One of the cool things about detecting is finding history. My boys and I took a little trip to the desert to do some site seeing and detect an old stage stop. Elson and I hunted this spot last June when he was here, but we spent most of our time out there just looking at the scenery.
[attachment 158467 P5140183.JPG]
You would have to go there to believe the beauty of this place.
This is the area where the old Rockville stage stop was in operation from about 1870 to 1895. The buildings burned down sometime before WW 11 and it is hard to find. Here are my boys throwing rocks and dinking around where the building were.
[attachment 158464 stagearea.jpg]
I was the only one interested in detecting and I got to it. I found some stuff, but what got my attention on this trip was this old lock. Here it is fresh from the ground.
[attachment 158463 P3170047.JPG]
It is made of solid brass and had patent dates of 1863 and 1870 on it, making it from the right time period. After I cleaned it up a bit we noticed that it had been beaten open.
[attachment 158465 lockfront.jpg]
[attachment 158466 lockside.jpg]
I have to wonder, did this thing lock a strong box that was robbed and broken into? There are stories of a robbery that took place at this site in the 1880's where a gold shipment was taken and never found. Could this be from that? While I may never know, it is finds like this that make the history of an area come alive. I could almost see the masked desperado's as they broke off the lock and got the loot. History, gotta love it! DC
[attachment 158467 P5140183.JPG]
You would have to go there to believe the beauty of this place.
This is the area where the old Rockville stage stop was in operation from about 1870 to 1895. The buildings burned down sometime before WW 11 and it is hard to find. Here are my boys throwing rocks and dinking around where the building were.
[attachment 158464 stagearea.jpg]
I was the only one interested in detecting and I got to it. I found some stuff, but what got my attention on this trip was this old lock. Here it is fresh from the ground.
[attachment 158463 P3170047.JPG]
It is made of solid brass and had patent dates of 1863 and 1870 on it, making it from the right time period. After I cleaned it up a bit we noticed that it had been beaten open.
[attachment 158465 lockfront.jpg]
[attachment 158466 lockside.jpg]
I have to wonder, did this thing lock a strong box that was robbed and broken into? There are stories of a robbery that took place at this site in the 1880's where a gold shipment was taken and never found. Could this be from that? While I may never know, it is finds like this that make the history of an area come alive. I could almost see the masked desperado's as they broke off the lock and got the loot. History, gotta love it! DC
