Found this today...

[ovrszd]

Ovrszd - no bullet holes. About 30 feet away was what appeared to be a stone foundation of a building. It was about 20' square. The property is my wife's home place. She told me that there were several home sites scattered around, including an old cemetery. We've also found arrowheads.

You Sir have access to a treasure trove. I'd be spending my free time wandering around on foot looking for those building sites.

When you were taking those pics did your imagination run wild as to how/why it's there?? And what that particular area looked like when it was abandoned?? Was it an open area bare of trees??

I really enjoy exploring areas like that.

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm sure there will be many more stories added.

I travel the high country of Colorado a lot Jeepin. This is in my top ten of favorite pics I've taken there. I entertained many, many ideas about it's history.

 

[japody]

You Sir have access to a treasure trove. I'd be spending my free time wandering around on foot looking for those building sites.

When you were taking those pics did your imagination run wild as to how/why it's there?? And what that particular area looked like when it was abandoned?? Was it an open area bare of trees??

I really enjoy exploring areas like that.

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm sure there will be many more stories added.

I travel the high country of Colorado a lot Jeepin. This is in my top ten of favorite pics I've taken there. I entertained many, many ideas about it's history.



View attachment 549043

Free time? Don't have any now that I'm retired!

My wife recalls seeing some of the remnants of the old buildings in her childhood, but they are all gone now except for the remaining stone foundations and chimneys.

That is a pretty pic you have with the peaks in the background.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Could not see video.

Try this:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/394341-found-today.html#post5060808

 

[ovrszd]

Free time? Don't have any now that I'm retired!

My wife recalls seeing some of the remnants of the old buildings in her childhood, but they are all gone now except for the remaining stone foundations and chimneys.

That is a pretty pic you have with the peaks in the background.

What I'd be searching for are small items. Tools, utensils, buckets, wash tubs, etc. Would also be looking for the burial sites to see the tombstones if there are any.

One time I was on my neighbor's large farm walking an old building site. I found a porcelain button off a woman's dress. White porcelain with a hand painted red rose. About the size of a dime. Great treasure.

I'm retired 6 years now. Within the last year I've finally learned to "make" free time. I've saw every square foot of my 150 acre farm.

 

[Jstpssng]

I would be out with a metal detector, and digging around the old foundations. It's hard telling what got dropped and rolled down alongside of them. Years ago I was working with a landscaper putting in a flower garden on a country club which had been there for years. When we lifted the sod I found a 1917 dime in great condition. It was only 10 cents, but how many decades had it lain underneath the sod?

 

[Creamer]

You Sir have access to a treasure trove. I'd be spending my free time wandering around on foot looking for those building sites.

When you were taking those pics did your imagination run wild as to how/why it's there?? And what that particular area looked like when it was abandoned?? Was it an open area bare of trees??

I really enjoy exploring areas like that.

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm sure there will be many more stories added.

I travel the high country of Colorado a lot Jeepin. This is in my top ten of favorite pics I've taken there. I entertained many, many ideas about it's history.



View attachment 549043

I know. Every time I see an old car or piece of machinery I think about the fact that at some time that was somebody's pride and joy. When you see an old homestead that is falling down and know that at one time somebody was very proud of that place - it was very special and now it is just junk to everyone who sees it. Kind of sad but it does show us where we should put our faith and what is important! Still it is fun to reminisce.

 

[DrRod]

Definitely an opportunity to adopt metal detecting as a hobby. Even around that old car, there can be tools, old clothes [brass buttons], et al stretching for 50 yards or more. I've found really nice medicine bottles around foundations in the woods and plenty of scythe blades and gas cans. One thing to look for is flowers -- especially daffodils -- in the woods as these are a good sign of an old homestead. I've seen daffodils growing in a clear right angle pattern out in the woods which means they were planted along the foundation.

And I know what Creamer is saying. Every car in a junk yard represents a big day in someone's life. I always thought of that when I worked in a nursing home -- everyone of these people was once a really big day in a family's life [i.e. don't just think of them just as old]. And when I see an abandoned farm I think of how that was a unit of production that probably supported an extended family of maybe eight people. Every old barn was someone's big investment and big gamble and was essentially part of a factory complex. Now those people have jobs with no attachment to the land.

 

[turnkey4099]

Project indeed. Best to melt it down and start over. Not too much to go by, but I'm betting it's a Model T Ford. Note the gas tank location in this video:

I agree, especially on the "melt it down". Looks like all the wood framing has rotted/fallen off and that is what holds the sheetmetal in shape.

 

[ovrszd]

Definitely an opportunity to adopt metal detecting as a hobby. Even around that old car, there can be tools, old clothes [brass buttons], et al stretching for 50 yards or more. I've found really nice medicine bottles around foundations in the woods and plenty of scythe blades and gas cans. One thing to look for is flowers -- especially daffodils -- in the woods as these are a good sign of an old homestead. I've seen daffodils growing in a clear right angle pattern out in the woods which means they were planted along the foundation.

And I know what Creamer is saying. Every car in a junk yard represents a big day in someone's life. I always thought of that when I worked in a nursing home -- everyone of these people was once a really big day in a family's life [i.e. don't just think of them just as old]. And when I see an abandoned farm I think of how that was a unit of production that probably supported an extended family of maybe eight people. Every old barn was someone's big investment and big gamble and was essentially part of a factory complex. Now those people have jobs with no attachment to the land.

The daffodil thing is a dead giveaway. Very good post DrRod.

Remember, this is our heritage.

 

[ovrszd]

I agree, especially on the "melt it down". Looks like all the wood framing has rotted/fallen off and that is what holds the sheetmetal in shape.

Let's say scrap iron is $150 per ton. That's 7.5 cents a pound. Let's say there is 500lbs there. That's $37.50. You'll spend 3 hrs getting it out of the timber and hauling it to the scrap yard. That's $12.50 an hour for your efforts with a tractor w/fel, a pickup and a trailer involved.

Maybe just leave it there and show it to your friends and family. Letting them dream up their own story about how it got there. Imagine a young boy or girl looking at it and discussing this.

This is our heritage.