How old is this? (Lots of pics)

[Crabgrass]

There's an old house foundation not far from my house. I took a few pics -- how old do you guys think it is? Nobody around here knows much about it anymore.

Here's a overview of the foundation. It's not much more than a fireplace anymore. The foundation in the pic is about 20'x20'. There's another 20'x20' section that you can't see because I was standing in it while taking the pic. The tree in it is about 12" in diameter. There's no wood from the construction left whatsoever.

And here's a closeup of the fireplace. The things all over on the hearth are red bricks. The fireplace and foundation are all made of stone so I don't know where the bricks came from. If you look close you can see some nice arch-work above the opening.

This is nearby. I believe it's the cold cellar. It's about 5'x5'. Man I wouldn't trust that roof! If you look close you can see an iron bar holding the roof over the opening. That may help date it.

This is something they build to get water from (I think). It's about 200' feet away and off of a small creek that runs behind the fence.

Here's a closeup of the "well". If you look close at the bottom of the pic you can see it still has water!

And just because I'm on a roll imbedding pics here's my new pole barn with my Deere 4400 peeking out. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif The road is a work in progress. By the way the foundation is on the hill in the upper right of this pic.

 

[texbaylea]

Ron

That looks like something that would date from the time of the earliest settlers. A general history of the area would give an idea within a decade or two. I have seen similar looking places here in Texas that are supposed to have existed in the 1830's and 40's

Vernon

 

[sweettractors]

What part of Ky are you located in? Looks like some nice cows in the background. Are they yours? I would go with early 1800's from what I see--Ken Sweet

Sweet Farm Equipment LLC *Central Ky*

 

[Crabgrass]

Hi Ken; nice to meet you. I'm in Stamping Ground, KY. Gotta love that name, eh? It's a bit north of Lexington. We have a grand population of about 500. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The cattle aren't mine -- they're my neighbors on his 140 acre farm. I have 8 acres where I grow crabgrass and dandilions, in between mowings. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Egon]

If you can find some nails. They will put a date on the original structure.

Egon

 

[Ozarker]

Could the "well" have had a roof over it and been for cold storage? Cooled by a spring that may have run there at one time?

 

[DaveNay]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( That looks like something that would date from the time of the earliest settlers. A general history of the area would give an idea within a decade or two. I have seen similar looking places here in Texas that are supposed to have existed in the 1830's and 40's)</font>

I don't think that is always true. The house that my grandpa grew up in (I'm 33) looks very similar to that condition, it is up in the mountains and woods of West Virginia. The power of the freezing and thawing, as well as tree and vine roots is amazing. On a stacked stone foundation, it only takes a few decades for an abandoned structure to be completely overgrown. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that house was occupied as recently as the 1950's or '60's.

Dave

 

[kensfarm]

My log cabin farm house has a stone foundation & stone fireplace.. it was built in 1790. Kitchen addition built in 1860.

 

[crb478]

There is really not enough information there to date it correctly. Being in Ky. it could be anywhere from about 1780's to a round the early 1900's depending on how rural a area you are in. What you are referring to as a well was possibly a spring house used to keep food cold, basically a refrigator. The "Cold Celler" would have been used as a root celler and things like roots and potatoes would have been stored out of sunlight there. If you find any nails in the area see if they are cut nails or hand made nails. Cut nails did not appear until around 1880. If the iron bar in the "Cold Celler" is origional to the structure it will put the date in the later 1800's or early 1900's as steel or iron was a valuable commodity before that. If you dig around at the county court house for tax records, or on sight with a metal detector you can probably date it reasonably close. Hope this helps some.