# How to tell if it's a good place to look?



## foster2100

I know for myself I like to walk creek and river banks and just look to see if there's anything that is interesting around the area like older types of junk and I like for it to be somewhat varied. I'm just trying to start a general banter and see what people think makes it a good spot to look at, like looking for places to metal detect in a way. So what makes a good spot to take into consideration?


----------



## antlerman23

For me the back yard of any pre-1900 house is the best place to look. I have spent a few years looking for dumps but have yet to find one while looking for them, so I pretty much gave up. Privies are my forte.


----------



## hemihampton

Lots of dumps are found by the river banks & creeks. I found a nice 1900 dump by the river a few years ago.


----------



## foster2100

That is such a cool dump site!! I love the river in the background makes for good scenery.


----------



## anj2006

I live in a house that was built in 1885, when we were closing on the house i was chomping at the bit to get in the back yard to dig the privys i spotted when we did the walk through. Man was my wife pissed! But guess what? Started digging she got curious,  and now she digs also!!!


----------



## anj2006

There were three privys i located on the property,  i have dug two! With some decent finds. The third the other half still wont let me dig because of the location..  but i mentioned in another post, come spring that babys going down!!!!!!!


----------



## foster2100

Nice! Hard to beat a new house with a hobby that you already have.


----------



## anj2006

Absolutely!!  I have been finding bottles and other stuff for years.


----------



## anj2006

I think thats why i agreed to buy the house in the first place!


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Absolutely!!  I have been finding bottles and other stuff for years.




I know I'm new to it all but I love just collecting old junk I find along river and creek banks and here in WV we flood so stuff washes up. Back on to what you was saying about the house though the house that me and my wife live in was once an old company house and I was like hey Hun where was the outhouse. Lol


----------



## anj2006

Thats pretty funny!!! It was a coal town here to. The area dates to the early 1800's. And there are alot of untouched places to dig here.  The mighty Susquehanna runs about 10 miles from my house. I like looking on those banks also. Found some cool things over the years. Alot of Indian artifacts are found around here also!! As a matter of fact,  about 10 years ago i found a part of a stone axe in the next town over.. its a nice place to hunt...


----------



## anj2006

Still have the axe!!!


----------



## cowseatmaize

High waters can make things difficult too. Sometimes random pieces can get scattered about and look like a dump site.


----------



## foster2100

cowseatmaize said:


> High waters can make things difficult too. Sometimes random pieces can get scattered about and look like a dump site.



Ain't that the truth we've got a river right out in the backyard and flood water is no cleaning up and we have actually lost part of the yard over the years. When my wife's parents had it there was 9/10 of an acre now it's gone down because there have been trees that have literally gotten washed down on to the bank. West Virginia is just chocked full of rivers and creeks. I like to look in the creeks better than the rivers around here the creeks will flash flood first and the water will go down in those areas and then the main river will flood, so you have more rapid moving debris when it is flash flooding and a lot swifter waters so it actually gets deposited somewhere.


----------



## foster2100

Back in the 1800's the river behind the house had steamships on it and they had "locks" in the water I guess that was to help control the boats. This was a way of life around here up until I would say the 1920's and really they didn't have much choice in the matter the economy at the time depended on it.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Thats pretty funny!!! It was a coal town here to. The area dates to the early 1800's. And there are alot of untouched places to dig here.  The mighty Susquehanna runs about 10 miles from my house. I like looking on those banks also. Found some cool things over the years. Alot of Indian artifacts are found around here also!! As a matter of fact,  about 10 years ago i found a part of a stone axe in the next town over.. its a nice place to hunt...



Oddly enough this isn't coal country in this part, this is more natural gas. I was sort of surprised that there wasn't no coal mines in my hometown at one time there I was believe 6 coal mining operations but there are no more today there. Southern WV is where a lot of the coal mining comes out of nowadays. I would absolutely love to find even an arrowhead but I haven't yet. Look on YouTube and there is a guy on there that hunts arrowheads and other Indian related stuff name of his channel is SenecaRelics, good stuff.


