Clearing a Path

[Jaybr]

On this new to us property there is an old house/shack in the woods with an overgrown road leading to it. There was a fallen tree across it when we bought the place, and then an ice storm a couple weeks ago took down a few more across the old road. I started working on clearing it last weekend and got around to finishing it this afternoon. Main reason I'm even posting this is there are a couple really big oak trees by the old shack that I find impressive. No idea how old they are but I'd have to guess at least a couple hundred years.

 

[Jaybr]

The path still needs some cleanup but since I titled it clearing a path I guess I better post a pic of that too.

 

[ultrarunner]

I wonder the history of the dwelling?

It does appear old but still standing.

 

[Jaybr]

I wonder the history of the dwelling?

It does appear old but still standing.

Good question, the wife has been trying to find the history of the property.

There is also remnants of an old barn and outhouse on the property, along with a graveyard with a stone wall around it with dates in the 1800s. I've also found bricks and a concrete structure half buried in the pasture.

I don't think the structure in the pic was the main house, more likely slave/worker house as it's a couple hundred yards from the area that I think was the original homestead.

odd thing is there is also a dilapidated metal shed next to that shack that looks like something from the 70's

 

[Gordon Gould]

That is a neat old building. It can be interesting digging into the history.

We have an old cellar hole with rock foundation, rock hearth base, and a rock lined well on our place. There is no trace of the house except for a lot of forged nails and broken pottery we found. We were able to trace the land owner history back to the late 1700's when they incorporated the town but could not find any info on a house being there. The town historical society became interested and did most of the record searching. I wouldn't have know where to start. If you have one they may be a big help.

gg

 

[RobertEH]

have you dropped into that hole and looked around? very interesting!

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Main reason I'm even posting this is there are a couple really big oak trees by the old shack that I find impressive. No idea how old they are but I'd have to guess at least a couple hundred years.

You may be able to find a forester and borrow an increment borer. Then count the rings. Kinda neat to think back when it was little what part of history it was in. Kinda pricey tool at approx $250 but can be used multiple times...

 

[Milo]

...... Main reason I'm even posting this is there are a couple really big oak trees by the old shack that I find impressive. No idea how old they are but I'd have to guess at least a couple hundred years.

View attachment 2947010

I like the large trees and old building you have there!

I have 2 large oaks just like that on the property. They are not beside where the original house, spring house, and out buildings were, but in what is now woods just across the dirt road. My guess is the area was cleared many years back but they left those oaks for a reason, shade perhaps? I believe it was cleared opposed to just timbered because of the piles of rocks. Without competing trees, those trees they left really got to fill out and grow.

 

[Gordon Gould]

have you dropped into that hole and looked around? very interesting!

It's only about 18" in diameter. They must have dug it out big enough for a man and then laid the rock and back filled the perimeter on the way up. It is a little over 15' deep.

gg

 

[Jstpssng]

I was talking to a logging contractor a couple of years ago who had an old well on a piece of property they owned. He said that a game warden had called asking for help because a moose had fallen into it. They had already shot the animal to stop it's suffering, but apparently didn't want to contaminate the water table.

I don't know what eventually happened to it.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

You really want to either cover or fill that well.

 

[Jstpssng]

You may be able to find a forester and borrow an increment borer. Then count the rings. Kinda neat to think back when it was little what part of history it was in. Kinda pricey tool at approx $250 but can be used multiple times...

That tree is rather rotten, so aging it that way wouldn't be possible.

 

[Thomas]

Metal detector you may find something interesting.

 

[etpm]

That's a cool well but it really should be covered. Unless you want to fill it in. Myself, I would just cover it. I did that at my place. We have a shallow well, 21 feet deep, that was dug back in 1937. When I think of all the hard work that went into digging a hole 4 feet in diameter and 21 feet deep it makes me loathe to fill it. So it's covered with 4x4s. I have a pump ready to install and this summer will be using it to water my garden. In any case your well is dangerous to people and wildlife if left open. You could find a big heavy rock and place it on top. Or maybe a rusty piece of thick steel sheet or plate. It would blend right in.
Eric

 

[MossRoad]

You really want to either cover or fill that well.

Maybe he took the cover off to show us?

 

[etpm]

Maybe he took the cover off to show us?

Maybe he did. Then he can replace the cover which would be a good thing. I'm not trying to criticize the guy, I'm just trying to save someone some grief. Animals fall down holes and die. So do people. Or get stuck and need to be rescued. Like I said, I covered a well because I didn't want to fill it in but didn't want a hazard so I covered it with something I can drive over. His really old well is cool and a piece of history so filling it would be a shame, I think. But covering it would be the best idea.
Eric

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. About 15 years ago a child fell in an uncovered septic tank in an abandoned building parking lot a few blocks from us and died.

Last week I was walking and found a county drain cover in a field that appeared to get knocked off the pipe by their mowing crew. Someone could fall into it. I need to report that.

 

[Jaybr]

Not 100% sure this is a well, but that's my guess. It's about 5' square and it's either got a really solid cover in the middle or they filled it.

This is in close proximity to the double seat outhouse and a shed.

 

[Jaybr]

As I mentioned, there is a small graveyard on the property. There a maybe 10-12 graves here but only 2 have headstones (others have small stone markers). Doing a little searching tonight I found one of these men was an attorney and died from a gunshot wound to the head, ruled suicide. His name was listed as a Jr, and he had a 2 year old son at the time of his death, with the same name and being a III. The interesting find is that his namesake, which by dates appears to be his grandfather, was also Stonewall Jacksons stepfather, albeit for a short time before passing.

 

[wolc123]

Interesting stuff there. Have you been to the Stonewall Jackson shrine in Guinea Station VA ? It’s cool to see the bed that he laid on when he passed, and the clock up on the mantle, that was there and still marks the time that he made it to the hereafter.

That old house does look like a slave cabin and is similar to one I’ve seen, that is open to the public, at the Bushong farm in New Market VA:

I find Civil War history fascinating, and it’s cool to be able to visit the sites where it took place and still contain many of the structures that were there at the time.

Old graveyards are cool too. Our kids are the 8th generation of our family to live on our farm, way up north, near the Canadian border. It’s pretty neat to be able to ride our bikes over to the cemetery, just around the corner, and see the markers of our ancestors. That of my great great great great grandfather, born in 1790, is the one there with the oldest legible date.