Relic hunting in Kansas and Missouri?

[smp3000]

Brand new to the hobby and newer to the midwest area. I'm in awe with how much "older" everything is out here compared to the west coast and I'd love to go out and hunt some areas where civil war troops may have been.

I live literally on the santa fe trail and right near where they all crossed so I'm sure there are lots of places I could go to find some neat things.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[smp3000]

OK OK, I know no one wants to give up "locations" and that's not what I was asking really, I'd just love to hear and see some things that some of you have found around here. Anything from the pioneer days?

[turtlefoot]

Hi and welcome.

I am in the Ozarks in Missouri, and yes, there is a lot of older relics to be found. Research is the key to finding the spots that you may want to hunt. There are many routes and techniques in researching this area, but here are a few tips that might help. Feel free to PM me as I might be able with specifics (at least in Missouri research).

1. Study Sanborn Maps of the towns that you want to hunt in. They will show exactly what buildings were there, what they were used for, etc. The Kansas City Public Library offers a free library card to KS and MO residents and they have access to both KS and MO Sanborn Maps.

2. Check locally and online for Civil War information. Maps, battles, skirmishes, "bushwacker" raids, border raids, camp sites and much more has been documented and is easily available. Plotting the information on old maps and then transposing it to modern maps is time comsuming though. Be warned.

3. Read old local newpapers. Many spots can be found that way.

You said that you are on the Santa Fe Trail. There is a lot of documentation on the Santa Fe Trail. You are undoubtedly near outpost sites, camp sites and much more.

Basically, find a subject and read, read and research. I will spend weeks, months, and in two cases years researching, trying to find both good sites and potentially virgin sites. That is part of the fun of this hobby for me!

Keep at it and you will find the goodies.
Doug

PS - If you want a quick fix for oldies, find a patch of woods or a pasture that you can get permission to hunt. If you go out and hit them, you will undoubtedly find 70-100 year old shotshell heads, bullet casings and possibly more.

[smp3000]

Thanks man. I will take all of this and use it to my best ability. I've been doing a lot of research online on the border wars thus far. I live near a lot of the older towns where there were battles. Lot's of private land, but I have a few ideas on places.

Google maps will help me in the hobby I believe as far as getting a good understanding of where the woodlands are and how to get there.

The sanborn maps will be key in finding sites, I'll just need to know where I'm looking and what I'm looking for.

I live right off of a creek and trail that go from my city well into Missouri. A few of the other creeks near me have been proven to be pretty fruitful in relics as I've heard. So just like you said- I'd be likely to get a hit in the right spots all around here as the oregon and santa fe trails crossed just a mile or so from here.

[Lightningjack]

turtlefoot gave you some good info, try these links for a little more research ... The first map link is Kansas & the second link is for Missouri.. I also included a couple good Civil War research sites.. Hope this helps..

http://luna.ku.edu:8180/luna/servlet...Classification

http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/...1;c=umcscsanic

http://home.usmo.com/~momollus/Mocwlink.htm

http://www.simmonsgames.com/research...V08-C018R.html

[smp3000]

Thank you very much, I will bookmark these!!!

[turtlefoot]

Nice links Lightningjack!

[Lightningjack]

Originally Posted by turtlefoot

Nice links Lightningjack!

Got pretty good at researching & learned a lot after being on here ( The Friendly Forum) for the past 4 years..

Now if I could just get the courage up to start knocking on the owners doors of the 100+ new sites that I've found..

[smp3000]

If I'm one of them- let me know and we'll hit it together!

[iUSEaFisherF75]

Sounds like you live on some prime land. What I do is overlay maps, sometimes they dont match up perfectly, but using photoshop you can get a general idea. Right now I've been researching a lot and saving the locations on my phone. Places from Platte County to Boone county, and even down to the Ozarks. It gets quite addicting and the reason I take so long to do research is in case the place I want to go won't let me dig on their site, I could go the the next best area. I've been cursed at and it doesn't feel good. Also it has been really dry lately and trying to make holes is harder and making them look like you were never there can be even harder. So right now I'm just waiting till it rains a lot and after everyone harvests their crop which is not too far away lol