Ok here's the question....

[Steve In Michigan]

I went out this weekendand recieved permission to hunt at a house that was built in 1904 as well as a house that was built around 1898.....thats the good news woohoo but the question is the owner of the 1904 house was wondering if I could find the original property stakes for him. Now I have no problem doing this and it is the least I can do for getting permission to hunt there, but besides these stakes being in a field that the grass and weeds are @ss high to a tall person...would the stakes still be there after 104 years?? depending on what they were made of I'm kinda wondering about that. Oh and mix in the usuall Barbed Wire, other metal fencing and god knows what else buried under the weeds. Any ideas or suggestions would be great thanks.

 

[khouse]

I have a real hard time finding my stakes and I know where they are. Now if he can show you the area - you might find them. 104 years ago they might have simply piled up some rocks. Maybe one big rock? You could be spending hours looking for the property corners and never find them. I would first tell him that your detector is more geared toward higher conductors.(get him already thinking it will be hard). Tell him if he knows where the stakes "could" be you'll give it a try. Give it you best shot for like 30 minutes. Then tell him your detector simply can't find them. I wouldn't spend all day with the Chiggers, Mosquitoes, Ticks and Sasquatch out there!

 

[Bernie]

I found some property markers for a friend recently. They were metal stakes driven in the ground. One was about 6 inches down and other was just below the surface. She had a good idea where they were which based on a survey made it relatively easy. Good luck.

 

[dahut]

Follow Kenny's advice. You do owe it to the guy for his permission, so give it a shot.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah, punt.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Some folks used pipe or conduit for markers.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

That long ago they could have been wooden stakes. Could go to the court house and get a plat map showing the property lines and basically where they are.

Bill

 

[BigCatDaddy]

Being in surveying since 1968, I know they could have used most anything back then. Chances are the original deed just called for stakes. You might get lucky and surveys have been done on the adjoining properties and the stakes were located or replaced with new ones. To accurately find them, you will need a plat or deed with the dimensions and a tape to verify that the stakes you find are the correct ones. I have been to properties that had up to 8 iron rebars in a 1 foot square area. Some surveyors don't do due diligence in finding the old stakes and just set new ones. If they did actually set pipes or rebars originally, they could be down 2-3 feet easily after that much elapsed time. If that's the case, you would need a magnetic locator to pick them up. We use ones made by Schoenstadt that can easily find a pipe or rebar at that depth. Good luck on your quest and if you need some help, I would be glad to lend my assistance.

 

[NM5K]

I've been able to find markers at a couple of properties.
What I try to do is first see if you see any signs of markers on adjoining
properties, or signs of obvious property lines. If you can find a "good"
marker that will help a lot as it will let you know how far back from
the road center line they were placing them.
As far as the pins themselves, that could be trickier if they are that old.
I'm not sure if they used rebar at the turn of the century. Maybe, but maybe
not. The suggestion of looking for rocks is a good one. In the old days,
rocks, and piles of rocks were often used as markers.
There may, or may not be a metal pin under the rocks.
If they used rocks, this may be noted on old plat maps, but again
maybe not..
Both of the properties I've found pins on used rebar as the pins.
This normally bangs a detector pretty good, so I would expect to find
them unless they have really sunk deep. In the cases I've seen so far,
they haven't really sunk much. I had no trouble detecting the pins with
my 250, and any of the coils.
At the TX property, the pins were along with no rocks. What clued me
to their locations was finding other peoples markers, and then noting
the setback from the road. Then it all fell in place..
At my OK place, pretty much ditto.. Once I found one good marker a
few lots down, I was able to note the setback, and it all started to fall
in place. I was then able to easily find my two front markers.
At the OK place, the pins were also of rebar, but they also had a pile
of rocks covering the pins.
I still need to find my two back pins, but I've been slacking lately..
I was up there this past weekend for about three days, but I spent
most of my time playing lawnmower man, vs tecting for pins..
Had a lot of mowing to do, and it kept me pretty busy.. My land was
in serious need of a haircut... :/ It's looks way mo better now..
I also took a new to me .22 rifle which I recently built up, and I had to
sight in the scope, etc.. So my spare time was usually popping that
thing, vs playing with the detector..
But.. I still intend to find my two back pins before too long.
I'm going to try it in the winter when the brush and grass is toast, and
it should be easier..
I think I've actually seen a pile of rocks at my N/W corner, but I forgot
where it was, and when I've tried to find it, couldn't.. But it was lush
and green, and that didn't help things. Should stick out better in
the winter.
BTW, when I was looking at a rebar pin at the TX place, I tried a
trick I had heard about using a compass to find pins..
IE: you take a good compass and run it along the ground where
you think the pin is.. If there is one, the needle will swing off a tad..
Well.. It works.. My compass could sense the metal in the ground,
and the needle swung a bit.
But the detector is still better and quicker..

 

[treasurefiend]

They may still be there. I detected my parents house a few months ago, before they bought it a surveyor marked the extents of the property. The wooden stakes are still in the ground but I also found 2 dimes in each corner of the backyard (4 dimes) exactly next to the steaks. I dug them up and kept them as the backyard is in closed by wooden fences.