# Question for the seasoned bottle diggers.



## RoyalRuby (Nov 23, 2019)

Somewhat new to going out of my way to find bottles, seams that most of the dumps I find are old farm house dumps dating for the most part from the 1950's through the 1970's, which for me is fine as I mainly collect the "glass can" style bottles from the late 1950's on up, but it's seams by now that I would have stumbled onto a much earlier dump as many of the sites I've been to have had homes dating from the 1850's, I know many bottles are found in the privies at these sites, but it seams odd not to find any older farm style dumps similar the the ones I've come across dating much later, am I just not digging deep enough or did these earlier settlers dispose their trash in some other manner that I'm missing? These pics are from an area that I've been poking around at recently and plan to head out this morning in some new places that I haven't looked at yet, it's now in a state park so I can walk around without the fear of trespassing, the now lake here was put in 1965 so finding the style bottles I collect are easier to come by, but many areas had homes in the 1850's and don't seam to be able to find any earlier bottles or dumps, just wondering if I should be looking in a different approach while out and about....an insert from the 1857 map of the area and a current satellite image of some of the area.


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## otto (Nov 23, 2019)

Pick the oldest small water features ,creeks or streams , on your 1857 map and see if they fall in your target area where you can dig. I've used a metal detector this way an uncovered a early farm dump on the bank of a stream loaded with metal and glass . Best finds were a Stickwell umbrella ink and 4 red ware bowls .  Good luck and have fun.


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## RoyalRuby (Nov 23, 2019)

otto said:


> Pick the oldest small water features ,creeks or streams , on your 1857 map and see if they fall in your target area where you can dig. I've used a metal detector this way an uncovered a early farm dump on the bank of a stream loaded with metal and glass . Best finds were a Stickwell umbrella ink and 4 red ware bowls .  Good luck and have fun.



Yes, the two spots I've chosen to look at this morning both have small inlet streams, nearly every dump I've found has been over a hillside and into a small run-off or stream, seams to have been the chosen place to dump their trash for some reason.


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## sandchip (Nov 23, 2019)

Being in a state park (which state?), although you won't be trespassing, you run the risk of arrest if you pick up any type of artifact, that is, typically anything over 50 years old.  Best of luck.


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## RCO (Nov 23, 2019)

not sure what the rules are for such locations but most parks would likely not allow an official dig without permission , obviously if you found a coke bottle from the 50's in the woods and took it home they wouldn't care . but an actual dig would require formal permission in some cases


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## hemihampton (Nov 23, 2019)

It seems even in the old days alot of old dumps are buried. Sometimes the only sign of a dump is some broken shards on top of the ground & you'll be standing on a dump & not know it. I think some of these old dumps at first are open & exposed but years later they try to hide the mess by just dumping a ton of dirt over it. Some times you might see a small hill or mound of dirt that don't look natural, could this be a small buried dump? sometimes yes. The problem with some of these is you'll need a bulldozer to get anything accomplished. Good Luck & let me know if you find any old rusty beer cans, I collect those.  thanks, Leon.


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## RoyalRuby (Nov 23, 2019)

sandchip said:


> Being in a state park (which state?), although you won't be trespassing, you run the risk of arrest if you pick up any type of artifact, that is, typically anything over 50 years old.  Best of luck.



Hmmm...wasn't aware of it being an issue bringing home an old bottle or two, there were too many hunters in the area this morning anyway, and I only walked around for a short while in a different spot and didn't really find anything, went back to where I was a few days ago and poked around a bit, I did find seven more unbroken glass cans, all but one of the pry-off cap type that I found were broke, I stopped at the local antique mall on my way back and picked a very nice early (1890's-1905) Huebner bottle from Toledo for $3.00, pics to come.


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## RCO (Nov 23, 2019)

RoyalRuby said:


> Hmmm...wasn't aware of it being an issue bringing home an old bottle or two, there were too many hunters in the area this morning anyway, and I only walked around for a short while in a different spot and didn't really find anything, went back to where I was a few days ago and poked around a bit, I did find seven more unbroken glass cans, all but one of the pry-off cap type that I found were broke, I stopped at the local antique mall on my way back and picked a very nice early (1890's-1905) Huebner bottle from Toledo for $3.00, pics to come.



not an issue if your just going for a walk and find the odd bottle , wise decision not to go in the woods if there is many hunters in the area . 

only be an issue if you started to dig up an area , bottle digs can produce a lot of waste and broken bottles , which would be an issue in a public park


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## RoyalRuby (Nov 23, 2019)

RCO said:


> not an issue if your just going for a walk and find the odd bottle , wise decision not to go in the woods if there is many hunters in the area .
> 
> only be an issue if you started to dig up an area , bottle digs can produce a lot of waste and broken bottles , which would be an issue in a public park



I'll be heeding your warning from here on out, I have enough other places I can still dig with permission, the dump I found would require much more digging, and don't want to push my luck in the park, I really was only scratching the surface of this dump.


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## RoyalRuby (Nov 23, 2019)

Pics of the glass cans found today, one is a A/B bottle from 1969 still using pry-off cap, also a pic of the Huebner from the antique store, and a pic of the former P&O canal towpath/trolley line right of way, an electric trolley line was put over top of the canal towpath after it had closed down in 1877, this was just south of where I was today.


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## WesternPA-collector (Nov 23, 2019)

As other's said, you can't do much in a state park besides picking up surface things. And actually if you are picking up bottles off the ground, you are doing the park a great favor by helping to remove debris. They certainly would prefer not to have glass laying around in the woods. But yeah, you can't do any digging. Those A/B bottles are really common. I see them all the time. They display well. But eventually you'll find much better ones to replace them on your shelf. I'm running out of room to display all my nice bottles.


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## hemihampton (Nov 24, 2019)

You got a good deal on that Huebner, Anytime you can pick up a clean blob top for only $3.00 sounds good to me, even if common. If I remember right that Huebner Brewery still stands & I've been in there. I see it everytime I drive through Toledo on I-75 heading south to my right just before I cross that bridge & river. LEON.


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## RoyalRuby (Nov 28, 2019)

hemihampton said:


> You got a good deal on that Huebner, Anytime you can pick up a clean blob top for only $3.00 sounds good to me, even if common. If I remember right that Huebner Brewery still stands & I've been in there. I see it everytime I drive through Toledo on I-75 heading south to my right just before I cross that bridge & river. LEON.



Looks like a good portion of the building is now gone, a pic I found from 2010 and a current view from Bing Maps.


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## slugplate (Nov 28, 2019)

Farm dumps can be a little tricky. There are so many different dump spots they used since there was really no "central" dump area, it's kind of spread around. Unfortunately you can't dig in most state parks and you're relegated to surface finds. However, if it's anything of historical value, it has to be turned in to the park service.


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## hemihampton (Nov 28, 2019)

Bummer if they tore the Brewery down. I haven't been by there in a few years but used to go by it at least once a year on my way to Alabama for Christmas. LEON.


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