RIBottleguy
Well-Known Member
Ok, the main dig was the one mentioned above, but I did some prospecting beforehand. The first 1850s house I went to was a strikeout, the owner said the dump was dug well back in the 70s. The second house (a large stone one, which is unusual around here) is apartments and the landlord was out. I took a quick look around, and there was a small stream with a nice stone slab bridge over it. On one side was a bunch of broken glass, but it was all newer. The next stop was the old West Kingston Fairgrounds, which was quite popular from the mid 1870s to the late 1950s. It was one of the biggest fairs in the state, drawing thousands of people each year to the extensive grounds. Now American Power Conversion occupies the spot, a behemoth of a building. Luckily for me, there is a little known nature trail behind the complex. I expected a bunch of junk, but at first only found a historic cemetery. I found a new dump I almost scratched around, but all I saw was 1940s-1950s trash, and it was fairly well dug.
I was getting ready to head home, when I remembered a spot I almost forgot. It was an old cellar hole right off a nearby road. It had been filled with trash, about 3 feet deep. A lot of the stuff was from the 1940s-60s, but there was some stuff worth digging for. I'm not yet old and picky enough to toss out newer bottles, so I gave the site another try. The nice part was that there was no dirt in the hole, only trash. Wherever you looked there was bottles and cans. Actually, about 5-10 cans per bottle. And some were in decent shape. I don't collect them, but some were worth setting aside to mull over their fate. I didn't find anything good initially, then out popped a screw cap Atwood's Jaundice Bitters. Yeah, this dump is not for those who only go for quality bottles. It was enough for me to keep digging, so soon I pulled out a blown wine bottle, 1890s? The nicest bottle was a Maine Bottling Co. Providence, RI crown top soda. There was also some decent ABM milk glass (no Musteroles). Got a Glover's Imperial Mange Medicine, and another wine. The best bottles that will come from this site will be sodas and milk bottles. Good enough for me! I plan to return tomorrow, take some pics, and maybe a video. This is looking to be a fun dig!
Here's a two part video from the dig:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dcRhXIUoJg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZcEsxexCsA
I was getting ready to head home, when I remembered a spot I almost forgot. It was an old cellar hole right off a nearby road. It had been filled with trash, about 3 feet deep. A lot of the stuff was from the 1940s-60s, but there was some stuff worth digging for. I'm not yet old and picky enough to toss out newer bottles, so I gave the site another try. The nice part was that there was no dirt in the hole, only trash. Wherever you looked there was bottles and cans. Actually, about 5-10 cans per bottle. And some were in decent shape. I don't collect them, but some were worth setting aside to mull over their fate. I didn't find anything good initially, then out popped a screw cap Atwood's Jaundice Bitters. Yeah, this dump is not for those who only go for quality bottles. It was enough for me to keep digging, so soon I pulled out a blown wine bottle, 1890s? The nicest bottle was a Maine Bottling Co. Providence, RI crown top soda. There was also some decent ABM milk glass (no Musteroles). Got a Glover's Imperial Mange Medicine, and another wine. The best bottles that will come from this site will be sodas and milk bottles. Good enough for me! I plan to return tomorrow, take some pics, and maybe a video. This is looking to be a fun dig!
Here's a two part video from the dig:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dcRhXIUoJg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZcEsxexCsA
