Cellar hole age?

owena1

owena1

New member
So the other day I was driving and I thought I saw a cellar hole in the woods. On the way back we got out and looked and turns out it was. On Thursday I went out for a few hours and walked around. Turns out there's a few more holes. Is there anyway to find out how old they are?? I dug a ball button (1800s) - Thanks Dan, and a 1918 penny. Here are the cellar holes....

The first one has an L shape to it
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Here's another foundation
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And the other 2 are impressions with a few rocks still remaining. Any ideas? Thanks


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One way to find out age is too check on old maps. Looking at this site if I had to guess I'd say 1800-1850 . The other smaller stoned line hole could be a small outbuilding of some sort. It looks to be too large for a privy , at least a single hole privy and wells were round. Usually holes that close to populated areas are either pounded to death and/or full of junk.....but it's always worth a try.
 
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Owen , that first cellar hole looks massive in size , is it "L" shaped or is there a large center stone hearth (center chimney) in the middle ??

Dan
 
Quite large isn't it , roughly how big are its dimensions Owen ? I assume the chimney pile was on the inside "elbow" of the of the cellar ?? the walls are still pretty neat .
 
When you mentioned cellar holes, I knew you had to be from New England. We have them everywhere around here. Laconia here, btw.



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del said:
Quite large isn't it , roughly how big are its dimensions Owen ? I assume the chimney pile was on the inside "elbow" of the of the cellar ?? the walls are still pretty neat .
Click to expand...

I will get a good measurement tomorrow. The well is right near this structure. All of them are pretty close


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Owen , you don't have to get an accurate measurement just a rough guess is fine . While the "L" is an old type of design the larger size makes me want to say its late 1700's or just after 1800. The neatness of the stones (not collapsed in and or badly leaning ) also tell me its just into the 1800's , remember this is just based on observation only . the more you find will give the best information on its age and what type of people lived there or what the building was for (a house , tavern or inn or perhaps even a stage coach stop , ect.) .

Dan
 
I've found most of the homesites that are on the historical maps usually have larger cellar holes then ones that were abandoned before appearing on the maps. I have also seen several massive cellar holes with huge center chimneys bases that do not appear on maps. I really can't tell the age the site was built without seeing what items the site produces with the metal detector. Even then it's only an estimate. It's much easier to figure out when a site was abandoned either by seeing when it stops appearing on the maps or seeing what the newest object found there was that seems to fit the overall timeframe. Sorry I couldn't be of much help, I'm sure Dan did a much better job.
 
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