Checked out Old Stagecoach Rest Stop

[Monty]

I talked to an old timer several months ago who described where a stage coach line ran and had a rest stop on some property adjacent to my hunting lease. I had talked with the owner and got permission to MD there. It was so grown up I had trouble figuring out how it was laid out although there were several old foundation stones apparent. I sprayed down with Cutter's insect repellent and waded in. It was tough going but I got several hits on likely targets at or below 8 inches. Then the ground was so hard and dry I couldn't dig them with the tools I had with me. Looks like this site has potential but will have to wait until fall or winter when the weeds die out and I can see what I am doing as well as get enough moisture in the ground to make it easier to dig. I found several fairly large indentations in the ground scattered about and at first thought they might be sites of outhouses or a cellar but there were too many of them. In talking with the locals I found out they were most likely old buffalo wallows which predate the arrival of the white man on the scene! All quite interesting since there hasn't been a wild buffalo here for nearly 200 years! I dug a few shallow targets which were mostly pieces of barbed wire that may have been part of the corral at one time. I also found a half rusted away .32 Winchester Special rifle case that would date about right for the stage coach era. The .32 Winchester Special was originally a black powder round, later a smokeless cartridge that is all but obsolete. I also found a large caliber lead bullet nearby but lost it somewhere in the weeds. Don't think this "junk" is worthy of photographing just yet but will go back this fall and see what else I can dig up. JIM

 

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[Bavaria Mike]

Sounds like an exciting site to hunt, hope you get back when the conditions are better! HH, Mike

 

[Monty]

Actually I went to the site with the intentions of just surveying the conditions and to see if I could make sense of the remaining foundation stones.....I couldn't! ?Just too much foilage and bugs. ?There were 3 very old and large oak trees right out in the middle of nothing which I probably can assume was shade for the station as it gets really hot there in the area in the summer. ?They were the only real trees about the area except for some cedars which are more recent. The large oaks were in a line which was probably part of a fence row as trees are often found along fence lines. ?Can't tell for sure but should be able to scope it out much better when the weeds and grass die out this fall. ?JIM

 

[brandy]

Sounds like a great site with lots of potential Jimmy. Hope you find a bunch of loot there. HH

 

[twister]

Sounds great Jim. Good Luck

HH

Twister

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Hey Jimmy, do you know of a site where you can view the area via satellite pics? I'm fortunate as I have a site to view all of Bavaria via satellite pics, semi decent, it helps a bit when surveying a site but not much. Sometimes I can make out where a building once stood. HH, Mike

 

[lonewolfe]

Sounds great Jim, cant wait to see what you find!

HH

lonewolfe

 

[b1pw3ha]

Time to equip the weedeater!!

 

[Monty]

Photos of what I found.

 

[JakePhelps]

Keep tryin, that shell is a good find!

 

[dudes2112]

I think that shell may very well be a good indication of good stuff to come. Nice detective work!!

Dudes

 

[buudman]

JIM SOUNDS LIKE A REAL GOOD SITE. KEEP US POSTED.
BUD