Mining Camp Relics - Need ID!

[Old Pueblo]

Can anyone put a date on this old bottle and key, and maybe tell me what these bottles were used for? Its very thin, has bubbles, and is turning purple. And what is that rusty square thing? Anyone recognize it? And thats an old miner's tag I threw in just to show.

 

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[Obsessive]

Those are some cool looking finds. Don't know what the square metal thing is, but it reminds me of a modern lumber truss of sorts, the kind you nail over two adjoining pieces of wood.

 

[PikesPeakCharlie]

You pill bottle has a ground top and dates to the 1890s

 

[Anduril]

Independent Lock Co. - Fitchburg, MA
a/k/a: ILCO

Check your keyring. You may find an ILCO key on it!
Nice finds!!

 

[DCMatt]

The square piece could be hardware from a wooden screen door.

 

[Old Pueblo]

You pill bottle has a ground top and dates to the 1890s

Wow, thats great. I knew it was old, but I didnt think 1890s. I found it on top of a garbage dump (on the surface), going over the side of the hill. Literally every other bottle was smashed into pieces, including some really nice ones, excepting this one, of course. I was shocked when I found it.

 

[DCMatt]

Literally every other bottle was smashed into pieces, including some really nice ones,

I feel your pain. A number of years ago I found the old Methodist Camp Meeting grounds bottle dump (1870's - 1920's). It was obvious some kid's had been there more than once and smashed nearly every bottle in the pile (which was pretty large...). Ironically, the only good bottle I found was a 1915ish whiskey flask - no doubt tossed there by some repenting Methodist.