----------



## anj2006

I will definitely check that out!  I am not into the indian thing that much! But dont get me wrong if i find it i will keep it!!! I have some good luck looking for bottles right where the streams and rivers meet! Everything just swirls around there and lays after awhile. The steamboats are pretty cool. We had steamboats on the Susquehanna in the 1800's. Would love to dig around there old docking points! Those locks would likely produce some great stuff!!!


----------



## anj2006

A few years back i was prowling around an old dump outside of sunbury, pa. And the waters came up, all the work i did was washed away, and u was about a 1/4 mile inland. That sucked!!! But goes with the hobby i guess.


----------



## foster2100

In my hometown we had several glass factories as matter of fact that was one of main industries in the north central part where I'm from. That was before my time but glass industry did exist when I was growing up on a much smaller scale. Really me liking this is sort of like revisiting the past of this area.


----------



## foster2100

Now is Susquehanna near Wheeling or in up north of there?


----------



## cowseatmaize

foster2100 said:


> In my hometown we had several glass factories as matter of fact that was one of main industries in the north central part where I'm from. That was before my time but glass industry did exist when I was growing up on a much smaller scale. Really me liking this is sort of like revisiting the past of this area.


WV is kinda young, especially for an eastern state. Which factories are you referring too?


----------



## anj2006

It is west of sunbury, pa. It runs from upstate ny, all the wat to the Chesapeake. Indian tribe where dotted all along  it in the late 1600's up till the early 1800's. Alot of the s tate universitys do tons of research on them.. there has been some major finds in my parts of the state. Some real nice pottery,  tools,  beads,  bone and so forth.


----------



## foster2100

Fenton is one for sure although not in north central wv they was in Williamstown, im not into carnival glass though. Louie Glass was in my hometown, West Virginia Museum of American Glass is there too.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> It is west of sunbury, pa. It runs from upstate ny, all the wat to the Chesapeake. Indian tribe where dotted all along  it in the late 1600's up till the early 1800's. Alot of the s tate universitys do tons of research on them.. there has been some major finds in my parts of the state. Some real nice pottery,  tools,  beads,  bone and so forth.



That is pretty cool history!


----------



## anj2006

Thanks, glad to share it. Now if only i was into the Indian stuff!!!


----------



## foster2100

I know I would love to find some stoneware.


----------



## sunrunner

you live in west Virginia ! there are house dumps all over the woods . hay go to a little town go to the end of a road or street .were there is a haler and look down . you are bond to find a dump of some kind especially behind old houses . look for a path or wagon trail .


----------



## anj2006

Go to some old railroad tracks, look for old footprints of buildinds, i always find stuff along tracks. Look under the trussls scratch around,  you will find something, any old abandoned homes around? In small water ways! There is always a place to look. You just have to no what your looking at!!!


----------



## anj2006

Talk to some of the older generations, ask them where was the town dump!!  Heck, even ask where they use to dump.


----------



## foster2100

Well where I live at now I'm out in the country and I know the history of this holler through asking my wife and in laws and neighbors. Interesting enough this county never had a railroad line and we still don't have 4 lane roads lol. I'd asked the old feller that has the dump cuz we get along good and just sit and talk, he knows the history pretty well of this area, so I ask him what to used be where and when.


----------



## GLASSHOPPER55

What everybody else said.

Actually bottles/dumps can be virtually _anywhere._ I have been at this since 1969 and I've found dumps so deep in the woods you wonder how anyone got out there to dump the stuff. No hint of any roads or dwellings. Research, though, is your friend...


----------



## anj2006

Yes, research is a very good thing glasshopper55!!! You are right they can be anywhere.


