bigscoop
Gold Member
- Jun 4, 2010
- 13,535
- 9,072
- Detector(s) used
- Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
As many of you know I've been producing downloads for my internet store which you can access through the provided link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LagoonRiver
Part of this is in preparation of next year's extended treasure hunting adventure that I'll be taking, this website allowing me to continually produce and publish articles of interest during my travels. Most of what I'll be writing about will revolve around the adventures I'm experiencing but I'll also continue to write pieces that are designed to inspire or to plant the seeds of possibilities. All of this will be providing me a means to stay in touch, share my experiences, and also to help pay for some gas from time to time. At just .99 a download I'm certainly not trying to make a killing here.
Recently it was suggested to me that I should post a sample piece of my writing so people could gather a better feel for my writing style and the type of articles that I'll be producing. So here is a sample as requested. Keep in mind that this article is only about 2000 words and that there will be others much longer, also some that will be a bit shorter. Also keep in mind that future articles will have more images and that I even plan to produce some video content once I'm out in the field next year. Hope you enjoy and feedback is always appreciated.
Roads to Riches
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Except for review or promotion, no portion of this text may be reproduced, copied, transmitted, or transferred by any means without the written consent of the author.
Introduction
Most of us drive from point A to point B everyday. In doing so we usually follow known or established routes. When we plan road trips we're usually interested in getting to our destination on the best and safest roads possible. With this in mind we pack the vehicle, fill it with gas, and then we head out onto the open road in route to our selected destination, perhaps a few overnight stops along the way. Guess what, except for the gas and vehicle they use to do the same exact thing back in the day. Maybe we need to take a much better look at things. Could be we're driving over, and past, more lost riches then we could ever hope to find at our intended destination.
Two Rusty Horseshoes
Back in the late 90's I was in the middle of nowhere looking for an old and forgotten roadway. It was a beautiful spring day and the vegetation was just starting to bloom again and I was dying to get outside. Winter research had indicated that there was once an old forgotten roadway between two destinations that had run along the top of a ridge adjacent to a stream. So with a warm sun and mild weather luring me into the field I placed a call to a friend, loaded my day-pack, and I grabbed my metal detector. An hour later we were heading into the forest in route to the targeted ridge.
The interesting thing about this old roadway is that there was quite a long distance between the two destinations and research indicated that passage between the two destinations couldn't be completed in a day. The ridge in question was high and dry and flat on top so it presented a good stopover point for those who were traveling the old road. On top of this flat ridge they could make a comfortable camp for the night with easy access to water. It just seemed a natural place for travelers in the middle to late 1800's to take an extended break so I had decided to start the hunt for that old roadway there, on top of that wide flat ridge.
The initial idea was to locate the old roadway and then to determine its exact course, the logic and hope being that a lot of items would have probably been lost and left behind along this course. I figured if I could find the old roadway and determine its course then perhaps a lot of good hunting could be realized for a number of years. Research had indicated that the old roadway was traveled frequently so who knew what might be found along its course.
For a period of about three years the old roadway had experienced quite a bit of traffic, like a lot of small forgotten towns they had sprung up with great expectations of becoming the next metropolis only to die a familiar death. The two destinations were still somewhat alive but the old roadway had eventually been replaced by a better route, which often happened. Today these two little spits on the landscape represent just a few homes and scattered buildings, the rest of the surrounding landscape being a patchwork of forest and farmland. The stream use to run clear and clean but now it runs stained and its bottom silted over due to the runoff from the stripped farmlands. Such is modernization and progress, they say.
Whenever you enter a hunt such as this you expect to find a lot of pieces of rusted metal and shell casings and we were certainly finding our fair share, though nothing in the form of a dump or what could be described as being trash infested. For the most part the scraps of metal and shell casings were widely scattered and very inconsistent. We also found the occasional broken jar or bottle with the cap still attached, though few of them appeared to be all that old. But it was a beautiful day and only getting warmer so we kept milling about in search of the old roadway.
Finally we found it, an obvious path of sparse overgrowth and younger trees cutting its way through the forest across the top of the ridge. When you stood in the old roadway and traced its course you could see that it had been worn a little lower then the rest of the surrounding ground. There was no doubting that it was the old roadway. In fact it was so obvious we probably would have found it much sooner if we hadn't been metal detecting and lazily probing about.
