Started the bottle digging season off at the old town dump last weekend PLUS a new find.

[GLASSHOPPER1955]

Haven't been there in 5 years or so so I thought I'd go back to see what's what. Really getting overgrown and treacherous in there now. This was a town dump from circa 1880s to about mid 1930s, that has been dug hard from the late 60s (me included!) but now it's nearly impossible to find much, most stuff is broken, burnt, or unreachable. Some holes are over 8 feet deep! I mostly scratched the surface.

I did manage to get a few bottles, an old spoon and a tiny bisque doll. Bottles include an Edison oil, Frostilla (ladies lotion), Kemp's Balsam, F. Brown's Ess (ence) of Jamaica Ginger, Wakefield's Black Berry Balsam, Ely's Cream Balm, a really unusual milkglass cold cream bottle, Charles Gulden (mustard) jar, and a small 1920s grape juice bottle. Nothing at all rare, but it's fun to get into a little age once in awhile. BTW, the Cathartic Water was just the bottom of the bottle.

[Foragist]

Not bad! Some uncommon ones. If those were still there, it would seem it's still worth digging around.

[Huckleberry]

Very Nice! I've gotta few from "woods roaming", but nothing worth posting.

[GLASSHOPPER1955]

Originally Posted by Foragist View post
Not bad! Some uncommon ones. If those were still there, it would seem it's still worth digging around.

10-4 but the "good ones" were few and far between. This place has been hit so hard anything real good would have to be unearthed by bulldozer I would have gotten many more bottles to post on here if there hadn't been SO many broken ones.

Originally Posted by Huckleberry View post
Very Nice! I've gotta few from "woods roaming", but nothing worth posting.

Ya never know. Keep youir eyes peeled for shallow dumps. I've found really good bottles on or near the surface.

Here are a few more I had soaking in cleaning acid, and a fruit jar lid. The amber flask is a slick strapside. Also a common Lea & Perrins sauce. Again, nothing great. I'm almost embarassed to show them, but hopefully it'll get better as the summer goes on.

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by GLASSHOPPER1955 View post
10-4 but the "good ones" were few and far between. This place has been hit so hard anything real good would have to be unearthed by bulldozer



Ya never know. Keep youir eyes peeled for shallow dumps. I've found really good bottles on or near the surface.

Here are a few more I had soaking in cleaning acid, and a fruit jar lid. The amber flask is a slick strapside. Also a common Lea & Perrins sauce. Again, nothing great. I'm almost embarassed to show them, but hopefully it'll get better as the summer goes on.

I gotta ask... cleaning acid???

[GLASSHOPPER1955]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry View post
I gotta ask... cleaning acid???

Actually a mix of water, lye and Drano. It does a pretty good job of getting the gunk out and off bottles. The sickness (haze) can only be tumbled out, though.

[Huckleberry]

Thanks for the info!

[GroundSweeper]

Dang you got some cool looking glass! Great pics too, thanks and congrats!

[metaladdict]

Some nice keepers there👍

[GLASSHOPPER1955]

Thanks for the comments!

Went down to the beach after some strong lake winds to see if the erosion uncovered anything, and got a nice Haven's Bottling Works pop bottle from nearby Valparaiso, Indiana. Dated 1922 it is in pretty good condition. Came out of the side of a dune where a house once was.

[fieldho]

NICE! I would love a chance to hunt some sand, this Ms. mud is killing me. I have some ideas about towns along the coast, some of which are no longer there or covered up. That Nat. Ant. Act of 50 years is a pain sometime. There's plenty around me, in the woods, but the digging is a bear, through the roots, rocks, and mud. I must be part warthog.

[aeds151]

How old is the white one in the first set of photos? I found something similar the other day.


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[Gaspipe]

It’s a turn if last century dump . So items are likely 1890ish and newer.

[Diabolik]

Glad to see you got out. Looks like some fun digging!

[zeemang]

Nice start to the year, a few nice ones there!

[GLASSHOPPER1955]

Thanks, all.

The town dump was in operation from the late 1880s to about 1935 or so. Back in the 1970s and 80s when it was being actively dug, I saw stuff from late pontil era so there was 1870s stuff coming out as well. People were digging down 7-8 feet and there were some layers that were melted, so evidence of the dump being burnt to prolong the dump's life even way back. Those days are long past and many of those deep holes have filled in from rains and erosion, and now many trees have grown in. Nobody digs it anymore, and I only surface scratch anymore looking for any easy finds. Most of the diggers I remember there have died now. Very treacherous walking in there anymore. It's in the side of a big hill.

aeds151, I can't find another one like it online, but it's some type of cold cream and I'm guessing 1920 to the early -mid 30s. Milk glass cream jars normally are easy to find, but THIS one I have never seen before, so I kept it.

[fieldho]

What is the round lid on the right, with the wings in the center? I have one in my collection also.

Originally Posted by GLASSHOPPER1955 View post
10-4 but the "good ones" were few and far between. This place has been hit so hard anything real good would have to be unearthed by bulldozer I would have gotten many more bottles to post on here if there hadn't been SO many broken ones.



Ya never know. Keep youir eyes peeled for shallow dumps. I've found really good bottles on or near the surface.

Here are a few more I had soaking in cleaning acid, and a fruit jar lid. The amber flask is a slick strapside. Also a common Lea & Perrins sauce. Again, nothing great. I'm almost embarassed to show them, but hopefully it'll get better as the summer goes on.

[stetam]

Dump digging pays off sometimes. I remember 40 years ago my best friend was shooting rats at a local town dump and pulled out a wood box that contained an 1800's hooded camera complete with the tripod.