----------



## anj2006

Think about it, take an old counrty road, and it just dont get used for say,,, a hundred years because the only house that was on it,  heck i dont no, say it caught fire.  Mother nature takes it back!! It dose not even look like it was a road anymore, i have found a bottle in the root system of a tree that was probably over a hundred years old. It is pretty neat  how a landscape can change!!! You would not even think someone lived or traveled there..


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Think about it, take an old counrty road, and it just dont get used for say,,, a hundred years because the only house that was on it,  heck i dont no, say it caught fire.  Mother nature takes it back!! It dose not even look like it was a road anymore, i have found a bottle in the root system of a tree that was probably over a hundred years old. It is pretty neat  how a landscape can change!!! You would not even think someone lived or traveled there..




I often think about the very things you mentioned. Me and my wife will just drive out onto old country roads and just spend an afternoon looking at the scenery around us, I'm always quick to point out the old country stores and houses and barns. :-D


----------



## anj2006

Go to the library.  You will find history of your town and surrounding areas there.


----------



## anj2006

You dont have a railroad?  Man, sounds like a place i want to live.. quite!!!


----------



## foster2100

The county that we live in the courthouse was moved a couple of times due to the people at the time wanting a new county seat and it was finally decided to be moved to its current and final location after I believe two moves. We've got a really good resource though the county newspaper isn't very popular so an independent online publication and they regularly post things from the past about the county and the history here. This is a really small county I believe the last census said there was maybe a 1,000 living inside of town so most of it is rural and really spread out.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> You dont have a railroad?  Man, sounds like a place i want to live.. quite!!!




I couldn't believe it either when i met my wife, i also couldn't believe that there wasn't a McDonalds or Wal Mart here LOL. We're an hour away from the closest Wal Mart or McDonalds. We just did get a Biscuit World here and that was big time news!


----------



## anj2006

I have always loved what god gave me! Not man, except bottles!!! Lol. Sounds like a nice place to live. I live in the country, but twenty mins from walmart and various other money grabbing establishments...


----------



## anj2006

Me and my wife do the same! Its a nice thing to do! Gives you a piece of mind...


----------



## anj2006

When was your county seat established?  And how far Was it moved from its original place???


----------



## foster2100

Yes it is a nice place to live even though I'm not in my hometown this feels a lot like it everybody knows who you are and will ask how your doing. I'm only a little over an hour from my dad so we go out and explore over in my home county, last time we went out he was showing me where my grandma was raised and it's under water now but we was able to find the old silo it was stone and that was so awesome, there was still furrows in the field from over 50 years ago.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> When was your county seat established?  And how far Was it moved from its original place???




The county was established in 1856.


----------



## anj2006

Thats a nice year, has to be some good places to dig??? Under water, wow thats crazy. Did they make a dam or something?


----------



## anj2006

Look online at the old plat or sanborn maps they will show you where houses were built and everyother structure for that matter!  Almost every town/city has a map! That will show you where you can and want to dig, gives you a ( lay of the land)  shall i say.


----------



## anj2006

Penn state university  has a awsome collection of maps! I have used them plenty of times. You can actually download them to your phone, i have and take them with you in the field!!  Washington,  the library of Congress has some great stuff to.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Thats a nice year, has to be some good places to dig??? Under water, wow thats crazy. Did they make a dam or something?




Lake on its on the outer fingers ya know like shallower waters. My wifes grandma and grandpa grew up on the same holler and went to the same one room school. I was raised by my Great Grandmother and she helped raise my dad and his brothers growing up as well. This area is full of history but unfortunately it is in a flood plain. When the weather breaks this month I'll be back out digging on the dump.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Look online at the old plat or sanborn maps they will show you where houses were built and everyother structure for that matter!  Almost every town/city has a map! That will show you where you can and want to dig, gives you a ( lay of the land)  shall i say.



Sanborn Fire maps is that correct?


