Hi all,
Been wanting to get out but been out sick for a while. It was bad enough just getting through work. But Monday afternoon was beautiful, and the woman and I were feeling a bit better after some rest. So we decided to hit a newer park nearby just to get outside for a bit.
Once we arrived we met someone walking their dog who told about an old farm that used to be by the river and gave us directions to it. After walking down the paved path a bit and then turning on a mowed stretch of turf, about 100 yards down we spotted some footings and other signs of buildings there. I dropped my coil near one of the footings and got a bouncy 12-32 at 3 inches on the first swing. Shallow, but being a new site I dug it. Lo and behold, I got a key ring with 3 more modern looking keys and my first skeleton key!
About 30 feet from that spot I picked up another old key which I researched and found was from about 1902 to maybe the late 20s or so. After this it was a lot of melted aluminum slop, building materials, copper and brass items, and tons of nails.
Headed next to the river I hit a 3 wheatie spill, the oldest being a 1936. In total I only found 4 wheats, some clad, but no silver. Lastly, I found an old brass flat key operated padlock, Lucky Brand, and an Indian theme key fob which reads "Thank you from the American Indian Children"
Headed out near dark I was swinging at the edge of the park by the woods where I got out deep 12-36. Thinking maybe a good coin I dug it. Well, the hole got really deep before I hit the target and was very surprised to see an old cap gun. Rechecking the hole, I also located the barrel to have my first complete cap gun, even though it's pretty rough. But checking the name I found it was a high end toy from the early 50s, pretty rare and very collectable if in good condition.
Still have a lot more area to cover at this park, and warrants many return trips. The odd part is researching the site after my visit, the maps show a building on the 1950 map, but nothing prior. But many of the items found seem to indicate a homestead much older, such as the skeleton key and some square nails. Hoping to eventually figure out this mystery.
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