What was the longest your researched a spot before you actually located it?

[maxxkatt]

I was looking for a Union and Confederate hospital location called Bloody Magnolia Springs. Never could find it for two years. One day I was in a neighborhood of the Battle of Peachtree creek and just stopped to talk to a guy pilling up branches for roadside yard waste pickup. I told him I was a detectorist looking for Civil War relics and could never locate Bloody Magnolia Springs. He kind of smiled and said you are 20 feet from it down in that bamboo grove. So I found springs and it was in hard bedrock about 3 feet wide. Have not found any relics there because there is evidence of pretty large dirt grading on the hill butting up to a 4 foot high 75 feet long stone wall. The wall does not look like one from 1864. But hey, I finally found what I was looking for.

 

[KSDirtfisher]

I need to do more research or spend more time doing research in my area.

Soo many old limestone foundations & structures still visible around my area.

I think alot of these places are farms/homesteads before Kansas was a state. It was still Oklahoma territory I believe.

 

[bottlecap4u]

Hey Maxxkatt - At least you experienced the thrill of hunting it down and finally finding it. Your story sounds familiar, hunting down a location only to discover the dream was better than reality. '}

 

[hoser]

Whether you find a spot or not, hunt that spot or not, the fact you did the research to find it is what matters. I'm a firm believer in research of a site. To me that is 50% of the fun for hunting it. You can find a VERY large plot to hunt or with research you find a smaller part of that plot to hunt. Absolutely your choice what you want. Good luck.

 

[60streeter]

I have always been into history, and I had done a ton of research on the "Quaboag plantation". Eventually I actually found a homesite from that plantation where a very wealthy landowner lived, and was constructed in either 1660, or 1719. I even know his name.....but that will forever be my secret!!

I ended up recovering probably close to or over 200 relics, including a 24th regiment of foot cartridge's pouch plate... one of four known to exist. 11 coppers the newest being 1816, a gorgeous complete hand tooled key escutcheon and so many fantastic buttons

 

[Linesider]

Usually just gotta check the tides and weather..

 

[itsaring!]

I ran into an old timer about 15 years ago hunting not far from where I live. He had a custom rig to travel a long way. Told me about finding gold coins up until they built a house where it was. I'm still looking but have a good idea where it was. Just need the house to fall in. He likely passed away about 14 years ago. So he won't be giving me any more clues.

 

[60streeter]

Years....

 

[MasonDixonMding]

I looked for a home site along the road for a little over a year off and on. I had given up. Thinking the map was wrong and this house might have been on the other side of the road which I don’t have permission. One evening I’m looking a some old aerial maps near this field. When I see a small bunch of trees in the middle of this field. Now this area is all field. With no reason there would have been trees left to grow here other than at one time it couldn’t be plowed. Now I was looking at a mid 1800s map with this home site on it and the aerial map was 1958 but it was the clue I needed. Found a bunch of nails but not much else.

 

[amc rulz]

Had read about an old one-room schoolhouse site years ago. Finally I made it into the general area, was off an old dirt road too narrow for two vehicles to pass. I happened to climb a steep hill on the roadside, and there it was, only the foundation remaining. Hunted it with two friends, the only find worth mentioning was a nice Barber dime, spotted on the surface.

 

[Iggyks]

I need to do more research or spend more time doing research in my area.

Soo many old limestone foundations & structures still visible around my area.

I think alot of these places are farms/homesteads before Kansas was a state. It was still Oklahoma territory I believe.

Are you in the Cherokee Strip area? Have been down that way a couple of times taking pictures.

 

[Kansashunter]

That is usually a good source, asking local people.

 

[Cherry Picker]

For me, it was the old motorcycle track. The track is known to host the national Harley vs Indian races on a 2 mile oval in the early 1900s. Roughly 1900 to 1920s. There was a general idea of where the Dodge City 300 was held, but no one knew the location other than east of Dodge City. After years of looking at old paper clippings and many Google Earth images, I found the key. A 1937 paper with an aerial picture taken east of town. In 1937 you could still see a slight outline of the track which I overlayed on Google Earth and BINGO.

I went to the location, got permission, and 2 buddies and I had a heyday. Indian Heads, Babers, lying on top of the ground. They now have the area marked and designated as a historical site. Yeah, I did that LOL.

Field with overly from 1937.

1921

Grandstands

 

[KSDirtfisher]

Are you in the Cherokee Strip area? Have been down that way a couple of times taking pictures.

Idk what is referred to as Cherokee Strip.
But I am real close to most of the reservations.

If you been to St.Marys you are within 7miles of my home town.

I am pretty sure alot of these limestone foundations are of colonial era or dang close to them times.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

They now have the area marked and designated as a historical site. Yeah, I did that LOL.

Great job! It’s nice to hear that we can contribute to recovering history.