----------



## anj2006

Yes that is correct.  I would go check out that old school house! Get permission!!!!  I cant stress this enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a story about not getting permission and its not a good one.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Yes that is correct.  I would go check out that old school house! Get permission!!!!  I cant stress this enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a story about not getting permission and its not a good one.



I might but I really want to see what this dump holds before I do much more else.


----------



## foster2100

Haha yeah the old school house is actually the church where me and my wife got married at so that's pretty cool.


----------



## anj2006

Sure, i understand that one thing at a time.


----------



## anj2006

Yea, that is really cool. Just think, if you do go get permission and dig, and find something it will be an even better memory!!!


----------



## TREASUREHUNT

Hemi : That guy in the hole looks like he is hiding from the police !!!!

Tom


----------



## anj2006

Wack-o-mole!! Lol.


----------



## anj2006

Hey foster2100, any luck yesterday?


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Hey foster2100, any luck yesterday?



We was having nice weather on Saturday and on Sunday in the morning it was almost 50 degrees with rain and by 4 it we was having wind gusts like at 40 mph so in that time it dropped about 20 degrees, black ice no fun. We're supposed to be back to 55 degree weather by the end of the week so I'm gonna hold off on digging til maybe Wednesday or Thursday, I don't mind the cold but I dress for it. I'm going to ask to see if I can take the metal detector up there at the church then see what they say from there.


----------



## anj2006

There ya go!! Work yourself in easy. Nice! Good luck lets us know if you find anything? And  when your there look around!  Dont forget your camera,  just in case!!!


----------



## anj2006

Did you get out yesterday ?


----------



## foster2100

I did but it was so muddy that I think I'm going to have to wait until it dries up some. I don't like trying to go much of any place when it snows and the only vehicle we have is a front wheel drive car, so we don't normally try and do much unless it's needed on those days.


----------



## anj2006

I understand that my friend! Any luck at the church/ school?


----------



## anj2006

I hate it when its to muddy.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> I understand that my friend! Any luck at the church/ school?




I'm going to ask about that but I do the majority of my metal detecting at the start of spring. I've got permission from a woman that me and my wife knows to go creek walking back up on her property, I do a lot of this kinda stuff in the weeks before Spring because of briars and yellow jackets, i hate those things, and it's just better weather all around.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> I hate it when its to muddy.



I will take an old pair of jeans and cut the legs out of them and each leg cut them down the middle and use that for like a mat so I don't get too muddy, but this happens every winter with the snow and rain the ground here just gets so soggy and around here you hit the clay layer within a lot of times I'm gonna say 2 feet, maybe not even that. Wet clay is so tiring when your digging through it.


----------



## foster2100

What are you using to dig with, me i take a pick, a scratcher, hand shovel and my favorite digging tool it's unconventional but i like it cordless hammer drill with a bulb auger attachment it breaks up that 1st layer really nice and doesn't chunk the dirt like a shovel, am considering getting a longer auger attachment for it actually.


----------



## anj2006

It depends on where i am going to dig actually.  I take a long handled spade, long and short handled  four prong rake, garden trowel , a small one handed garden three prong scraper, good pair of root cutters, some wooden stakes for when i am on a bottle i use it to scrape so i dont break it! I have alot of tools i use!  It just depends on where!


----------



## anj2006

Now if i am digging a privy! A five foot probe , long and short spade,  scraper, root cutters, garden trowel, various other things like a good pack ( to bring your finds home). I have never used anything to kneel on, though i have used some knee pads in the past.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Now if i am digging a privy! A five foot probe , long and short spade,  scraper, root cutters, garden trowel, various other things like a good pack ( to bring your finds home). I have never used anything to kneel on, though i have used some knee pads in the past.




I really need to invest in some good knee pads myself, my knees have gotten progressively worse.


