Seminole War Forts

The weather this week seems to be PERFECT for tecting. B4 we know it, the temps will be as hot as the surface of the sun.

NOW is a good time, lets try to do something quick !
 

Lets go over to the Suwanee and look, forget about getting together to talk, thats what this is for!
 

???... No discussion, just go... well I see a problem with that, sorry, no ill will to ya, but I feel differently.
I am not a relic hunter, just a standard old metal detector guy, I've prospected, beach hunted, worked on permitted shipwrecks, coin shoot .. I'm just happy finding stuff. I offered to help get this going, However relic hunting ( I feel ) is different than meeting up with someone and hitting a park or beach. It is very unfortunate that Florida Archie's have decided not to work with us ( the citizens and tax payers of Florida providing there paychecks ) but they have and passed acts to discriminate against us. " let's go over to the Suwanee and look " ... ok, where, in the river bottom zone that "they " claim for them self's, you pick up something and unfortunately we are all risking problems. So my reasons to meet , discuss and see if we interact well :

1) I just counted (real quick) in my notes and hit 21 named forts, and about that many battles. Some of those sites will be closed land, some private, some I feel a better choice to look into than others. Some are located by clear land marks, some are not. Discussion involved and not really stuff to post openly , thus the meeting.

2) I feel another reason to meet up and discuss things a bit is to get a feel for who you might be hunting with, and there should be some division of the labor to get to the point where the hunt begins. Should only one person do all the research, find the land marks, ask for permission to hunt and then open the site for a dozen guys to come hunt it ?? and in that dozen is there one bad egg that could turn around and ruin it , get everyone tossed off, hunt solo before or after the plans are made, etc. ??
(Saber, I think the target of your hunt is different than the original post topic , #2 should be very relevant to your goals. )

3) To ask for land use permission one or two guys might get it, a dozen guys walking in would most likely be a problem for most land owners.

again no ill will to anyone.. I saw alot of (hey we should) posts but no follow throughs, so I thought I'd see if a meeting place might help it get going.
 

i like your thinking sherpa,

i have met some great folks here from t-net but not all minds think alike..all folks are geared differently towards their way of hunting, i prefer to find history to the area i work in, or history from the owners on the property. there are several locations that i have been invited to help search,etc , but of course i am doing my research for it, and to do my part. i have a few areas around this county i would love to check out but , lookjing for that right group to assist, which boils down to trust,andhow well others click together. everyone i have met here from tnet from all over is awesome in my book, some from florida , others from other states.but enough of my ramblings...gregg
 

RELICDUDE07 said:
Thanks armchair :) i love finding old relics ,and i thought this is a great place for people to see them.... There is stuff all over florida,my area is like one giant trash pit of history,from one end of town to the other...Sometimes it takes some work to zoom in on a old site ,but when you find it search it very good ,and all around the area for miles,guys were on horse back and you will find relics many miles from the fort site, in all directions...Also this book is a must for relic hunters in florida,it has put me on many great sites.... You can buy it right here at kellyco for 15 bucks....
Click to expand...


Hey All FLAuthor is the author of this book and others. He is my TH buddy. You can contact him directly on some of the info about locations from this site. He would love that. He has spent many years researching his books and is quite knowledgeable about Florida sites, Georgia-(Forts, Camps and Batteries) as well as virginia FCB, West Virginia FCB, and Where to detect Metal Detect in Central Florida, and Where to Metal Detect in South Florida. Please Chat this thread to your friends in other states as a courtesy to my dear friend....it would be greatly appreciated....he has almost 40years in research in these books......ALSO he is working on FCB for Mississippi to be coming out in the near future.
Thank you and HH
GG
 

