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