----------



## anj2006

Yea clay does suck sometimes, it can be a pain in the rear!!! I have never heard of anybody using a hammer drill with a auger attachment, if that works for ya,  i guess have at it!!! Bees are a problem for me,  i am highly allergic!!!!!!!!!!  I have a kit i have to have with me all the time even when i am not digging.. not good if i get stung!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh always have a good pair of gloves and a first aid kit.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> Yea clay does suck sometimes, it can be a pain in the rear!!! I have never heard of anybody using a hammer drill with a auger attachment, if that works for ya,  i guess have at it!!! Bees are a problem for me,  i am highly allergic!!!!!!!!!!  I have a kit i have to have with me all the time even when i am not digging.. not good if i get stung!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh always have a good pair of gloves and a first aid kit.




Excellent advice. Found any gloves that are better than others for digging? I know that can't put a price on a good pair of gloves, I'm guilty of buying the rubber palmed gloves and they work but not much grip in mud.


----------



## anj2006

They do work good when the situation calls for them. I have already put my knee on a glass shard in the excitement of things! Was not cool, four hours and two stitches later!


----------



## foster2100

Last summer in the backyard I took like 10 or 15 yellow jacket stings the things relentless in their anger!


----------



## anj2006

I have always used the leather bull rider gloves, the ones with the pull string around the wrist. They work for me! Keeps some of the dirt out and they hold up good against the broken glass. Dont be cheap when you buy gloves, or boots for that matter.


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> They do work good when the situation calls for them. I have already put my knee on a glass shard in the excitement of things! Was not cool, four hours and two stitches later!





Oh man I bet that was just pure heck. I've got what they call restless legs syndrome and it makes sleep erratic to say the least.


----------



## anj2006

YES YELLOW JACKETS SUCK, SUCK, SUCK!!!! If i got bit like that my kit would not do a thing, i would die!!!!


----------



## foster2100

anj2006 said:


> I have always used the leather bull rider gloves, the ones with the pull string around the wrist. They work for me! Keeps some of the dirt out and they hold up good against the broken glass. Dont be cheap when you buy gloves, or boots for that matter.




Right on and you know this is all something that can't be stressed enough a square nail versus a tennis the square nail will win. Are the gloves all leather or just leather palmed?


----------



## anj2006

Yea i have that! You no what works good for that? Nyquil z. Atleast it works for me.


----------



## anj2006

All leather.


----------



## anj2006

I buy mine at the tractor supply, they cost like $25 bucks but you need a good pair of glives...


----------



## anj2006

What do you like to collect the most??? Me,  i love inks!  I have over a hundred!  I do collect other bottles but mostly inks.


----------



## foster2100

I'll have to check those out!


----------



## foster2100

I'm more of a generalized collector, bottles of course but I really like vintage signs.


----------



## foster2100

I have a 1969 Sony Triniton Color Television sign that is in a light box, this is my best by far, I've only ever seen one other similar to it. What makes this sign so unique is that it was sort of a speciality sign this was made to go in a store window, I have looked the Internet over and it's not even been listed on EBay once in the sites history, you can look at Sold Items and sorta see what they went for but you've gotta use judgement.


----------



## foster2100

There was 2 other signs similar to mine one with different background colors was all blue background color and the other had the colors that mine has but just Sony at the bottom so the desirability of mine is higher than those both as a matter of fact I'm on a couple of Facebook groups that do just signs and had asked if anybody had ever seen one and one person out of almost the 4,000 members had ever seen one.


----------



## anj2006

Yea i can show you a few pics! Later today i will post them. Signs are cool, they can get pretty pricey though, the antique shops up here in central pa have them all the time. They are cool.


----------



## foster2100

I would like to have a neon sign but those can get expensive.


----------



## anj2006

Thats cool as hell. Variants is what makes it!  Especially in the bottle collecting world.


----------



## foster2100

In signs product quality can make a difference too and Sony Trinitron was one of the best and one of the most advanced not just of its time but throughout the course of the CRT Tv. Haha want a real shocker go on eBay and look at the prices for the Trinitron line I was shocked to say the least even now the desirability still remains high despite HD.


