BrotherBo
Member
So our house was originally built in 1857 by people who had just came over from England with lots and lots of money; they already had family here in this area who had fought in the Revolutionary War. They were timber and cattle barons. The family mansion underwent a full restoration in 1907 by one of the heirs; it was "Victorianized" somewhat at that point and "updated" to 1907 Gilded Age standards. It remained in the same family all of it's life until about 18 years ago when the last descendant passed away here(she was 103). After she passed, the property was abandoned and left vacant for the next 15 years until we purchased it(we're now in the process of a rather large, cash-draining restoration). Of course I want to find the old privy and dig it(it's never been done), so that's top on the list. But here's another possibility - there is a well out beside the old carriage house that could contain some bottles. The lid opens up to reveal an opening about 3 1/2 ft in diameter; plenty big enough for a person to get down into it. I shined a flashlight down in it and it's about 5 ft down to the water, which is very shallow(looks like a sandy/silty bottom). It opens up to a diameter of roughly 6-8 ft at the water level. So my question is, could this old well be safely dug for bottles? Is this a common practice in the bottle collecting world? Is it even worth the effort?