All,
I have been slow this fall to start stone hunting for various reasons, but I have awakened and started work in my computer to do just that. So with that lets briefly go over a little history.
As some of you know the bogs at Hampton Furnace along the Batsto and the Skit Branch were owned by Andrew Rider and Charles Wilkinson, with Rider having been President of Rider College. You may also remember we have discussed the murder along the road from Atsion To Hampton Furnace where two employees of Andrew Rider were killed with Rider himself being injured and his brother killed. And the cranberry packing house at Hampton Furnace where the ruins still are today were built by Rider and Wilkinson for their cranberry operation. Rider and Wilkinson eventually sold the bogs, and by the time the state purchased them in the 1950s the property was owned by Clayberger and Goodrich, and sometime I believe in the 1960s the state acquired the property.
I have always been interested in the property lines of the Rider & Wilkinson cranberry bogs, but for the most part I had no evidence there were any property stones along their borders. Since the state now owns this property and all of the property surrounding their bogs, it more then likely will never be surveyed again. If their were any property stones to be found it would be up to individuals such as Al and I to search them out.
Recently, Al and I were examining various old maps we had found, and I noticed that one of them appeared to show that many of the more than 80 survey corners of this property may have had property stones on them. I had half hardily looked for them over the years and had been unsuccessful, so I decided it was time to wake up and see if I could come up with a piece of history that may be lost forever.
So this morning Jessica and I headed out early and spent the morning walking quite a few miles trying to find something of interest. Frustration is a familiar thing for me when stone searching, and today was no different. At each location we visited we circled around forever, at times removing pine needles for clarity. With one more possible location in our area to search at I was doubtful it would be a fruitful day. However, I was wrong! At the last location after circling for a while I stumbled on a significant find with a tree root growing right over it. It was a property stone made of granite with two historical initials written on the top. Andrew Rider and Charles Wilkinson still have a presence in the Hampton Furnace area.
The R & W (Rider/Wilkinson) stone. Most likely from around the turn of the century (1900)
Jessica taking a break.
There may be as many as 80 of these so Al and I will be busy
Guy
I have been slow this fall to start stone hunting for various reasons, but I have awakened and started work in my computer to do just that. So with that lets briefly go over a little history.
As some of you know the bogs at Hampton Furnace along the Batsto and the Skit Branch were owned by Andrew Rider and Charles Wilkinson, with Rider having been President of Rider College. You may also remember we have discussed the murder along the road from Atsion To Hampton Furnace where two employees of Andrew Rider were killed with Rider himself being injured and his brother killed. And the cranberry packing house at Hampton Furnace where the ruins still are today were built by Rider and Wilkinson for their cranberry operation. Rider and Wilkinson eventually sold the bogs, and by the time the state purchased them in the 1950s the property was owned by Clayberger and Goodrich, and sometime I believe in the 1960s the state acquired the property.
I have always been interested in the property lines of the Rider & Wilkinson cranberry bogs, but for the most part I had no evidence there were any property stones along their borders. Since the state now owns this property and all of the property surrounding their bogs, it more then likely will never be surveyed again. If their were any property stones to be found it would be up to individuals such as Al and I to search them out.
Recently, Al and I were examining various old maps we had found, and I noticed that one of them appeared to show that many of the more than 80 survey corners of this property may have had property stones on them. I had half hardily looked for them over the years and had been unsuccessful, so I decided it was time to wake up and see if I could come up with a piece of history that may be lost forever.
So this morning Jessica and I headed out early and spent the morning walking quite a few miles trying to find something of interest. Frustration is a familiar thing for me when stone searching, and today was no different. At each location we visited we circled around forever, at times removing pine needles for clarity. With one more possible location in our area to search at I was doubtful it would be a fruitful day. However, I was wrong! At the last location after circling for a while I stumbled on a significant find with a tree root growing right over it. It was a property stone made of granite with two historical initials written on the top. Andrew Rider and Charles Wilkinson still have a presence in the Hampton Furnace area.
The R & W (Rider/Wilkinson) stone. Most likely from around the turn of the century (1900)
Jessica taking a break.
There may be as many as 80 of these so Al and I will be busy
Guy