----------



## anj2006

Very expensive!!!!


----------



## anj2006

Hey foster, any luck the other day???


----------



## foster2100

Actually I went out yesterday, I think I've found where most of the glass will be at. I'm finding shards in clay layer in this spot so that's positive.


----------



## anj2006

Nice! Thats a good sign!! Can you date it yet? The site that is.


----------



## foster2100

No but I think she's single wife won't be happy. Haha just kidding, I'm finding some purple glass and a lot of blue Mason Jar shards.


----------



## anj2006

Sounds good brother, KEEP DIGGIN!!!!!! dont forget pic's... later, ditch.


----------



## anj2006

Funny guy, funny guy... lmfao


----------



## foster2100

Actually were supposed to be getting a boatload of snow this week! I think on Thursday or Friday were supposed to be getting like a foot of snow, so we may be holed up for a while. I had to my mother to see her cancer dr today for a check up so hopefully that goes well with her.


----------



## foster2100

Went to antique mall today and they had some ACLs was looking for older stuff but I didn't see much bottles at all. Super good prices on the ACLs, nothing was over $5 so we're going to go back and I'll be buying then. I'd forgotten about the place and didn't bring no cash but I figure we'll make it back in February sometime. Coca Cola hanging light like the kind you'd put over a pool table, stained glass was only $60, I kinda liked that.


----------



## anj2006

Yea i would kinda like that to!! We are going to get the snow to,  but oh well.  We got off easy so far.. the kids have been chomping at the bit to go sledding so let it come for there sake.


----------



## anj2006

Some of them early sodas are really cool. Have maybe a dozen or so. But at five in a flea market means you can get them for probably two or three bucks !! Negotiate,  negotiate,  negotiate!!!


----------



## hemihampton

TREASUREHUNT said:


> Hemi : That guy in the hole looks like he is hiding from the police !!!!
> 
> Tom




That's Funny Tom. He was hiding from the Police soon after that pic was taken. LEON.


----------



## CreekWalker

I been following this post for the past month and have to say, it is awesome! I agree with so much advise here , but the statements about research, old maps, local history and gaining permission, is all equally important, in finding great places to hunt. Before I leave home, I have researched the particular area, extensively, before hunting or digging. For me the days of random searches is over , it's generally a waste of time and effort. Although as LUCK would have it , some great finds have been gained though blind luck. Two things I would like to add, first I have county and state maps for a 100 mile square area from my home, starting from the 1780's Indian territory to the present. Second, and most importantly, the maps pointed me to areas , where ghost towns or non-existent communities , once thrived, teaming with homes and businesses. Literally dozens, once were, but due to many factors , they no longer exist. An example close to me, is the once thriving town, of Randolph on the bluff of the Mississippi. It once rivaled the city of Memphis, but is farm community and a historical place now, and soon a new state site, proposed because it was a river fort and a Civil War site. Items from this town are some of my most prized items. How I found many of these lost towns, many now remote, grown up with forests or in the middle of agriculture fields, was by researching old post offices, called DPO's or dead post offices.  A excellent website by Jim Forte, http://www.postalhistory.com/Post_Offices/index.htm , has opened my eyes, to these lost areas, and in combination with period maps, has shown me the lost towns, stage roads, and defunct business locations. I would note , that most historical towns, (ghost or non-existent) found with a google search, is generally 2 to four miles from the actual location or coordinates. Also, these google locations are generally a nearby crossroad, with one road being the town's name. For a digger, research is your best digging partner first, then knowledge second. Both save you time and money, with huge rewards.


----------



## foster2100

I am actually still digging in this particular dump, lots of big rocks and plenty of work but I hope that it will pay off. I have learned a little about digging and finding but I've still only pulled one whole bottle. I still go a couple of time a week and work on it for a few hours so I'm sticking with it.


----------