Now I would love to tell you that once we found the old roadway that we started finding some valuable trinkets but that simply never happened beyond a couple of old coins. However, we did find a lot of interesting items that included a section of old logging chain, several pieces of old iron hardware, a few square nails, a couple of musket balls, some interesting cast iron objects, some old buttons, and even two old horseshoes. Now I know very little about horses or horseshoes but my hunting partner on that day actually raised horses and he told me that those two horseshoes were more of the old oxen variety, whatever that means? I can tell you that they appeared quite large and heavy, and extremely rusty. We even found an old cast iron skillet and a few other interesting items but nothing too earth shattering. And then came the creek crossing.
At one spot in the old roadway it slowly dropped over the ridge and into the creek bed before slowly ascending the ridge on the opposite side. What was so obvious at this creek crossing was the fact that stone had been set in place to provide for a solid bottom. In fact, this stone was laid some thirty feet up both sides of the crossing and this is something that's going to become important later on in this text. Now the stone that was used at this crossing had probably been gathered from the creek but that isn't always the case in some parts of the country and this is something you always need to keep in mind, especially in gold country!
Old Roadways In Gold Country
In gold country we often hear people talking about hunting the old mine tailings in search of leftover gold and there has certainly been a lot of leftover gold found in these tailings, no question about that as it still happens today with fair routine. However, there is some interesting facts about these tailings that a lot of people aren't aware of and yet they should be. Below is an extract from an old book that was published in the 1950's and it provides some valuable information that we should always keep in mind when we consider the potential of old roadways.
"They say that the roadbed between Central City and Russell Gulch, three miles further, is made of gold, for it is surfaced from the dumps that piled up at the old mine properties before extracting processes were very efficient."
When people think of these old roadways that existed in mining country they seldom consider what it took to maintain those roadways. As we learn in the statement above the piled up rock from the old mining operations was often used to lay and maintain those old roadways. This same thing also took place whenever fill was needed for the laying of railroad tracks or wherever rock was required in order to improve upon the existing condition of the ground. And yes, a lot of this took place before more efficient extracting processes came along, so no doubt gold and silver found its way into these old roadbeds and other places where this fill was required.
Several years ago I remember reading about some large pieces of gold ore that were discovered in the runoff underpass below a road as it was being cleaned out. At the time it was believed that the gold had likely washed out of the higher mountains before becoming lodged in the underpass, but did they? Is it possible that the gold had already been there, perhaps part of the original old roadbed and underpass fill that had been brought in from one of the local mining operations?
In Florida it is common knowledge that the old shell mounds were often used as fill for roads, this practice being so common that hardly a shell mound remains anywhere close to its original size, if it still exist at all. Hard to say what else might have been in those old shell mounds that are now part of an old roadbed?
Other Old Roadways
Truth is, the entire country is a spiderweb of old trails and roadways that could be hiding untold riches. In some states, for instance, the term Navigable Waterway can apply to the smallest of creeks simply because its course was followed by early travelers, the term often having nothing to do with the ability to actually float a canoe or raft down the tiny and nearly dry drainage. Something else one needs to consider when looking for old roadways and trails.
Keep in mind that in days of old a roadway, even a popular one, may have been nothing more then a forest trail. During the Civil War entire armies often forged new roads that were only used once or just a few times. In northern Pennsylvania I have access to a property where an old road cuts through its northern extreme, this old roadway having been used during the Revolutionary War and now covered over with trees and undergrowth. I've not hunted this property yet and it's hard to say what might be awaiting me there?
And then one has to consider other old roadways such the Pony Express, the Wells Fargo Stagecoach routes, and many others. The west and southwest is littered with old ghost towns, a lot of the old roadways and trails no longer used or even in existence. Old logging roads also have to be considered, as do a lot of the old Spanish routes and trails that are now all but absorbed into the landscapes. Some of them might be next to impossible to locate but once you do it's hard telling what might be found along their route.
Research! Research! Research!
We hear about the “three R's” of metal detecting and treasure hunting all the time and with good reason. Research is what allows us to locate these old roadways as well as many other types of potential hunting grounds. Without research we are seriously limiting our potential for success. The good news is that a lot of the research has already been provided for us in the form of books and biographies and a host of other materials and resources. So if we do nothing else we do need to read and we need to do a lot of it as there are a lot of excellent resource materials out there.
Curiosity is often what leads someone to a productive location, this same curiosity is also what can result in the forming of new ideas that can lead to productive locations. A lot of times the information we consume won't come into play until we read something else, these combined sources of information allowing us to forge new possibilities that we can investigate further. Through research and knowledge we often form theories that eventually lead us to previously unknown and/or ignored locations. Research is what makes all of this possible, it's what gives us a chance to discover something really special.
