| Living in the Southwest we don't get to many | | | | the old house at the local grocery store. Working |
| opportunities to search for Civil War relics. | | | | at the check out counter was a gentleman in his |
| While visiting relatives in the East, I took my | | | | mid 70's. Vern had lived in the area all his life. His |
| metal detector with us. | | | | Father, Mother and Grand parents lived in the |
| This article will again highlight how important | | | | area all their lives. Vern validated the property I |
| research is in treasure hunting. | | | | was researching was a Canon Ball and Bullet |
| I knew the home my relatives were living in was | | | | foundry during the Civil War. |
| quite old. It was located in Eastern Pennsylvania . | | | | It was time to break out my metal detector. |
| The main structure was built around 1840's. The | | | | Prior to searching around the house, barn and |
| main house was three stories and it had 15 | | | | foundry, I wanted to test my detector on soil |
| Bedrooms. Each bedroom had a Fireplace. I didn't | | | | conditions. I was passing the detector over the |
| measure the house but I would estimate it at | | | | gravel drive when it sounded off. The target |
| 8,000 square feet. The current structure and land | | | | appeared large. I dug down about 6 inches. It |
| included a tennis court, large pool, and very large | | | | turned out to be a melted piece of lead. The item |
| 3-story barn. All of this was setting on | | | | weight about 2 lbs. |
| approximately 20 acres. The original land and | | | | I proceeded to search the area for two days. I |
| structures included 25 coke ovens, and a lead | | | | found many pieces of Lead, including a couple of |
| casting foundry. | | | | pieces that could have been Cannon Balls. We |
| One of my relatives said he thought the whole | | | | found a few older coins, but nothing in 1800's. By |
| operation made cannon balls and musket bullets | | | | the barn we uncovered some old tools, parts of |
| for the North during the Civil War. After that | | | | older Automobiles. Also found were horseshoes, |
| comment I started looking for ways to research | | | | and nails. The old foundry was gated and locked |
| the area. | | | | up so we could not search it. |
| Fortunately the house had some very old pictures | | | | This outing was a fun time. Knowing what era the |
| mounted on the walls, which depicted how the | | | | buildings were and confirmation on the Civil War |
| structures looked many years ago. It helped | | | | factory made the research fun. |
| pinpoint where original buildings were located. | | | | Remember your treasure hunting outings will be |
| I continued to research the location. I was able to | | | | more fun and profitable if you do the research. |
| acquired additional information on the history of | | | | Please visit our site for more stories and tips. |