Big Pipe in Backyard

[magicuserbaby]

Greetings, treasure hunters!

While this inquiry may seem mundane, bear with me - I’ve done a lot of digging on my own, and have yet to uncover a suitable explanation for this very large pipe in the backyard of a home that I’m closing on shortly. Property is in the middle of nowhere, home is in the middle of the property in the middle of nowhere. Very rural. Well water, septic tank is about 150’ from the house (with no record or disclosure of any additional septic tanks), buried power.

​

The pipe is about 20’ tall, the base maybe 6”+ in diameter. I can’t tell what type of metal it’s made from - I don’t know too much about that subject, unfortunately - but I’m assuming steel, since you can see the weld where the pipe width quickly tapers. From the third photo, you can tell that it’s hollow. There is no hardware on the pipe that would suggest it was used as a flag pole, clothes line, or anything else similar.

No one knows what it’s for - not the realtor, not the individual I bought it from (who was the second owner of the home, bought it just a few years ago), none of the neighbors, nor the County.

What it Isn’t
We can likely rule out these things:

• Oil pipe
• Natural gas venting
• Capped well
• Septic pipe
• Sprinkler/irrigation

I find it unlikely that it’s a bunker (I mean, that would be a huge selling point, and I’d happily pay more for a home with a bunker) though many people I’ve spoken with about it have suggested that.

Have any of you guys seen something like this before? Any educated guesses on what it might be, or how to go about finding out what it might be?

 

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[Madmox]

Man, you guys are full of great ideas and information! Glad I stumbled across you all.



I was under the same impression, but after doing a little research, I found this, which seems to depict the operations alan m was referring to:
View attachment 1753741



Will do! I plan on getting to the bottom of this, one way or the other! Worst case scenario, if we still don't get an answer - but can confirm that there's nothing unsafe about it - I'm going to tie a GoPro and a flashlight to a length of rope, climb the pipe, and drop it down the hollow top!



Now that looks exactly like the old equipment I found! Definitely supports the logging theory.



Great idea! What type of testing facility could I take that sample to? I know there's a nearby chemical testing company (asbestos testing, for instance) - do you think they might be able to help out?

That picture shows a yarder at the top of the hill. They are mounted on HUGE cranes. I’ve never seen a longline anchor set in the ground like that. Especially with no snatch block equipment on it. Even in the old days, in this neck of the woods they were mounted to huge winches and steam donkeys.

 

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[ROIGuy]

Sign pole.

You could also ask your attorney. he/she should be able to see or at least find out who the previous owners were through your title report from the title company.
There is undoubtedly a record of who owned the property even if it was part of a larger parcel of land. Good luck!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I thought this was an interesting piece.

"Ventilation pipe in Centralia, Pennsylvania where a mine fire that began in 1962 continues to burn to this day. Centralia is a borough and a near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 7 in 2013 as a result of the Centralia mine fire that has been burning beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia is the least-populated municipality in Pennsylvania. All properties in the borough were claimed under eminent domain by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1992 (and all buildings therein were condemned), and Centralia's ZIP code was revoked by the Postal Service in 2002. State and local officials reached an agreement with the remaining residents on October 29, 2013 allowing them to live out their lives there, after which the rights of their properties will be taken through eminent domain."

Dave

 

[smokeythecat]

I have seen those vent pipe in the coal regions in PA. Go check with the county. A sign post would serve no purpose unless there was a big road very close by.

 

[redbeardrelics]

I would suggest getting a ladder and length of small chain, and then lowering the chain into the pipe to see if it is a vent pipe into the ground, and if so how deep it goes.

Are you out far enough into the boonies that it could have been a pole to mount a wind turbine on for local electrical power?

You could get a 5 or 6 foot long privy probe, and thrust it into the soil near the base of the pole to see what that might reveal?

Let us know.

 

[Anduril]

Any signs of rotation above ? Say a large pole was slide down over the small pole ?
Or ... if you estimate the width of the frick mill in the middle ... maybe a second pole now cut off below the ground which may have formed an overhead support with the two poles ?

View attachment 1753749

View attachment 1753752

And that would explain the tapered pole. (?)

 

[Anduril]

A "steam donkey"?
Never even heard of one of those. Sounds pretty cool, though.

How much "donkey-power" does something like that produce?
I've read that one donkey-power equals about a third of a horsepower.

 

[DCMatt]

My guess is it's a re-purposed piece of pipe used as an antenna mast.

We had something similar, although not quite that large, when I was a kid living in rural Pennsylvania. Our TV antenna was strapped to a smaller piece of pipe at the top.

I worked for Radio Shack in the 80's. Outdoor TV antennas were very popular from the 60's through the 90's. Before cable, people would do anything to get a little more signal - especially if they lived out in the country.

If you'll tell us where to property is located we can help you a little more.

 

[GopherDaGold]

Ham radio antenna mount.

 

[SpareSomeChange]

some really good ideas everyone had. All of this reminds me of my neck of the woods up here in coal country. We have all this sort of abandoned crap EVERYWHERE in the woods along with abandoned mines too...hope you find out what it is. Perhaps break out the detector if you can and see what you dig up around the area may lead to clues. Probably cant tho since its not your property yet. EDIT...What can you see on your land in old areal photos?

 

[bowwinkles]

If it was installed in the late 50's or early 60's and this is a rural location it could be a mast for a large old TV antenna.

