Has anyone detected, successfully, old abandoned roads??

[texan connection]

If there was a old bridge there there was a old campsight where the bridge builders would have set up tents and such for the crews, If it was B-4 traveling was easier in cars , and wasent close to a populated area

 

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[Gilligan]

As many have already stated, YES, old roads are great spots, my son and I have many many miles of walking old stage roads and other old roads of South Jersey since the 1980's and have done quite well.
One thing I will mention that has not been addressed.

Back in 1989 or so, my son was home from college and we went detecting to a known old homestead and it was a few blocks of walking on an old road before we would reach the homestead area. While walking there I got a reading in the middle of the road. Since my son and I always compared readings when we could, before I dug, I had him check out the reading. Well, he could not pick up a signal at all!

At the time I was using a newer Garrett GTA1000 and he was using a Freedom Ace. The difference in depth detection was obvious. It was that particular find I got that day that made him decide to buy a GTA1000 also. After that his finds did increase dramatically due to having a better detector and also increased knowledge on where and how to hunt. Oh, the coin I found that day was a 1773 Virginia Halfpenny. It was about 8+ inches down.

I have since that time found quite a few more coins and buttons that have been very deep, in fact, other than beach hunting, the deepest coins I have ever recovered in unploughed dirt has been from road hunting.

So, I do recommend having a detector that goes deep for road hunting and also go very slow, since deeper readings are easier to miss.

Don

Thanks Don. I recently got a Minelab Sovereign with a 10 inch coil. I am quite confident, from the times I have used it, that it is quite a capable detector and is great on depth. I will be sure and leave a post when I hunt the road. I kind of doubt it has ever been hunted. I guess that I will leave the post under the General Discussion forum, as I had 2 of my posts bumped there from Todays Finds. I forget that I am on the Todays Finds forum sometimes because I am beginning to feel part of the Todays Finds community and I forget my topic should be listed elsewhere. Take care Don, Bryan

 

[IndianaSmith]

Check the area for fords as well, where they'd actually crossed the water. Main roadways (back then) usually followed well-used trails, so that particular "path" could have been in use long before.

Smitty

 

[Skrimpy]

I would think that just simply being an old road, would not be enough. Seems you'd need to know where people stopped . Ie.: camp/stop spots, road-side business, water stops, etc.... JMHO.

You're right Tom but if the road is old enough and close enough to a city it was well traveled, just like sidewalks (the reason sidewalk tear ups are always good spots). If you can find a bridge, old foundation, geological formation of interest, or anything else that would indicate ANY foot traffic more than one person a day, you are bound to find lots of stuff especially if it's old and long forgotten.

 

[bcboy]

So far on the old roads around my area ive found alot of the older square nails from the 1800's. Im thinking they are probabley from the old stage coaches and loosened over time and fell out. Cheers!

 

[fatsmahoney]

Ive detected old roads and have done well look for cuts in the bank along the edge of the road could be a possible trail or an entrance to a homestead also look for types of ivy or myrtle growing along the road as this is not a native plant often planted around old homes squint your eyes and scan the area and look for larger trees that may form straight lines this is a good ways to imagine the area a long time ago

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Another thing to look for is a divided section of the roadway. In the days of old, many stage roads were not wide enough to accomodate two passing stage coaches. Drivers knew to wait on the divided portion for the oncoming stage coach scheduled to come from the opposite direction. These early divided highways allowed the drivers to pull over and wait, while giving weary passengers a chance to stretch their legs, or rest on a log, stone or on the ground while waiting. The picture below illustrates such a divided road.

 

[Jeffro]

My brother in law has sucessfully hunted an old road of sorts.... one of the wagon trails that came off the old Oregon trail. He found a few artifacts and relics, and the team did find some coins and such. It was pretty exciting for them, even though it wasn't worth much monetarily. I guess it depends on what you consider successful.

Best of luck out there, I hope you are successful!

 

[Gilligan]

Another thing to look for is a divided section of the roadway. In the days of old, many stage roads were not wide enough to accomodate two passing stage coaches. Drivers knew to wait on the divided portion for the oncoming stage coach scheduled to come from the opposite direction. These early divided highways allowed the drivers to pull over and wait, while giving weary passengers a chance to stretch their legs, or rest on a log, stone or on the ground while waiting. The picture below illustrates such a divided road.

Thanks Neil, funny you mention that. Your comments reminded me that there was a portion of the road that was strange. I will explain: This dirt road presently is about 40' wide with 1 1/2' raised sides, like it was cut out. The road itself is mainly flat, yet there was one section closer to where the original bridge sat, that has a northern part of the road that appears to have wagon ruts, kind up deep, for perhaps 30 or 40' long. I hadn't thought of that fact until you made your comment. I don't know what kind of sign this might be. Perhaps it was part of the original road, because I think this road goes back to the time of the bridge, late 1700's. I am sure it was a wagon trail then of course. I will see what I come up with this morning, I can't wait. There is so much area to cover that it will take numerous trips to get a good feel for the area. Thanks for your comments, Bryan

 

[Don in SJ]

Neil's post reminded me of one more thing, most old roads in this area that are now modern roads did not exactly follow the current road, usually the newer roads are straighter, so if you know an road shows say on an old map and a paved road is currently there, still consider looking off both sides of the road to see if the original road was not exactly under the current road. Best time to look for old roads is in winter of course and if in an area where it snows, when there is a few inches of snow on the ground, the old roads sometimes stand out like a sore thumb but when no snow is there, they might be difficult to find.

Don

 

[Gilligan]

Busted

I went this morning and got frustrated in the brush and leaves. I found some unidentified metal pieces, but just found myself getting frustrated in the brush. There is so much area to cover. I think I need more patience.....or a better road. Bryan

 

[joecoin]

Re: Busted

I went this morning and got frustrated in the brush and leaves. I found some unidentified metal pieces, but just found myself getting frustrated in the brush. There is so much area to cover. I think I need more patience.....or a better road. Bryan

This is just the sort of spot you want. If it is difficult, it means other people have given up or never even tried.

Sound like a job for a brush hog, chainsaw and heavy duty weed eater.

 

[Gilligan]

Re: Busted

I went this morning and got frustrated in the brush and leaves. I found some unidentified metal pieces, but just found myself getting frustrated in the brush. There is so much area to cover. I think I need more patience.....or a better road. Bryan

This is just the sort of spot you want. If it is difficult, it means other people have given up or never even tried.

Sound like a job for a brush hog, chainsaw and heavy duty weed eater.

Thanks for the encouragement. I need to get my butt back in there sometime.