 

[OBN]

About ten years,

Before I retired I worked 60 hours a week and could only go detecting on my vacations so I did all my research in the late night evening hours once home. I looked and looked for this one old beach, I finally decided it had been sold and changed over to a Marina, which is common here in the CB bay. Only to find out ten years later I was wrong on the location. I only found out I was wrong because I joined the FB group of that neighborhood and someone shared a old map. Low and behold I know right where it is at and still have not got to it. Reason, the area is now privately owned by Home owners and the only way in.. is by boat. And there is only one boat ramp I can leave out of.. 10 miles away. I do have plans on getting a boat ramp pass to this river and see what it holds next spring. Ramp passes go on sale May 1..

 

[OBN]

For me, it was the old motorcycle track. The track is known to host the national Harley vs Indian races on a 2 mile oval in the early 1900s. Roughly 1900 to 1920s. There was a general idea of where the Dodge City 300 was held, but no one knew the location other than east of Dodge City. After years of looking at old paper clippings and many Google Earth images, I found the key. A 1937 paper with an aerial picture taken east of town. In 1937 you could still see a slight outline of the track which I overlayed on Google Earth and BINGO.

I went to the location, got permission, and 2 buddies and I had a heyday. Indian Heads, Babers, lying on top of the ground. They now have the area marked and designated as a historical site. Yeah, I did that LOL.

Field with overly from 1937.

1921
View attachment 604803
Grandstands

Kool location with a lot of history! Growing up I always wanted the HD XR750........... never happened.

 

[johnny utah]

About ten years,

Before I retired I worked 60 hours a week and could only go detecting on my vacations so I did all my research in the late night evening hours once home. I looked and looked for this one old beach, I finally decided it had been sold and changed over to a Marina, which is common here in the CB bay. Only to find out ten years later I was wrong on the location. I only found out I was wrong because I joined the FB group of that neighborhood and someone shared a old map. Low and behold I know right where it is at and still have not got to it. Reason, the area is now privately owned by Home owners and the only way in.. is by boat. And there is only one boat ramp I can leave out of.. 10 miles away. I do have plans on getting a boat ramp pass to this river and see what it holds next spring. Ramp passes go on sale May 1..

OBN have u ever tried to see if "maybe" any of those home owners would give u permission?
obv i get it too you are trying to keep it as secret as possible
& maybe this method won't work- just a suggestion
good luck too!!
some of my greatest success stories have came from this method - 2 of my very best sites gave me permission
i unfortunately for obv reasons couldn't show them any of the good stuff out of there .. i of course showed a lot of
junk removal - & a few worn out coins .. they were quite happy i was clean up the area for them
as a matter of fact my next beach in spring i'm going to try & acquire permission from yet another home owner
some of these areas this is absolutely the only way due to private property - as laws vary

i also tell them i like "swim" buckles collect various ones - good excuse
not to mention show them glass or fish hooks - defin any junk if i think they are on the fence about letting me in
i had one where i knew for sure i was close to right location - first lady said No, No, No
yeah i asked that many times... lol.. so i went to another neighbor- he said yes!!
it turned out the neighbor who said yes was the EXACT location!!
well the rest is history it was "Loaded"!!
had i given up who knows if i would have came back for quite
some time due to distance -

 

[OBN]

I could share some funny stories of me trying to win over the locals, the problem with this location and about 75% of the rest of them here in the bay, they are gated (Private communities). Either a guard or you need a resident pass card to swipe. A couple pics below.. of some great beaches that are gated, I hammered these by boat, This top pic I hit it hard, got over 60 gold from there in 2018, it once was a place of Great Soul Music, with a beach.

Next pic is the spot I'm hunting now. About 10 gold from it the last 2 months, its gated and I've tried t get close to a couple who came down and talked to me while I was detecting, no luck yet. Only way in is by boat, no door knocking here.

I had a spot I was going in by boat (2017) and I got talking to the home owner, non-gated community, and he did give me permission. Great old guy, 93 years old. I would bring Him Ann's Hot dogs every once and awhile. We became good friends for he had some great stories. Had a few others like that, and some that have threaten to have me arrested. Most of those were women.. One I even found their next door neighbors wedding ring, two months later they called the police on me for hunting ..in the water at the beach the TH was backed up to, where I found their wed band.

Here in the Chesapeake Bay, there are No old beaches you can park on the street and walk out. Even the County parks do not allow you to walk thru with your detector. And this is AA county. Maybe one reason I never see anyone detecting these.

 

[Cherry Picker]

And just for the record, I still have permission to hunt the land the track was on. I'm not able to because of my physical issues, currently, but I would be happy to show someone else the place to hunt. In my research, I found enough references to locate where the grandstands were located. That is the area we found the most coins, but we have found them from one end of the 2 mile track to the other.

Just another one of the many permissions with awesome possibilities I know of but I can't hunt anymore because of physical issues. Man, old age is putting the craps to my hunting LOL.