Ever run an ad to dig?

[swizzle]

I wasn't offended at all. I think its great to be discussing ways to find dumps. I would like to see how others would word an add. Whether its for a business card or small town paper or even a paphlet you can hand the homeowner when your going door to door. Here's one tip I can give to you door to door dump hunters. Never talk about possible large finds. It builds up hope and gets people thinking of dollar signs. Show some cool modest bottles that you've found with the history of the company that made that product and what it was for. It'll show that your really interested in a few old bottles and not just in it to make money. Oh yeah here's a trick I use for finding late 1800's dumps. I'm not sure if the link will work or not so if it doesn't here's how I find it. I go to yahoo type in "old maps new englad" look for the link that says "historic usgs maps of new england" Then (providing you live on the east coast) pick your state and then your city or town. If you look at the maps (generally they are 1900 to 1902) look for the square dots. Those house are all over a 100 years old. In the country everyone of these houses should have a dump. Anyone else got any tips? Swiz

 

[swizzle]

docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm

I forgot the link. Swiz

 

[Mainepontil]

Good link Swiz, I use those exact maps for southern maine.

I know this has been mentioned in past posts but I also find good information on local towns municipal websites. Many have aerial maps with dates of homes.

I also go online to realtor.com and look for old houses for sale. They usually list the date and alot of times the houses are vacant.

 

[Toxic_Waste]

I ran an "ad" in the form of a post on a local forum, and had several people look at the post, but nobody replied to it. I am in California and I feel that most people here are pretty possessive of their property and don't like anyone on it. And like was mentioned before, if you give them the idea that there is "buried treasure" somewhere on their place, they sure aren't going to invite some stranger to have a go at it.

I agree about the ads that say "will remove old trash dumps" attracting people who have junk you don't want to mess with, such as old rusted-out car bodies, large appliance hulks, tires, leaking batteries, etc. I keep hoping that some friendly old rancher with property that's been handed down through generations will one day allow me to dig around an old foundation or old dump.

It is so frustrating that I know of dozens of perfect spots to dig but cannot get permission. The town I grew up in covered their old dump under mountains of dirt. Before they did that I was able to find some cool stuff, such as old drugstore medicine bottles and even a hinged railroad compass. It makes me ill to think of the thousands of treasures buried forever under dirt and I can't get to them! Grrrrrrr

 

[swizzle]

You can try advertising in this forum for a digging buddy. Maybe you can get someone to help you find a dump. Talking to old guys in your area is another way to learn the local history. Swiz