Found some old structures

[Vingamel]

In doing research, I found that a road that leads into our neighborhood and ends at a farm used to continue on into the woods for several miles. Over the weekend, I hiked where I thought the road used to be. After about a mile, I started to second guess my research. Where the road should be, there were a lot of mature trees. But then I realized the map showing this road was 70 years old, so I kept hiking further.

In the first creek, I found an odd structure built right on the creek bed. Downstream from this concrete structure, water flowed freely, and it first looked like a wall built across the creek. I climbed to the top and found it was triangular in shape, and its roof was level with the creek upstream. No water flowed above the structure, so it appeared to be some kind of spring or well. In the roof was a square hole leading down into the structure's hollow interior. I did a thorough metal detecting of the structure and surrounding area, but found nothing.

I continued my hike, and again wondered if I'd lost the road. After about two more miles, I came upon a larger creek in a wide valley, and there stood a beautiful, old bridge. At one place, the bridge had collapsed, and the place you could cross was only about 18 inches wide. About two feet of dirt and moss covered the bridge, and several trees were growing from it. The bridge was only just wide enough for a car to drive on, IF the driver was very careful. There was no trash in the area, so I figure not many folks had been back there in the last few decades. Again, I found no metal of interest, but along the creek I found evidence of arrowhead production in a large bed of flint and chert.

Anyway, not a productive hunt for my metal detector, but I did find some cool things this weekend.

 

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[Kent in AL]

Sounds promising. Keep walking the road and look for old homesites. Not sure where you are but around here it seems every old homeplace had buttercups planted. When the weather warms up each year the buttercups still pop up and bloom even if the house has been gone for decades. You can drive along in the spring and see some in the middle of a pasture and know there was a home there years ago. If this is true in your area go back when this happens and see if you can spot some.

Kent

 

[czman]

Keep looking there is paydirt there...too good of a place to leave and not work...wish you luck...Don

 

[Vingamel]

I already knew about one homestead, but it's at least a mile from the spring, and even further from the bridge. Like you all, I think there should be some other homesteads nearer to these structures. I'll go looking, once my body stops complaining about the hike.

Good tips, thanks.

 

[BRD]

Vingamel,
Sounds like you found a very interesting and promising area. Like Kent says, look for old homesites. Here, in the Houston, Texas area, I always look for old crape myrtle trees and jonquil flowers. Seems like every country home had some of these. Also, look for a clump of large trees with an open space in the center. This many times signals an old homesite. You probably have shrubs and flowers in your area that most old homesteads had, also. Keep looking, you might hit the jackpot!
Keep us posted.
BRD

 

[Vingamel]

Sure enough, the homestead I do know about has lilies near the road. I think they're the flowers with the pinkish/lavender blooms. The vegetation stays around all winter. I'll keep a close eye on jonquils this spring. Right now, since it's still winter, I was looking more for odd depressions or rises in the ground, or abundance of similarly sized stones (ooh, that's a mouthful).

 

[omnicognic]

That first structure sounds like a mill! maybe try the edges of the road and each end of the bridge, look around the first structure(mill) in the woods for an old stump or spot where a large tree could have been for possible cache! just suggestions! great finds! 8)

 

[treasure_lady]

Neat places to hunt! I'm sure there is some goodies to be found there! Keep us posted!

 

[Vingamel]

Unless the waterflow was a lot bigger in the past, I don't think this is a mill. The creek bed is narrow, and the water flow is only about an inch deep. I'll get the pictures developed and share them.

 

[psarci]

That sounds like a promising site. Can't wait to see the pics.

 

[treasurekidd]

Sounds like you've got great area, and it'll provide provide years of fun and lots of great finds! Keep us posted, I'm dying to hear what else turns up!

 

[swizzle]

Dude try terraserver. It might help you locate fields and old roads that lead to homesteads. Look for annomolies; straight lines, clearings with a thick patch in the middle could be trees in the center of a cellar hole. I've located an old stone wall that looks to be at least a mile long in the middle of a forest. The lines you see might not be perfectly straight either. The stone wall I found is almost a half circle with a strange loop on the end. Let us know what you see and maybe you find a nice spot to poke around. Have fun and don't get lost. I wanna hear if this pans out for you, its pretty interesting. Jason

 

[PJB (Ohio)]

You remind me of a really useful site, swizzle. When I was living in Florida, I used a free state website that has VERY HIGH QUALITY aerial photographs of every square inch of Florida.

Looking through the photos, there are SO MANY abandoned roads and old building sites that can easily be seen from the air. Way more than anyone could possibly explore. It's amazing how fast the flora covers things in Florida.

If you live in Florida, I HIGHLY recommend you check out the site:

http://data.labins.org/2003/index.cfm

Click on "DOQQ" (Digital Orthographic Quarter-Quads)

 

[Vingamel]

Oh yeah, Terraserver. I spend WAY too much time on Terraserver. It's funny I didn't see the bridge on the aerial photographs until after I had found it. Then I looked, and sure enough--you can see the bridge over the creek. Now I'm scanning Terraserver for any other tiny, odd looking shapes. But first, the snow has to melt here before I can get out and look some more.