Dump Question

[Minkey]

I recently got permission to dig in the dump of a 1790's farm. I found an area with tons of 30's and 40's bottles and cans laying around. I also found the bottom of a bottle with a pontil mark. I was wondering if I should dig and if I sould how far would I have to dig down?

 

[farmgal]

Hi minkey Welcome to the forum.. I just joined a few weeks back. On our farm with have a lot of 30's 40's stuff to. It seems to be laying all over in the treebelt. Can't help you with how far down you might have to dig down. I'm just starting digging out the old outhouse (Privy) And so far I'm down 3-4 feet and just finding 30's stuff for the most part. Could be stuff just about anywhere. Best of luck..Hope to see some of your finds. farmgal.

 

[Minkey]

Thanks farmgal, I think on the weekend I'll give it a shot.

 

[farmgal]

If you have a garden type scratcher they work great! and if you see an outhouse!! go for it! All advice I've picked up here on the forum..There are the kindest folks here with awesome knowledge and advice

 

[kastoo]

A standing outhouse that has been abandoned for for about 50-100 years or more is ok but you would not want to dig anything newer. When most people here dig "outhouses" they are digging privies. The outhouse has long been gone and they have found the hole using a probe. From what I've heard farms are the toughest to find privies and most times the farm privy was not used as a trash receptacle because there was so much other space on the farm to dump. The farm dump is a great place but often also tough to find.

ALSO, 30s and 40s may have some valuable cone top cans around if they are still readable and milks and whitehouse vinegars.

 

[Minkey]

Thanks for the help farmgal and kastoo. Another thing I would like to know is if I dig deeper do you think I will find older stuff?

 

[77waystodeal3]

Walk Around The Edges Of The Planting Feilds, There Will Be Drop Points For The Feild Stone's They Plow Up...If They Had Livestock, They Would Take The Dead Or The Bone's That They Didn't Use Along With Their Trash And Pile The Feild Stone's Over The Top To Hide It.........Sometimes they made the bonepiles and the trash pile apart from oneanother................................
.........The Privys are supper hard to find becuse they had so much freedom of where they could be put..!!...................................
.........................Good Luck.....................................................................................................................................77[8D]

 

[RICKJJ59W]

The old old dumps are hard to find,the weeds and over growth are going to be covering the old dumps more then the new ones.Look for holes and dips in the woods,and take a few swipes with the dig tool,it may turn churn up some glass.
Thats what we dnce in a while you get lucky and find the older dump.

 

[farmgal]

Very interesting information today. A bit confusing to. We only own part of the land here that has been farmed over the generations. So things are a bit more complex. The treebelt is thicker then most on farms around here. That's how we found the 30-40's dump site. farmgal.

 

[VA is for Diggers]

Many northeastern farms had icehouses. Once the refrigerator came to use, they dumped their junk inside it. Most will be TOC or later. These are easy to spot. A dirt cellar or under the porch is worth investigating too (easy finds with little effort.) Lastly, few pontiled bottles were tossed back in the old days. Privies may be the best place to find such, but they will be the most difficult to locate in a farm. I have never had much luck in locating any privy past 1880's. The soil is too firm in my clay soil area, and the probe is not effective. Good luck, and post any finds.