Mystery House Journal

[robertk]

Just about the time I got my new Deus II, I was looking at an old map of my neighborhood and discovered that in 1940, there was a house sitting in what is now my front yard. This surprised me greatly, so I started hunting old photos and found a 1955 aerial photo, with no trace of the house. So it was there sometime before 1940 to get "on the map", but was completely vanished by 1955.

So I worked out the distances from the old map and got a good guess to where the house was, and started hunting. I quickly discovered that my entire front yard is littered with iron.

I don't know when the house was built, but I'm assuming mid to late 1800's. So far I haven't found anything with a date on it, but what little I have found seems to back up those dates.

So I'm starting this thread to post interesting things, mostly for feedback as I try to understand the history of those who were here before I was. Here's some of the stuff I've found so far. Any comments on what they are, or what they are used for, are welcome.

This was identified (thanks to this board!) as a suspender adjuster, pre-1920.


And this one is part of a victorian bed rail attachment.


This one is a spoon, obviously. Silver plated, well worn. I haven't found an exact match on the pattern and I can't quite read the maker's mark, but the stuff I find that's close is in the early 1880's. Interestingly, I found this standing vertically in the ground, big end down. It took some digging to extract it.



I've also found a few shotgun shell end caps. At first I ignored these thinking they were just trash from a careless modern hunter, but after investigating, these are from around 1900 (Union Metal Cartridge Company, "New Club" style, produced between 1891 and 1911).


And some iron stuff...



I've found several of those square nuts. They look like they might be blacksmith-made because while the hole diameter is pretty consistent, the size and thickness of the nut itself varies quite a bit. And that thing that looks like a telegraph insulator is a mystery -- iron wouldn't make a very good insulator.

Then there's this partial plate -- quarter inch thick and heavy. Maybe a stove part?



And then there's this thing.

It's about 8" diameter, about an inch thick, with a 1/4" "rim" around one side, totally flat on the other. And it's heavy -- weighing exactly 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs) in its current state. No obvious handle or anything to indicate use.

So there's what I know so far. I will post more as I discover it...

 

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[robertk]

Neat! I guess you can tell I don't know a lot about horses. Which is kinda funny since they were and are pretty common around here, I just never dealt with them much personally.

Here's the latest round of finds:

Some square nuts, including a huge one, some bolts, a couple of pieces of railroad spike, a horseshoe, that strange bar with the two nubs sticking off of it, that strange thing that looks like an iron necktie, and a few non-iron things.

This is part of a harmonica comb. I don't know quite how I knew that, but I looked it up and that's it alright. Probably brass.


Then there were a few bullets, a couple look fired, and then this one seems unfired. I also found a brass shell casing with no markings that is the same size as the bullet, though they were not found together. The shell casing is weird -- it's bigger than a .22 but smaller than a .38, so maybe like a .32 or something? And it's rimfire. There's no primer, and a slight ding in one side of the rim just like you'd expect from a rimfire. Too bad there's no markings to tell who made it.


And finally, this thing. It appears to have a pin at the top of the cutout, so I'm thinking probably a latch of some kind. If that pin were a pivot and you rotated it, that opening would catch and hold a pin or bar like a latch. But I don't know what it would have come from or been used for.


We finally got a little rain overnight, maybe that will make the digging a little easier. I've been going out from the middle of the area to try to figure out the edges of the field, and it's considerable bigger than I thought -- I get signals (mostly recognizably iron) over an area that is probably fifty yards in either direction. This could keep me busy for a long time. I'm guessing the middle of the area close to the road is where the house (or whatever was here) sat, because that area covered with small trees and has much fewer signals in it.

 

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[robertk]

More finds. First the whole pile with the usual crazy iron bits, then the better stuff...



There's a buckle, a bullet, a shell casing, and then these things:


I'm guessing suspender clip, a button, and what I'm guessing are also buttons but they look kinda like cuff links (shown front and back). One is smashed, but the other still retains its spool-like shape. They are different sizes so probably not a pair.

And last but not least, this thing (shown front and back):


I have no clue what this is -- opinions welcomed. It is just under 5/8" in diameter and 3/8" tall. If I had to guess at composition I would say it's copper that's filled with lead. It's heavy. The rounded face has several striations and there are "hash marks" at regular intervals around the start of the curve. I don't think it's a bullet (too big, and I don't think copper jackets were a thing back then), but I don't know what it is either.

Edit: I guess it's possible that last thing might be a bullet, but it seems unlikely. From what I could find, copper jackets were first invented in the 1880s, and I imagine widespread adoption would have taken a while. But I found a site with some 19th century bullet images, one of which looks just like this thing except it's lead without any copper. So maybe?

 

[Whynotnow?]

More finds. First the whole pile with the usual crazy iron bits, then the better stuff...

View attachment 2089874

There's a buckle, a bullet, a shell casing, and then these things:

View attachment 2089873 View attachment 2089872 View attachment 2089871
I'm guessing suspender clip, a button, and what I'm guessing are also buttons but they look kinda like cuff links (shown front and back). One is smashed, but the other still retains its spool-like shape. They are different sizes so probably not a pair.

And last but not least, this thing (shown front and back):

View attachment 2089870 View attachment 2089869
I have no clue what this is -- opinions welcomed. It is just under 5/8" in diameter and 3/8" tall. If I had to guess at composition I would say it's copper that's filled with lead. It's heavy. The rounded face has several striations and there are "hash marks" at regular intervals around the start of the curve. I don't think it's a bullet (too big, and I don't think copper jackets were a thing back then), but I don't know what it is either.

Edit: I guess it's possible that last thing might be a bullet, but it seems unlikely. From what I could find, copper jackets were first invented in the 1880s, and I imagine widespread adoption would have taken a while. But I found a site with some 19th century bullet images, one of which looks just like this thing except it's lead without any copper. So maybe?

Your mystery item looks like a lead shotgun slug. Your other bullet in the previous post looks like some kind of civil war era carbine, or maybe pistol cartridge. Hard to know without the exact size.

 

[robertk]

Your mystery item looks like a lead shotgun slug. Your other bullet in the previous post looks like some kind of civil war era carbine, or maybe pistol cartridge. Hard to know without the exact size.

That I can do.

The "slug" is 0.615" diameter by 0.445" tall and weighs 17 grams (262 grains) -- so maybe a 20 gauge slug? It really does look like it has a copper jacket on it (especially on the back, where that "torn" edge is), which seems unusual.


The small bullet is indeed 0.32" in diameter by 0.555" tall and weighs 5 grams (77 grains). The cartridge it appears to have come from is 0.377" diameter by 0.743" tall, with the base being 0.427" diameter. Based on this wikipedia page, it's a pretty close match for .32 Long (1868), though not quite -- the case is too long to be a short, but too short to be a long.

 

[robertk]

Just a quick hunt yesterday. Another square nut, a railroad spike, another button just like the one the other day, a smashed up unrecognizable thing (not iron, doesn't seem like brass, not sure what it is, maybe pewter or something). And one leg from a cast iron stove. It's a bit hard to see in the photo but it is decorated with a crane or flamingo or some similar kind of bird. I tried searching to see if I could find out what kind and vintage of stove it came from, but couldn't get anywhere. Does anyone know?





I kinda hope the other 3 legs are out there. I've found so many oddly shaped cast iron pieces, I'm tempted to see if they can fit together and reassemble something.

Edit: It is interesting that I find so many full or partial railroad spikes. There is a railroad that passes near here that was built in 1872. I wonder if the house was here before the railroad, or if it came after. Or maybe the house came because of the railroad. Probably no way to know, but interesting to think about.

 

[Whynotnow?]

Nice hunting, based on the measurements, I think your smaller bullet is probably civilian. Dont take my word for it though I have no idea what I'm talking about and there are way smarter people than me on here. Hopefully somone can chime in on it for you.

 

[Silver Saver]

Nice assortment of relics. Seems like plenty of targets to dig up, gotta be some coins hidden in there!

 

[robertk]

A few more things from last night:


That huge thing I'm guessing is part of a horse rigging or something. A horseshoe and a half, some nails and random iron pieces, a loop, a buckle, a small brass clip of some sort, and a whatsit.

The buckle is interesting because it is attached to an iron loop. I've not seen one like it before. Something else for horses, maybe?


The whatsit is a new one. It's heavy, and kinda looks like an extra long bullet, but I don't see how it could be. It has an indentation in one end, but I don't think it's hollow or a tube. It's quite heavy. It also seems like it has a groove around one end and a ridge around the other, but it's hard to tell with all the rust. A search for similar images shows me lots of civil war artillery projectiles, but this is too small to be one of those. It is 2.037" long by 0.73" diameter. Does anyone know what this might be?



