Love Living in a Town with History to be Found!

wayoflife

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Went for our normal walk around the neighborhood yesterday and finally decided to rummage through some of the rusty tins, broken glass and stoneware that you can find scattered among the sage brush. Initially, we just took them as being the typical trash you can find in any undeveloped area located near a town but, upon closer inspection, I noticed that the tins had a soldered plug on top which typically points to the fact that they are really old. Most cans that have this feature were made back in the mid 1800's and so we started looking more closely at the broken porcelain in the area as well until we could find specimens we could identify. Two of the pieces we found had the words "Greenwood..." and "Trenton..." impressed into the base and one had the words "...Ironstone China" that we could still make out.

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After doing some research, I found that the first two pieces were in fact made by Greenwood Pottery located in Trenton, New Jersey and the only time they had their name impressed into the base of their table ware like this was back in 1886! The remaining piece turned out to be made by "Royal Ironstone China" which was originally a British company founded back in the 18th century but, this specific piece featuring a crest containing a crown and unicorn logo with the type on top was in fact made in Trenton, New Jersey by the Cook Pottery Company back in 1894.

While the area we live in is part of the Eagle Valley and a point where emigrants stopped at as a part of their journey on the California Trail, it's hard not to think that the tins we found may have been trash left behind by these early settlers. However, the broken bits of China were most likely deposited after the big Nevada silver rush of 1859. Regardless, all of it is a ton of fun to find especially being that they can be found just down the street from us. :yup:
 
That's awesome! What a great find. I've definitely started paying more attention to things in the area, no small part thanks to your influence. :thumb:
 
Too bad the Cook Pottery that you found wasn't complete. My grandma had some Cook crock pots that sold for good money at her estate auction, even the cracked ones brought some money. Apparently they're a sought after item for some antique collectors.
 
That's awesome! What a great find. I've definitely started paying more attention to things in the area, no small part thanks to your influence. :thumb:

LOL!! It's great to finally live in an area that isn't overly developed in spite of the fact that it's been populated for over 100 years and inhabited for thousands of years.

That's pretty cool! I bet they came across the trail you are about to run. :crazyeyes:

Oh yeah, for sure they did. There are even historical markers down the street that highlight the fact :yup:

That's cool! :yup: Lots of hidden treasures out there I bet...

It's way cool and I hope to find more of them :cool:
 
What a bunch of assholes! Tread lightly mean nothing to them?! :mad: :grayno:

It is ironic how if you leave trash on the ground long enough, it becomes historic. :crazyeyes:

Too bad the Cook Pottery that you found wasn't complete. My grandma had some Cook crock pots that sold for good money at her estate auction, even the cracked ones brought some money. Apparently they're a sought after item for some antique collectors.

Oh yeah, nothing would be more cool than to find something that is even more whole. But, if it were, I suppose it wouldn't be left behind as trash.
 
You'd be surprised what you can find out there with a metal detector, I've been to many old places out there with mine and I have many relics from exploring old towns in NV I've been dying to go explore NV again
 
You'd be surprised what you can find out there with a metal detector, I've been to many old places out there with mine and I have many relics from exploring old towns in NV I've been dying to go explore NV again

LOL!! I've been wanting to get a metal detector and do just that. Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in one or would any old RadioShack detector do the job?
 
LOL!! I've been wanting to get a metal detector and do just that. Is there anything in particular I should be looking for in one or would any old RadioShack detector do the job?

I would stay away from those radio shack cheapie's, I highly recommend white's detectors for their ease of use & reliability.. Made in USA & will last you a lifetime, xlt & mxt are the top models, if you wana find stuff out there you need a good one, I'd be happy to lone one & show you how to use it if I can get up that way soon :thumb:
 
LOL!! I've been wanting to get a metal detector and do just that.

We were just talking about how much fun it would be to have a metal detector on the California Trail. :yup: Maybe find an old Colt revolver or someones gold stash! :idontknow:
 
We were just talking about how much fun it would be to have a metal detector on the California Trail. :yup: Maybe find an old Colt revolver or someones gold stash! :idontknow:

I always carry one in my jeep, a great accessory for a jeep! If you wana come through NorCal on the way I'll lone ya one ;) I'll post a pic on here later of some cool treasures I've found
 
definitely go for the made in USA ones! the eastern cheapies are crap and the European models awesome but very had to get the knack of. if you can get a army surplus one you are in the pound seats!
 
Did a bit more dumpster diving today and was surprised at what was found in different areas. This first pic is of an old tin can that you can clearly see the soldered cap plugging the bottom end. "Hole-in-cap" cans like this were manufactured mainly from the 1820's to the 1840's but given the area where these were found, this was most likely a can that held evaporative milk as they were still made in this manner until about 1900. The pin hole allowed air and moisture to escape during the heating process of canning and were then capped off with a lead seal. You can imagine why this practice was stopped.

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On the top of the can, you can see how rough the opening is and this is interesting because it helps to date it to the late 1800's to about 1900 as well. It's a crazy thing to think that the tin can was invented in 1772 but a means to open it wasn't invented until over 80 years after the fact and that was basically a glorified knife. Of course, the can opener as we know it today wasn't invented until 1925. Needless to say, this crude opening points indicates it was opened by a series of cuts or punctures made by a sharp pointed object and not a mechanical opener.

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About a mile or so down the way, we found some more China but these were clearly different than the ones before. The first piece was impressed with the logo "Buffalo China 1922" and some research confirmed it's date as well. This would make this piece about 30 or so newer than the other pieces we found.

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The other piece was a coffee cup with the logo "Inca Ware - Shenango China, New Castle, PA". This company of which closed its doors back in 1991 impressed their china in this manner back in the 1930.

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Can't wait to go for another walk to see what we can find down the street :cool:
 
Such a cool find. One of the things I enjoy is taking the boys exploring in the desert. I'm always on the lookout for gems like these. :thumb:
 
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It's amazing those items lasted all these years sitting in the desert. Any ideas how they ended up where you found them? :thinking:
 
Such a cool find. One of the things I enjoy is taking the boys exploring in the desert. I'm always on the lookout for germs like these. :thumb:

Germs? I guess you never know even after all of these years. Remember Eddie wash the cups and plates before use! Lol


--rccrwlr
 
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