Monty
Gold Member
- Jan 26, 2005
- 10,746
- 166
- Detector(s) used
- ACE 250, Garrett
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I got permission to detect on and around property that was once a textile mill, commonly referred to here as simply the "Cotton Mill". Although I have driven by it for years I never realized just how huge the building is! It's about twice the length of a football field and twice as wide. I looked inside and saw that the steel roofing was mostly rotted through and the metal beams and wooden reinforcement was rotted or rusted. I couild see all manner of fallen debris laying about on the floor. Not a place I would want to be inside without at least steel toed shoes and a hardhat They use to take ginned cotton and make it into thread and then spin it into linen on huge looms. From the early 1920's up until it's closure in 1964 nearly evryone in town had worked for the Cotton Mill at one time or another. It employed several teens during the summer months and assured the survival of several families during the Great Depression. It was built and owned by the Sand Springs Home Trust, a trust set up by a wealthy philanthrophist mainly to support widows and orphans.
The area was so huge I didn't really have a plan so I thought I would just hit a few likely spots and kinda' get the lay of the land so to speak. The most likely ara was an area where a large brick add on had been demolished in the late 1960's. I got plenty of "hot" hits bit ot was almost impossible to dig because of burried debris. I'd get a hit at 6" and dig down four and hit a brick pile that I couldn't dig through with a mere trowel, or I'd hit a huge hunk of burried 2X6 lumber, etc. Apparently they buried a lot of the debris instead of hauling it off. You'd need a pick axe, shovel and maddox to penetrate most of that area.
I didn't really find anything worthwhile but as I said I was mostly just exploring and doing a little research. Perhaps a more promising site will be what was known as Mill Row, housing owned by the Mill that was demolished in the 1970's. The street is still there and you can tell where the houses use to sit. There is also a parking lot where the "brass" use to park their cars that looks good . Unfortunately it is now bermuda grass grown up through gravel which will be very hard to dig. I am goig to seek some help and plot out the old housing area and work it methodically. I plan to hit the parking lot a a few times and for sure the area around the old break room and canteen. The grounds keeper told me that there is also a parcel of lan on one end that has never been disturbed since before or after the mill was in operation. He also told lme the property was for sale and if it didn't sell soon it may be demolished. I don't know about that since demolition would run ilnto a couple of million $$$ or more! There may be some artifiacts in this area? Dang, it seems I have too many sites to hunt now and was once woried about not having a place to detect!
The area was so huge I didn't really have a plan so I thought I would just hit a few likely spots and kinda' get the lay of the land so to speak. The most likely ara was an area where a large brick add on had been demolished in the late 1960's. I got plenty of "hot" hits bit ot was almost impossible to dig because of burried debris. I'd get a hit at 6" and dig down four and hit a brick pile that I couldn't dig through with a mere trowel, or I'd hit a huge hunk of burried 2X6 lumber, etc. Apparently they buried a lot of the debris instead of hauling it off. You'd need a pick axe, shovel and maddox to penetrate most of that area.
I didn't really find anything worthwhile but as I said I was mostly just exploring and doing a little research. Perhaps a more promising site will be what was known as Mill Row, housing owned by the Mill that was demolished in the 1970's. The street is still there and you can tell where the houses use to sit. There is also a parking lot where the "brass" use to park their cars that looks good . Unfortunately it is now bermuda grass grown up through gravel which will be very hard to dig. I am goig to seek some help and plot out the old housing area and work it methodically. I plan to hit the parking lot a a few times and for sure the area around the old break room and canteen. The grounds keeper told me that there is also a parcel of lan on one end that has never been disturbed since before or after the mill was in operation. He also told lme the property was for sale and if it didn't sell soon it may be demolished. I don't know about that since demolition would run ilnto a couple of million $$$ or more! There may be some artifiacts in this area? Dang, it seems I have too many sites to hunt now and was once woried about not having a place to detect!
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