Hello! My introduction and a question!

D

dragonflyguy73

Greenie
Apr 17, 2006
11
2
Amsterdam, New York
Detector(s) used
Whites Prizm IV
Hey everyone! My name's Mark and I'm from Upstate New York. I'm 17 and have been MDing for about 3 years every once in a while. It's almost 6:30 AM and I'm still awake(lol), so I'm going to try to make this short and to the point. I get kind of discouraged because when I go to the library or check topographical maps of my area, I find nothing! I mean I know what to look for, but it seems like every time I do this, nothing really jumps out at me. I mean, I've read what to "look for," but there's something in my process that seems to be missing. I also tend to dismiss privately owned properties quickly, because I'm a very shy and somewhat antisocial person >_< . Anyone have some good tips for a semi-newbie? ???
 

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Welcome Mark

First off, Does your County have a Beers atlas ?

If you not sure, Ask at your Library or do an Internet search.

("Your County Name" County NY beers atlas")

They were printed in the 2nd. half of the 1800's mostly
1860's & 1870's.
They list Houses, Farms, Schools, Churches Etc.

Look on these maps (See Pic Below as Example of 1866 Map) for an area you are familiar with, and Compare where places were as apposed to today.

or here for Clearer Pic

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/saratoga/Saratoga.html
 

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also you could check out the sanborn fire insurance maps from the late 1800s to early 1900s........
 

Great to hear from you, Dragon.

My main resource is also an atlas of my county printed in 1878. My is not Beers, but Howden. Check with your local historical society, too. My hometown historical society has hundreds of old maps.

As far as asking permission goes. Just start out asking people that you know. I don't really like asking permission either, but it's part of the process and it gets easier.

Good luck!
 

I checked on the internet a little, and was able to find one map of Montgomery county (my county) from around 1856. However, the map only shows the general area of a few buildings compared to rivers/some landmarks. It doesn't really go into detail on each map according to each city. I don't think it was a "beer map" though. Would my local library have more in-depth maps that show the locations of certain buildings and places in my city/nearby area more clearly and precisely?

Edit: I recently found a site that has some maps of my city and the surrounding area from different time periods, and have been comparing the one from 1893 to the more current ones, but can't seem to really locate any blank spaces where any buildings originally were. What else should I look for?
 

Also, from what I've seen, Sanborn maps seem like they'd be the best resource to find good spots to detect! However, when I try to browse the maps on this site, it asks for a username/password, but I can't find anywhere to register.

Edit: I did find somewhere that it said in order to see the collection of digital sanborn maps on the internet, that you have to be a member of an institution? I read elsewhere that you just needed to use a computer in ones' library. Can I access the online map collection from a local community colleges' library possibly?
 

when ordering the sanborn maps keep in mind that each one will only cover a few blocks...it might take 10-20 to cover a whole city or area...a while back i posted a link to lewis at. www.utahice.com where you can order the maps about a buck a piece....somewhere along the line he changed his website..i'm not sure of the present web address but it has been posted on this site about a year ago under a sanborn map thread ...you can access the maps at most librarys...google search '' online sanborn maps '' provides many links to them........you need no membership to veiw them or purchase them...i may have posted a university link to them above which is why they ask for username.......the maps to me are one of the very best places to locate old buildings, know what they were, where they were, dimensions, composition, everything..........gldhntr
 

gldhntr said:
when ordering the sanborn maps keep in mind that each one will only cover a few blocks...it might take 10-20 to cover a whole city or area...a while back i posted a link to lewis at. www.utahice.com where you can order the maps about a buck a piece....somewhere along the line he changed his website..i'm not sure of the present web address but it has been posted on this site about a year ago under a sanborn map thread ...you can access the maps at most librarys...google search '' online sanborn maps '' provides many links to them........you need no membership to veiw them or purchase them...i may have posted a university link to them above which is why they ask for username.......the maps to me are one of the very best places to locate old buildings, know what they were, where they were, dimensions, composition, everything..........gldhntr
Click to expand...

I looked it up on Yahoo search, and Lewis' new site is http://www.oldusmaps.com, incase anyone wanted to know.
 

http://www.montgomerycountyny.com/tourism/river.asp

This site seems like it could offer some good general leads to detecting spots. On this page, Lock 33 looks very promising. It's about a 50 minute drive from here, and I need to look into it more, but looks like it may hold some treasures!

As for a lot of the other historical sites on this map, other than some other locks, many of the historical buildings and some locks are privately owned and restored/revived, and of course are off-limits to metal detecting >_<

Need to find some good local history books at the library and hopefully find an accessible picnic grove and other productive places I can still get at. Haven't taken the time to venture to the library yet though, lol.
 

Maps are Not the Only Source you will find in a Library.

Besids Comparing Maps, go to the
Local History Book Collection.

look for Centennial Histories, that were put out during the
150th. , 200 th. celebratin of the towns & Townships in your area.
they usually contain pictures, maps, and stories of carnivals, gypsy camps, medicine shows, where the Ball fields were, the first Schools,
what & where everyone played & fished, Etc.

Read your County Histories. Especially the older ones. they were written when the History was still Fresh in their memories.

Do you have any Old aquaitences ? ask if they know where any
circus's were held, if they ever built cabins in the woods as kids, & were. Kids who have a Hideout/club house etc. have been known to bury small caches, as part of the ritual of Boy Hood.

The Possabilities are Endless. Stop by the Churches & ask if the church has or had a church grove, if there were any Covered Bridges in the area also (Alot went on around Covered Bridges) because if a
Mid summer Rain shower, needed a Quick roof, the covered bridge was
usually it. Not to mention they were great places for Fishing from, Poker Games, Swimming by, Making out, etc. Some even had toll booths.
 

Hey Dragon, if you find an area you think may be promising but it's private property, take the old map with you when you approach the owner for permission. To be honest, I haven't done this but it sounds good. Show the map to the property owner and show him where you think there might be some interesting finds and why you think so. You may get him interested in his own place by showing him something he didn't know about it. Maybe he'll do the digging for you. ;D
 

Right now I'm printing 32 pages, 2 different maps from 1895 and 1945. There goes all my ink! lol. Well, hopefully it'll show me some good spots to detect where there were houses on the old map, but not the newer one. Wish I could find a more recent one that's the same size and has dimensions around the same size compared to the 1895 one.
 

Hiya Mark,

Welcome to TNet, glad to have you here. Everyone has given you some excellent advice, I for one love the history of towns...most will have old maps, pics of old buidlings. As Jeff stated check out the library...local history area. Excellent information!!

Good luck!

;) RR
 

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