 

[magicuserbaby]

Any signs of rotation above ? Say a large pole was slide down over the small pole ?
Or ... if you estimate the width of the frick mill in the middle ... maybe a second pole now cut off below the ground which may have formed an overhead support with the two poles ?

Hey, now there’s an idea! I think this thing having to do with logging is the most likely explanation, especially considering the area’s history, the frick mill, and the fact that the land is currently registered with the county as managed forest lands. I’ll inspect a little closer next time I’m up there for signs of rotation!

That picture shows a yarder at the top of the hill. They are mounted on HUGE cranes. I’ve never seen a longline anchor set in the ground like that. Especially with no snatch block equipment on it. Even in the old days, in this neck of the woods they were mounted to huge winches and steam donkeys.

Good point! It was a plausible theory, but as you mentioned, the setup would definitely deviate from the norm.

You could also ask your attorney. he/she should be able to see or at least find out who the previous owners were through your title report from the title company.
There is undoubtedly a record of who owned the property even if it was part of a larger parcel of land. Good luck!

Good idea! I’ll reach out to the title company today.

Smokeythecat and ANTIQUARIAN: There’s definitely some similarities to coal vents there, both in form and spookiness. I don’t believe that there were any coal mines in the area, but I still haven’t discounted that this could be ventilation, although Madmox made a good point about it being too high for a ventilation pipe. From my research, they do all seem to be significantly shorter.

A sign post would serve no purpose unless there was a big road very close by.

I agree, and the house is in the middle of a forest, off a 1,500’ dirt driveway, off a dirt road that’s off a dirt road that’s off a dirt road. No real use for a sign post, especially one that dang big.

I would suggest getting a ladder and length of small chain, and then lowering the chain into the pipe to see if it is a vent pipe into the ground, and if so how deep it goes.

Are you out far enough into the boonies that it could have been a pole to mount a wind turbine on for local electrical power?

You could get a 5 or 6 foot long privy probe, and thrust it into the soil near the base of the pole to see what that might reveal?.

That’s what I was thinking - dangle something down there and see how much I can pay out! And it’s possible that it was for electrical power. I don’t know the history of that, but the house has buried power now. Some of the nearby houses are just cabins and have no power at all, though, which makes me think that buried electrical was the first form of electricity the house had.

I was also considering having the power company come out to do a quick check for power lines before I dig around the pipe. Maybe their equipment (cable locators/ground-penetrating radar) would reveal something?

DCMatt and GopherDaGold, those are good suggestions! Very possible. And if the equipment was mounted with clamps, it would explain why there’s no hardware or boltholes at the top.

some really good ideas everyone had. All of this reminds me of my neck of the woods up here in coal country. We have all this sort of abandoned crap EVERYWHERE in the woods along with abandoned mines too...hope you find out what it is. Perhaps break out the detector if you can and see what you dig up around the area may lead to clues. Probably cant tho since its not your property yet. EDIT...What can you see on your land in old areal photos?

Good advice! I’m sure there’s loads more clues out there. Can’t dig into that just yet like you said, but it will be mine within a couple weeks (provided there are no mines threatening to swallow it up). There’s not much to see from aerial photos - it’s mostly dense, mature forest.

As always, thanks a ton for these great suggestions! I appreciate your brain power helping to chip away at this mystery.

 

[magicuserbaby]

If it was installed in the late 50's or early 60's and this is a rural location it could be a mast for a large old TV antenna.

I agree, there's a strong possibility that's what this is (it seems a little overkill because this thing is both huge and heavy-duty, but what do I know). The house was built in 1985, and I'm thinking whatever this is predated it, but what was there before, I haven't a clue. I'll be getting with the county to try and suss that out.

 

[Madmox]

A "steam donkey"?
Never even heard of one of those. Sounds pretty cool, though.

How much "donkey-power" does something like that produce?
I've read that one donkey-power equals about a third of a horsepower.

This is a steam donkey. Just massive steam driven winches on skids. These are what they used up here in Redwood Country to skid the big old growth trees up and down the mountains. I believe they are somewhere in the vicinity of 57 gazillion DP. They invented them here, along with the Bandsaw because that was the only way to deal with trees so big. Maybe I need to go start a separate thread about logging artifacts and whatnot since it seems like that’s what I mostly find around here.

 

[magicuserbaby]

So, just spoke with a local logger (and seasoned veteran of the logging industry and its long history around these parts) whom I encountered most providentially. He said that while he can't be sure without seeing it in person, he would guess it was part of a pulley system for moving trees around. Based on much of the information you guys have provided, I think this makes the most sense, but I won't mark this as solved just yet - still waiting to hear back from someone with the county.

That being said, I expect to find all sorts of odd (likely logging-related) things on the land, so Madmox: if you decide to start that thread, I'll be lurking there for sure, and hopefully contributing soon too!

 

[cw0909]

magicuserbaby, ive used historic aerials several times to locate
old concession stands and picnic areas in old parks for Mding
be sure to check the older topo listed too, sometimes an object or area
is labeled, put your address or coords in and look around, may be a fly
over shot that will show what it did,or at least when it showed up.

https://www.historicaerials.com/viewer

 

[MetalArchSC]

Look at your last picture and compare the ingredients with the ones shown here in a photo of an old frick mill

Well I’ll be darn... I do believe you’re right on this.

 

[Tony in SC]

It is not big enough or strong enough for any kinda of heavy logging or other winching.

 

[Noah_D]

I at first I clicked because I saw "bag pipe in backyard," but this is even better!