneath to burn a fire, seemingly a tunnel opening on both ends. The Sugar Kettles were placed atop the brick structure while the fire was maintained in the stoking area below, boiling the sugar cane. The site is near a Sugar Cane House (storing sugar cane).

This is the Solid Brass Stoking door that was placed over the opening of (which was in the middle of a larger metal plate that sealed the "tunnel"/stoking area), so that coal could be shoveled in and the fire could be managed.

-Solid Forged Brass
-Has a threaded lip on the back that would have been attached to an arm to lift the door (Hot!)
-8x7 inch
-5/16 inch thick
-No visible Hallmarks, though tong marks from forging are visible (3 circular marks)

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If you were wondering, a remaining intact Sugar Kettle will be removed from a mud filled Pond by a Bobcat Excavator.
 

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July 2nd, 2013 & July 20th, 2013 (Dig Dates)

Sometimes, you think you hear a chain go rattling in the night and you could have sworn you heard the clinging of hammers and the chanting of work music...

Bad Gris-Gris aside, These are some of our finds from a short hunt of the Slave Huts near the front of the Property at the Plantation. These Notable items were found under the mounds made of brick rubble and old foundations; as well as, the surrounding grounds.


On July 2nd the machine screamed when it detected a Solid Copper half of an 1850's Powder Flask at 16 inches, that's right inches!, under the virgin ground. (Pictured on left)

The other half of the Copper Powder flask was found 18 days later, 18 inches under the wet mud. Approximately 10 meters away. (Pictured on right)

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Pictures are Post-Cleaning



A Solid Copper Cistern Tank Spigot (that was tapped into the large wood cistern on the main Plantation House) was found sitting in a ruble pile on the 20th. It was likely accidentally moved from its original location while clearing fallen trees.

-Mid 19th Century
-Approximately 2 Pounds
-No visible Markings
-Complete with exception of knob
-No Damage

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Pictures are Post-Cleaning



The last major find of the 20th was...

A Mid-19th Century Hand-Carved Clay Marble, dug 14 inches under.

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The marble was mixed with various bricks, square iron nails, and iron stakes from the Mid 19th Century (approximately 14 inch under).
The site was slightly distanced from the slave huts. The reason for the digging of the area where marble was recovered, was a large chest with an iron lid in the underlying ground.



Other items found on the 2nd included: A Percussion Cap, Iron Shackle, iron carpentry tools, and iron wagon/cart parts.

Other items found on the 20th included: 2 pieces of Mid 19th Century Railroad track, Copper telegraph wire, a wall coat hanger (iron), a door handle (iron), & a sharpening stone. All of these items were found at slave hut sites.



Note: Numerous other Period items were recovered but none notable.
 

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Here is a Blast from the Past.

My First find, with my first Metal Detector!
Find made on June 27th, 2013

An 1850's 20 Bore(Gauge) Muzzle-loading Percussion Double Barrel Shotgun.

The gun was found approximately 1 foot under ground, 50 feet away from an old plantation home that is gone (but the brick structure is still in the ground.) This is from a different Plantation Home that is older, farther from the entrance of the property, and under a 300 year old Oak Tree.

Only the Barrel and Nipples remain
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Other notable items from this plantation site include an 1890's English-made Sterling Silver Spoon, an Iron Pick, an Iron Hammer, and the Copper Picture Hanger below.
 

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Found earlier this year,

A Mid 19th Century Solid Copper Picture Hanger

-Solid Copper
-Ornately Engraved
-Pin on the back for it to hang on a nail
-Small hook on the reverse of the chrysanthemum where a string, attached to the hanging frame, would loop over.
-No visible Hall Marks

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Pictures are Post-Cleaning


Found at Plantation Home site, next to Shotgun recovery area.
 

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Well I'd have to say finds r lookin nice good luck with it
 

Finds from July 24th, 2013.

New Plantation ruins found deep in the woods on the 24th. Plantation is probably 1840's.



2 Buttons were found foraging in rubble above the ground. (3rd, Small, Button added in Photo Update)

-4 hole
-Porcelain or Milk Glass

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A large Solid Copper Ring/Washer was found 2 inches under. The detector started smoking when it detected this large round copper object. We believe it is a part of a Copper Pipe Vent Stack Boot, as a large amount of what appears to be Copper Roof Flashing was found nearby.

-Solid Copper
-Hand Chiseled

Diameter edge to edge: 3.5 inch
Diameter of inner ring: 1.75 inch
Caliper reads rim is 1/8 inch thick

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Post-Cleaning



Here is some of the Poundage of what we believe to be Copper Flashing from the roof. There is still more in the ground!

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Items Pictured are Not cleaned


Other notable items found: an iron spur, an iron file, a large wood door hinge made of iron, and several iron stakes with washers.
 

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Kono, I look forward to following your digs. I had just stopped at Avery Island, LA while passing through to attend my nephew's graduation. I was surprised at the elevation of the island as it is surrounded by bayou. Apparently, there is a large salt dome that comprises the geology of the island. It was an important site during the Civil War to produce salt for the confederacy.
 

Salt domes are used to store natural gas in modern times, and there are many privately held in Louisiana.
 

Silly question but this isnt the plantation that was dug at on the digwars show is it ?
 

No, that is in Central Louisiana... "Georgia Landing" I've never heard of it, and it seems significantly smaller than this plantation. That plantation was still being cultivated by a farmer, appeared to be for cotton production. There was some small skirmish there according to the show; though they called it a "major battle". They need to emphasize that they are digging on Private Property.

This Plantation has been Continuously owned for 120 years and has a lot more than monetary value to the owner. And it would never even be considered to use it for anything else than a Private Estate. It will never be open to the public, leased, sold, or on television.
 

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Naw I just didn't know I was just curious, cuz I started to follow the finds & posts of the one u have been putting up. As of the show like all of them there r certain people involved that know things & certain people who don't & because its tv & made for reality was made that way I myself watch all the detector shows anything to do with the hobby in my mind well back on track ill look forward to the next post on what mayb going on down there wish it were closer I don't think in the part of mass I'm in has places like that lol hh
 

Sorry, I just had to speak my piece on that show since it was brought up. :icon_thumleft:
Good question though, if interested read the Historical Background of the Property.

Back to the topic of this Plantation...
 

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Here are two intact Ford Model T Hubcaps found sitting on the surface by an old horse coral; found by the owner of the Plantation a long time ago.


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From when the days of the horse were coming to an end...
 

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nice finds!Looks like that place has allot of history.Whole lot to be found there.Good luck on you future hunts.
 

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