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Thank you, Graffixgirl for the nice intro. Hello Fellow Th'ers: I'm the FlAuthor. Let me clear a few sites up that have been destroyed so you don't waste your ime on them. Fort Fraser is a golf course; Fort Gadsen, Cooper and Alabama are state parks, Olustee Battlefield is a state park and was hunted out in the 1970's. Some Civil War releics can still be found outside the Battlefield boundaries but they are sparse. Relic hunters have been hunting this area from Lake City to Jacksonville since the 1970's. Fort Hartsuff is a golf course; Fort Jupiter was destroyed by a developer; Fort Henry lies within the boundaries of a cement plant off Krome Avenue, Dade county. Fort McCoy lies within the town of the same name. Fort Mellon in Sanford has been hunted to death by two relic hunters who live there for the last 25 years. Bayport Confederate Gun Battery is a county park. www.treasuresites.com Fort Picolata buried by developers; Fort Thompson buried under a subdivison, you'd have to hunt private lawns. Fort Maitland is under a condo and Fort Gatlin is buried under a subdivision. Fort Davenport located within Celebration, area bull dozed and leveled, nothing remains. Fort Brooks lies under Tampa and hunted to death by local relic hunters. Several forts in Everglades, stay out of there, period, one its a National Park and two, if you trespass on Indian land and are caught, >:( you are tried under their council not by white man's laws. There are forts and camps that have not been found, many of them are listed in my book, Forts, Camps and Batteries of Florida. :icon_study: Some have coordinates that show degrees and minutes but sadly no seconds. Don't rely on them as they are not accurate without the seconds. I plan to rewrite the Florida book and eliminate those numbers.
Camp Morris is located along Brack Street in Kissimmee as it was the high ground during the 1838. A 6 pound cannon ball was found by a resident on Brack Street when they dug a hole to plant a tree. The encampment is covered by homesites that were built during the 1920's and maybe weren't scraped like they are in today's building.
Camp Orange Home is a World War 2 training site, west of Leesburg on SR 44 and SR 468. At that junction looking south, to the left was the obstacal course and gunnery range, to the right was the barracks area that covered 300 acres, all cow pasture today. It is owned by the Bailey's in Oxford. I had a chance, one chance in the 1980's to hunt aht with a detecting club and we found silver coins, insignia, dog tags, nails, junk and lots of live .30 caliber, .50 caliber and 20mm ammo buried there. We never regained permission even though we tried many times. I guess the Bailey's thought that 20 people could hunt 300 acres in one day. If you drive about a mile further west and turn left into a small collection of old homes, this is where the officers lived with their families. The old PX and Commissary is still standing made out of sheet metal. Hunting yards might produce some nice finds especially as a group. ;D
If you have a question, I'll try to answer it. Everything I researched is in the book. You want more, I'll give you a little tip. Every county courthouse has a tax office and with the exception of Hernando county who's courthouse burned down along with all records, :'( the others have Government Survey Plats of the 1830's, 1840's and 1850's. You will find fort sites, pioneer homes, settlements, Indian villages, trails, cross roads, watering holes and river crossings. Many Army post and camp would be found on top of an old Indian site as the indians knew where the high ground was during flood stages.
You can email me at: [email protected] . Good Luck, you'll need it. :icon_king:
 

Thanks for sharing all your information! I have the Where To Detect in Central Florida book and have read it several times! I have a couple of sites in mind that you may have some info or insight on, I'll have to PM you later about them.

Thanks again,
vicki
 

FLauthor,

Thanks very much for the info. I will use it in effort to pick a location to research further.

I appreciate it :thumbsup:

Tony
 

ty fl author i will try to email you over the weekend in reference to the book, ty for chiming in on this conversation, look forward to hearing more from you...gregg
 

Hey harry?Do you have anymore info on (stevens camp) located in pensacola,used by confederate soldiers.. The book is good ,and gets you very close to the sites ...... relicdude :icon_sunny:
 

anybody in the alachua county area serious about some md'ing send me a pm , every other weekend the wife and i are always up for some traveling within reason and some digggin...got a few good spots to scout out round here so hit me up...gregg
 

Hi all, recently moved up state from down in the Miami area. Been about 2 years in this new local and I was just getting good at beach hunting but now it seems relics and things are more in line.

I am right near Ft. Cooper -- the old railroad (bike path) and have 5 acres. Am clueless about what to look for except been having a gret time finding old railroad spikes and big 'things' that look like they were on wagons or something. Anyway - if anyone is near the area and wants to explore my 5 acreas and my neighboring 5 acres (have permission) maybe we can find something good.

BTW - this thread has reawakened my depressed spirit for MD. Since leaving the Atlantic - snorkeling finding behind I have been sad. Miss it. Don't know much about the Gulf side. Anyway ...
 

Well hell, I thought this died,so I quit checking in and moved on to do my own thing and have been.But, it sure does get kinda creepy out in the boonies by yourself not to mention you better pay REAL CLOSE attention to where in the hell you are(you might get lost).. :wink:... :o
Just in case there ends up being a neutral meeting spot and I dont catch it in time, someone please pm me and let me know when and if this happens.....Jody
 

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