And last but certainly not least, I was moving even slower than usual since I had some spectators. These two little fawns stayed out there with me the whole time. They alternated between laying down and grazing. At one point I stood up to fill a hole and they came over almost to my feet to investigate -- probably about ten or fifteen feet from me when I got this picture. They probably would have gotten closer, but my detector was leaning against my hip and after taking the picture it fell and startled them so they backed off a ways, but they still stayed in the yard until I left.

 

[Silver Saver]

Curious little fellas!

 

[robertk]

A short hunt last night with a couple of oddities.

Along with the obligatory railroad spike and some other miscellaneous iron, there's a shotgun shell headstamp (illegible), a huge brass "staple", an iron bracket of some sort, and something that looks like maybe a door.

The bracket thing almost looks like a pipe bracket, but it's solid on one end, so wouldn't do much good to hold a pipe. Plus the odd curvature seems unnecessary for that purpose. But I don't know what the purpose was, either. Does anyone know? Here is front and back.


The toughest dig of the day was this guy (front and back):

This was down a foot or more under a bunch of heavy rocks that were very tightly wedged in. I'm guessing it was buried that way because there was actually a hollow air space under and between the rocks, which seemed strange and made me all the more determined to dig up whatever was under there. And this is what it was. It looks to me like a door. Attached at the top via that hole? The little nub at the bottom looks like it has a hole through it, so it could have had a wire or handle or hook or something attached to lift it. It appears to be cast iron, pretty heavy. It has lettering on the center of the front that looks like "M-9". I'm pretty sure about the M and the 9, but the dash is iffy, since it is more of a curve than a straight line. Any guesses on what it is? My wife thinks maybe the ash door for a cast iron stove, or possibly an odd waffle iron?

 

[Silver Saver]

I'm no good with relic IDs. First thought was a press of some kind, but also has the look of a door. I did get a chuckle out of "obligatory railroad spike" though.

 

[Almy]

Quite a saga! Thanks for posting. It lends a lot of interest when it is your own property. The broken iron pieces, scatter of targets and rock below earth suggest filling and bulldozing. There may have been a barn or barn and shop there, based on the type of articles. You still may find something with a more specific date than you have so far.

 

[ToddsPoint]

The depression you mentioned filled with rocks might be a filled in outhouse. If so that’s where your bottles would be found.

 

[robertk]

The depression you mentioned filled with rocks might be a filled in outhouse. If so that’s where your bottles would be found.

I guess that's possible. Seems a bit large for that, but maybe. I also thought maybe root cellar. I guess the only way to know is dig. Surprisingly, that idea doesn't seem to freak my wife out the way I thought it might. It probably helps that she came out to watch the recovery of that mystery door or plate or whatever it is from a couple of night ago, and she could see the rocks and the hollows between them and the mystery of it all was kinda exciting. "Worth the dig", as she put it.

 

[relicmeister]

Typical turn of the century house it looks to me. 1880’s - 1900

 

[robertk]

OK now I'm convinced the depression is a cellar hole. Still could be something else, I guess, but there are a few reasons I'm thinking that. I read an article or blog or something the other day about cellar holes and it said they are often a square depression that will be surrounded by lots of iron nails. That's definitely true in my case -- the depression is eight to ten feet square, and I've pulled a bunch of nails out around the edges, but none in the middle (yet?).

But what really convinced me is a find last night. Still just rusty old iron, but it's of the interesting sort. Here it is, just out of the ground:



Unless I'm mistaken, that's part of a cast iron wood cookstove. That part sits between the circular "burners" on the top of the stove.

This was recovered from the depression, about a foot and a half down. I'm kinda surprised I picked it up that deep, honestly, but it was a strong and solid signal, with a VDI of 68. Much like the possible ash door I recovered the other night, this was under a bunch of rocks that were wedged in and I had to remove one at a time to get down to it. Lots of air space under the rocks, and seemed to be more so the deeper I went.