Part of this is in preparation of next year's extended treasure hunting adventure that I'll be taking, this website allowing me to continually produce and publish articles of interest during my travels. Most of what I'll be writing about will revolve around the adventures I'm experiencing but I'll also continue to write pieces that are designed to inspire or to plant the seeds of possibilities. All of this will be providing me a means to stay in touch, share my experiences, and also to help pay for some gas from time to time. At just .99 a download I'm certainly not trying to make a killing here.
Recently it was suggested to me that I should post a sample piece of my writing so people could gather a better feel for my writing style and the type of articles that I'll be producing. So here is a sample as requested. Keep in mind that this article is only about 2000 words and that there will be others much longer, also some that will be a bit shorter. Also keep in mind that future articles will have more images and that I even plan to produce some video content once I'm out in the field next year. Hope you enjoy and feedback is always appreciated.
Roads to Riches
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved. Except for review or promotion, no portion of this text may be reproduced, copied, transmitted, or transferred by any means without the written consent of the author.
Introduction
Most of us drive from point A to point B everyday. In doing so we usually follow known or established routes. When we plan road trips we're usually interested in getting to our destination on the best and safest roads possible. With this in mind we pack the vehicle, fill it with gas, and then we head out onto the open road in route to our selected destination, perhaps a few overnight stops along the way. Guess what, except for the gas and vehicle they use to do the same exact thing back in the day. Maybe we need to take a much better look at things. Could be we're driving over, and past, more lost riches then we could ever hope to find at our intended destination.
Two Rusty Horseshoes
Back in the late 90's I was in the middle of nowhere looking for an old and forgotten roadway. It was a beautiful spring day and the vegetation was just starting to bloom again and I was dying to get outside. Winter research had indicated that there was once an old forgotten roadway between two destinations that had run along the top of a ridge adjacent to a stream. So with a warm sun and mild weather luring me into the field I placed a call to a friend, loaded my day-pack, and I grabbed my metal detector. An hour later we were heading into the forest in route to the targeted ridge.
The interesting thing about this old roadway is that there was quite a long distance between the two destinations and research indicated that passage between the two destinations couldn't be completed in a day. The ridge in question was high and dry and flat on top so it presented a good stopover point for those who were traveling the old road. On top of this flat ridge they could make a comfortable camp for the night with easy access to water. It just seemed a natural place for travelers in the middle to late 1800's to take an extended break so I had decided to start the hunt for that old roadway there, on top of that wide flat ridge.
The initial idea was to locate the old roadway and then to determine its exact course, the logic and hope being that a lot of items would have probably been lost and left behind along this course. I figured if I could find the old roadway and determine its course then perhaps a lot of good hunting could be realized for a number of years. Research had indicated that the old roadway was traveled frequently so who knew what might be found along its course.
For a period of about three years the old roadway had experienced quite a bit of traffic, like a lot of small forgotten towns they had sprung up with great expectations of becoming the next metropolis only to die a familiar death. The two destinations were still somewhat alive but the old roadway had eventually been replaced by a better route, which often happened. Today these two little spits on the landscape represent just a few homes and scattered buildings, the rest of the surrounding landscape being a patchwork of forest and farmland. The stream use to run clear and clean but now it runs stained and its bottom silted over due to the runoff from the stripped farmlands. Such is modernization and progress, they say.
Whenever you enter a hunt such as this you expect to find a lot of pieces of rusted metal and shell casings and we were certainly finding our fair share, though nothing in the form of a dump or what could be described as being trash infested. For the most part the scraps of metal and shell casings were widely scattered and very inconsistent. We also found the occasional broken jar or bottle with the cap still attached, though few of them appeared to be all that old. But it was a beautiful day and only getting warmer so we kept milling about in search of the old roadway.
Finally we found it, an obvious path of sparse overgrowth and younger trees cutting its way through the forest across the top of the ridge. When you stood in the old roadway and traced its course you could see that it had been worn a little lower then the rest of the surrounding ground. There was no doubting that it was the old roadway. In fact it was so obvious we probably would have found it much sooner if we hadn't been metal detecting and lazily probing about.
