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T

Tiggit

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A friend tells me he has an underground room deep in a wooded area on his place. After about half an hour we locate the hole and I fire up the Etrac and start sweeping around the entrance. After about a minute I get a repeating 1-28. Dug about 8-12" down and found about a dozen of these little metal clips. They are about 1/2" x 1.25" in size with wood on both sides. I have no clue what these could be and if someone could shed light on what this little 8'x8' underground room out in the middle of the woods with no trace of a house or anything could be I would love to know what both are. Thanks for your time.
Lostexan
 
Well if Rusty is right and I would bet he is, you may have a hideout used my someone to examine their loot. Wood on both sides of the lock, sounds like they used a knife to carve the lock out. If you can date the lock somehow, you might be able to research whatever robbery(s) they are from. Are they all identical in design? What happened to the loot? Is it stashed somewhere nearby still?
 
Thanks for the replies. Yes they are all identical. I'm not sure if they are locks as they don't have any thru holes for a key. The one in the third picture is one i dug the wood out of to see what was underneath. The little piece that looks like a Phillips screw is actually a small rivet. In the last pic the little "H" looking piece is part of the metal clip that goes thru the wood and is bent over to secure the clip to the wood. As for the hole in the ground I'm thinking a root cellar but if you saw the lay of the land and the trees nearby it just don't seem possible that there was a house on top of it or nearby. Although they are not there today there were supposed to be railroad tracks close by. Landowner thinks could have been a hide out for the underground railroad since the tracks were nearby and according to the history of the town there were a few houses used as hide outs for the UR. I should probably mention this is in Central Indiana and not Texas as my username suggests. The bricks inside the room I could see dating back quite aways but the 4 walls are made of concrete. Not really sure when concrete was invented but I don't think it was Civil War/underground railroad era. Anyhow that's about all I know about the place other than it being cool that it is there in the middle of the woods. Thanks again.
 
My guess is that it they have something to do with firearms, striper clip, part to clips/magazines, etc.
 
Looks like you got yourself a mystery there!

I wouldn't think a root cellar would have a small rectangular hole to drop in and climb out of. Are there any remnants of a hatch door or hinges around that entrance hole?

Based on the first photo, looks like the concrete is around a foot thick, way too thick just to be a temporary Underground RR hideout.
Whats also interesting, why is there a partial brick wall in that small room?
The thing is built like a bomb shelter, in fact maybe thats what it is, an old 1950's shelter built during the height of the Cold War away from population centers.

Other than that the thing looks to be industrially built and might have something to do with the old RR which you mentioned was nearby.

Far as those clip items and a possible RR connection, maybe sliders for opening and closing wood framed RR passenger car windows?

Just how close were those old RR tracks to this place?

All just guesses.
 
He said about 50 yds. There is a small creek just down the hill and the tracks were just on the other side of the creek. Supposedly this guy's great grandfather bought the place in the early 1920's and said it was already there. Unfortunately his great and grand father has passed but his grandmother is still alive so he said he would ask her about it. It is definitely a mystery alright. Either that or the underground RR hide out is a more interesting story to tell than it just being a storm/bomb shelter. LOL. Interesting thought on the RR window idea though. I will google it this evening. Thanks
 
I found one of those in a state park while hunting pheasant many years ago. Virtually identical to yours but not anywhere near a RR. I never found any evidence of a house but suspected it to have been a root cellar at one time.
It was built into a hill and had an entrance door at the bottom but had been filled in some time ago.
 
Found lots of 'em...

And as there were a half dozen or so where the pieces folded out- once you find one there's usually more in the general vicinity
 
lostexan said:
He said about 50 yds. There is a small creek just down the hill and the tracks were just on the other side of the creek. Supposedly this guy's great grandfather bought the place in the early 1920's and said it was already there. Unfortunately his great and grand father has passed but his grandmother is still alive so he said he would ask her about it. It is definitely a mystery alright. Either that or the underground RR hide out is a more interesting story to tell than it just being a storm/bomb shelter. LOL. Interesting thought on the RR window idea though. I will google it this evening. Thanks
Click to expand...

There since the 1920's? That would leave out the nuclear bomb shelter guess. Tornado shelter?
I still don't see it being a mid to early1800s underground RR shelter with that poured concrete. Its also built way too robust to be a temporary underground RR shelter.

Why would a root cellar have foot deep concrete walls? And in the middle of nowhere? And why the partial brick wall?
I've have seen root cellars with similar hole in the ground entrances but not with elaborate foot thick concrete. I suppose anything is possible though.

Still think it has something to do with that old RR which would of been only a short 50 yard distance away. Was thinking of a cistern to collect water for the steam locomotives of the time. But i would think if so, it would be located a lot closer to the track bed.

My new guess if it has nothing to do with the old RR. A root cellar with a dual purpose that also serves as a tornado shelter.

Are you absolutely sure there wasn't a long gone homestead in the area? Perhaps a RR way station, post office stop, etc.
Have you checked old turn of the Century platt maps?

Find this really interesting. Let us know what you find out!
 
Darkflight you are right. After seeing your reply I examined all of the pcs closer and found this one where I could barely make out the graduation marks. Thanks I would never had guessed that.
Ironsight I agree about the poured concrete. I'm betting grandpa or great grandpa probably knew exactly what it was but the hideout for slaves made for a better story for the kids. I am also wondering the same thing about the brick walls. Why would you try to seperate such a small room. I didn't get to investigate very long since it was getting dark but from what I could see there was nothing inside giving any clue such as mason jars or lids. Just dirt, leaves, and a couple of boards. Will definitely be revisiting and doing some research. Thanks again for all the replies.
 
What you have found are the remnants of an old wooden Lufkin fold out ruler.

look at pic where the sections hinge

I would also say that ruler is years newer than sight. I would guess maybe grandpa left it there after measuring opening.
 
The room and hole itself was definitely a "Hideout" rather than a root cellar. Many such hideouts are found overseas in China Korea Vietnam and England.

Google "underground hideout"
 
Just a thought.Could it have been an explosive storage bunker for the railroad. Clearing areas with dynamite was of the norm back in the railroad building days....
 
exahab said:
What you have found are the remnants of an old wooden Lufkin fold out ruler.

look at pic where the sections hinge

I would also say that ruler is years newer than sight. I would guess maybe grandpa left it there after measuring opening.
Click to expand...

You nailed it!
 
Thanks guys. After Darkflight guessed what it was I found one of the pcs that did have the ruler markings on it. (See picture above). So you guys were spot on. The thought of the "bunker" being some sort of storage for the railroad did cross my mind. Maybe something like a coal storage and yes, I wasn't thinking dynamite but I guess that would be possible. I really believe it has something to do with the RR myself. Still doing some research. Thanks again I have really enjoyed reading some of the possibilities.
 
Wood on both sides, makes sense, good call. exahab. I work in a hardware store and sold one a week or so ago and I didn't catch it. Not to mention I used Dad's many times as a kid.
 
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