But here's the fun part, and the reason I think it must be a cellar hole, and the reason that now even my wife says "dig it up". I think the rest of the stove may be down there too. When I pulled this part out, I re-checked the hole. Same strong signal still present. I checked the hole again with the pinpointer, and I get tone at the sides, where the edges of this was. I cleared a couple more rocks, and I can see a metal edge, rounded in the opposite direction, in the same plane that this was laying. And there's a larger metal bulge beneath that. I can't see enough of it yet to say whether it's the rest of the stove or just some random iron thing, but the orientation and proximity make me think the two pieces are related.

So now I have a larger project, digging slow and careful and removing what is probably a large pile of rocks, just to see what's at the bottom of this hole. I ran out of daylight yesterday, but this will be my "little bit at a time" project for the next few days.

This also makes me think "house" more than "barn". Who puts a cellar at the barn? (Or an outhouse either, for that matter, if I'm wrong about it being a cellar.). I was thinking about all the horse related finds and how that made me want to think "barn", but that's only because of my modern perspective. Back in those days, they used horses like we use cars, so having horse stuff near the house doesn't really seem like it would be unusual.

I'm thinking if it was a house, it must predate the businessman who I found used to own this place. He moved here in 1907, but the house he had is now on the neighbor's property. And the artifacts I've found so far date earlier than that, more like late 1800's. So I guess I have to dig back to whoever owned it before that. Fun stuff.

The mystery deepens as the digging continues....

 

[pepperj]

Here are some more finds from yesterday. A few interesting things. First the whole lot, then some close ups.

View attachment 2088847

A piece of a railroad spike, what I think are some stove parts, a nut, a small "ring", a tool, some random metal bits, and a weird little piece of copper.

The spoon looks like another silver-plated one, with almost all the plating worn off except a little right at the bottom of the handle. There are no makers marks on the back at all. That little deformation on the lower right is probably from me hitting it with the shovel. Whoops. I tried comparing it to pattern lists online and the closest thing I could find is the "eighteen sixty seven" pattern by W.M. Rogers, but the lower part of the handle is different, so maybe an off brand knock off or something. Too bad there isn't a maker's mark on it.
View attachment 2088854

The little "ring" is about the size of a dime, and with protrusions on both sides, I don't think it's any sort of jewelry. So I don't know what it is.

View attachment 2088855

The bigger ring is another unknown. The two "arms" are solid bars, with rounded "knobs" at the ends, but the middle stem appears to be two heavy strands or wires, twisted together around the ring. The twisting is very tight, I don't think it was designed to move.
View attachment 2088848

The big piece looks to be cast iron, about 6" diameter, heavy, with a "rim" on one side, and an indentation with a "pocket" on the other. It was found fairly close to the little "tool". Here is front and back of the cast iron thing:

View attachment 2088853 View attachment 2088852

And here is front and side view of the tool.
View attachment 2088851 View attachment 2088850

The tool has a hole in the center, so I wonder if was attached to longer wooden handle in its day. I don't know for sure that the tool was intended to be used with the cast iron thing, but it does fit perfectly in the little "pocket" and would let you lever it up to lift or move it if it were hot (I'm thinking some kind of burner plate on a stove or something)?

View attachment 2088849

Finally, that little "pebble" in the lower left of the overall photo looks sort of reddish orange, so I'm thinking copper. It is definitely metal, and the target ID looked like copper. It's flat on one side and domed on the other, like a drop of molten metal that hit the floor and cooled. Strange.

Still no coins, but still interesting.

The picture below the spoon is a watch winder-nice recovery.

 

[pepperj]

More finds. First the whole pile with the usual crazy iron bits, then the better stuff...

View attachment 2089874

There's a buckle, a bullet, a shell casing, and then these things:

View attachment 2089873 View attachment 2089872 View attachment 2089871
I'm guessing suspender clip, a button, and what I'm guessing are also buttons but they look kinda like cuff links (shown front and back). One is smashed, but the other still retains its spool-like shape. They are different sizes so probably not a pair.

And last but not least, this thing (shown front and back):

View attachment 2089870 View attachment 2089869
I have no clue what this is -- opinions welcomed. It is just under 5/8" in diameter and 3/8" tall. If I had to guess at composition I would say it's copper that's filled with lead. It's heavy. The rounded face has several striations and there are "hash marks" at regular intervals around the start of the curve. I don't think it's a bullet (too big, and I don't think copper jackets were a thing back then), but I don't know what it is either.

Edit: I guess it's possible that last thing might be a bullet, but it seems unlikely. From what I could find, copper jackets were first invented in the 1880s, and I imagine widespread adoption would have taken a while. But I found a site with some 19th century bullet images, one of which looks just like this thing except it's lead without any copper. So maybe?

The spool looking item is a pack/leather rivet. Common type rivet used back in the day on leather straps, harnesses, or anything else that needed riveting together.

 

[pepperj]

Just a quick hunt yesterday. Another square nut, a railroad spike, another button just like the one the other day, a smashed up unrecognizable thing (not iron, doesn't seem like brass, not sure what it is, maybe pewter or something). And one leg from a cast iron stove. It's a bit hard to see in the photo but it is decorated with a crane or flamingo or some similar kind of bird. I tried searching to see if I could find out what kind and vintage of stove it came from, but couldn't get anywhere. Does anyone know?

View attachment 2089950

View attachment 2089951

I kinda hope the other 3 legs are out there. I've found so many oddly shaped cast iron pieces, I'm tempted to see if they can fit together and reassemble something.

Edit: It is interesting that I find so many full or partial railroad spikes. There is a railroad that passes near here that was built in 1872. I wonder if the house was here before the railroad, or if it came after. Or maybe the house came because of the railroad. Probably no way to know, but interesting to think about.

Stove leg (pot belly)

 

[pepperj]

OK now I'm convinced the depression is a cellar hole. Still could be something else, I guess, but there are a few reasons I'm thinking that. I read an article or blog or something the other day about cellar holes and it said they are often a square depression that will be surrounded by lots of iron nails. That's definitely true in my case -- the depression is eight to ten feet square, and I've pulled a bunch of nails out around the edges, but none in the middle (yet?).

But what really convinced me is a find last night. Still just rusty old iron, but it's of the interesting sort. Here it is, just out of the ground:

View attachment 2090951

Unless I'm mistaken, that's part of a cast iron wood cookstove. That part sits between the circular "burners" on the top of the stove.

This was recovered from the depression, about a foot and a half down. I'm kinda surprised I picked it up that deep, honestly, but it was a strong and solid signal, with a VDI of 68. Much like the possible ash door I recovered the other night, this was under a bunch of rocks that were wedged in and I had to remove one at a time to get down to it. Lots of air space under the rocks, and seemed to be more so the deeper I went.

But here's the fun part, and the reason I think it must be a cellar hole, and the reason that now even my wife says "dig it up". I think the rest of the stove may be down there too. When I pulled this part out, I re-checked the hole. Same strong signal still present. I checked the hole again with the pinpointer, and I get tone at the sides, where the edges of this was. I cleared a couple more rocks, and I can see a metal edge, rounded in the opposite direction, in the same plane that this was laying. And there's a larger metal bulge beneath that. I can't see enough of it yet to say whether it's the rest of the stove or just some random iron thing, but the orientation and proximity make me think the two pieces are related.

So now I have a larger project, digging slow and careful and removing what is probably a large pile of rocks, just to see what's at the bottom of this hole. I ran out of daylight yesterday, but this will be my "little bit at a time" project for the next few days.

This also makes me think "house" more than "barn". Who puts a cellar at the barn? (Or an outhouse either, for that matter, if I'm wrong about it being a cellar.). I was thinking about all the horse related finds and how that made me want to think "barn", but that's only because of my modern perspective. Back in those days, they used horses like we use cars, so having horse stuff near the house doesn't really seem like it would be unusual.

I'm thinking if it was a house, it must predate the businessman who I found used to own this place. He moved here in 1907, but the house he had is now on the neighbor's property. And the artifacts I've found so far date earlier than that, more like late 1800's. So I guess I have to dig back to whoever owned it before that. Fun stuff.

The mystery deepens as the digging continues....

On the historical map atlas in Ontario it showed a square which meant a building, what type is always a ?

Given the amount of iron from the recoveries I would of thought barn.

Now with the watch winder, harmonic reed, suspender strap, stove parts it's looking a lot like a house also.

The stone could very well be the stone foundation rubble from either the barn or the house.
Cellar hole-lets just fill the hole up with the all this stone and bits and pieces of stuff.

Have had lots of permissions where the farmer stated that there was an old house/barn sitting right over there, and we dug a hole in the field and buried it.

Sites like that just keep giving as the stuff moves in the soils with frosts.