Now I would love to tell you that once we found the old roadway that we started finding some valuable trinkets but that simply never happened beyond a couple of old coins. However, we did find a lot of interesting items that included a section of old logging chain, several pieces of old iron hardware, a few square nails, a couple of musket balls, some interesting cast iron objects, some old buttons, and even two old horseshoes. Now I know very little about horses or horseshoes but my hunting partner on that day actually raised horses and he told me that those two horseshoes were more of the old oxen variety, whatever that means? I can tell you that they appeared quite large and heavy, and extremely rusty. We even found an old cast iron skillet and a few other interesting items but nothing too earth shattering. And then came the creek crossing.
At one spot in the old roadway it slowly dropped over the ridge and into the creek bed before slowly ascending the ridge on the opposite side. What was so obvious at this creek crossing was the fact that stone had been set in place to provide for a solid bottom. In fact, this stone was laid some thirty feet up both sides of the crossing and this is something that's going to become important later on in this text. Now the stone that was used at this crossing had probably been gathered from the creek but that isn't always the case in some parts of the country and this is something you always need to keep in mind, especially in gold country!
Old Roadways In Gold Country
In gold country we often hear people talking about hunting the old mine tailings in search of leftover gold and there has certainly been a lot of leftover gold found in these tailings, no question about that as it still happens today with fair routine. However, there is some interesting facts about these tailings that a lot of people aren't aware of and yet they should be. Below is an extract from an old book that was published in the 1950's and it provides some valuable information that we should always keep in mind when we consider the potential of old roadways.
"They say that the roadbed between Central City and Russell Gulch, three miles further, is made of gold, for it is surfaced from the dumps that piled up at the old mine properties before extracting processes were very efficient."
When people think of these old roadways that existed in mining country they seldom consider what it took to maintain those roadways. As we learn in the statement above the piled up rock from the old mining operations was often used to lay and maintain those old roadways. This same thing also took place whenever fill was needed for the laying of railroad tracks or wherever rock was required in order to improve upon the existing condition of the ground. And yes, a lot of this took place before more efficient extracting processes came along, so no doubt gold and silver found its way into these old roadbeds and other places where this fill was required.
Several years ago I remember reading about some large pieces of gold ore that were discovered in the runoff underpass below a road as it was being cleaned out. At the time it was believed that the gold had likely washed out of the higher mountains before becoming lodged in the underpass, but did they? Is it possible that the gold had already been there, perhaps part of the original old roadbed and underpass fill that had been brought in from one of the local mining operations?
In Florida it is common knowledge that the old shell mounds were often used as fill for roads, this practice being so common that hardly a shell mound remains anywhere close to its original size, if it still exist at all. Hard to say what else might have been in those old shell mounds that are now part of an old roadbed?
Other Old Roadways
Truth is, the entire country is a spiderweb of old trails and roadways that could be hiding untold riches. In some states, for instance, the term Navigable Waterway can apply to the smallest of creeks simply because its course was followed by early travelers, the term often having nothing to do with the ability to actually float a canoe or raft down the tiny and nearly dry drainage. Something else one needs to consider when looking for old roadways and trails.
Keep in mind that in days of old a roadway, even a popular one, may have been nothing more then a forest trail. During the Civil War entire armies often forged new roads that were only used once or just a few times. In northern Pennsylvania I have access to a property where an old road cuts through its northern extreme, this old roadway having been used during the Revolutionary War and now covered over with trees and undergrowth. I've not hunted this property yet and it's hard to say what might be awaiting me there?
And then one has to consider other old roadways such the Pony Express, the Wells Fargo Stagecoach routes, and many others. The west and southwest is littered with old ghost towns, a lot of the old roadways and trails no longer used or even in existence. Old logging roads also have to be considered, as do a lot of the old Spanish routes and trails that are now all but absorbed into the landscapes. Some of them might be next to impossible to locate but once you do it's hard telling what might be found along their route.
Research! Research! Research!
We hear about the “three R's” of metal detecting and treasure hunting all the time and with good reason. Research is what allows us to locate these old roadways as well as many other types of potential hunting grounds. Without research we are seriously limiting our potential for success. The good news is that a lot of the research has already been provided for us in the form of books and biographies and a host of other materials and resources. So if we do nothing else we do need to read and we need to do a lot of it as there are a lot of excellent resource materials out there.
Curiosity is often what leads someone to a productive location, this same curiosity is also what can result in the forming of new ideas that can lead to productive locations. A lot of times the information we consume won't come into play until we read something else, these combined sources of information allowing us to forge new possibilities that we can investigate further. Through research and knowledge we often form theories that eventually lead us to previously unknown and/or ignored locations. Research is what makes all of this possible, it's what gives us a chance to discover something really special.
Amazon Forum Fav 👍
Last edited:
