Howardsville Stones

Teegate

Teegate

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All,

Today was a good day. We first visited the cleared area where the dwellings were at according to the maps I posted, and went to the location where the large building was located. It was right next to the large tree in the clearing.

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From there we headed off to look for stones. Our first stop was on the Lawrence line where we again looked for #17. Nothing! Then we traveled the line looking for a concrete Greenwood Forest monument. Nothing! We then looked for another cement monument nearby with much better results.

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Our first stone was next on the list and we were not disappointed. This was a nice one. It had a bolt in the back that did not go through it, and someone in the past had put some sort of metal around the bolt to keep water out. The result of that is the discoloration of the stone.

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The other side.

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I was not prepared for what I would find at the next location....a stone like no other I have found. This baby was huge!

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The nice thing is there about 9 or more stones for me to find :) :)

Guy
 
Teegate

Teegate

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Maybe to tie horses to :)

Or to carry or pull. But the one came loose and it was important enough for someone to try to fix. I should have gotten a closer photo. The metal was as shiny as if it was done today.

Guy
 
RednekF350

RednekF350

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Feb 20, 2004
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Guy
I think what you may be seeing is an old time surveyor using locally available objects for monumentation of the property. It is always interestring to me to find corners on large remote tracts marked by non-native stone materials (i.e. granite or marble) It wasn't easy finding those materialss or setting them in the middle of nowhere.
To me,the bolts look like remnants of tie-backs that served a purpose other than holding the stone together. Possibly, they were part of an onamental wall or other decorative stone work. The surveyor salvaged them and put them to use.
I did a survey in the 70's of an old salvage yard in Barnsboro and the corner monumentation was comprised of auto parts. Pinion gears and splined axles marked the corners.
Scott
 
Teegate

Teegate

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RednekF350 said:
Guy
I think what you may be seeing is an old time surveyor using locally available objects for monumentation of the property. It is always interestring to me to find corners on large remote tracts marked by non-native stone materials (i.e. granite or marble) It wasn't easy finding those materialss or setting them in the middle of nowhere.
To me,the bolts look like remnants of tie-backs that served a purpose other than holding the stone together. Possibly, they were part of an onamental wall or other decorative stone work. The surveyor salvaged them and put them to use.
I did a survey in the 70's of an old salvage yard in Barnsboro and the corner monumentation was comprised of auto parts. Pinion gears and splined axles marked the corners.
Scott
Click to expand...

Sounds reasonable. The Greenwood survey found "hubs" at some locations which I just recently realized were car hubs or rims. That is near Webbs Mill and I have to go back and look for it. It's in the middle of a swamp.

Thanks for the info.

Guy
 
E

ebsi2001

Explorer
May 2, 2006
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southern NJ
TeeGate said:
All,

Today was a good day. We first visited the cleared area where the dwellings were at according to the maps I posted, and went to the location where the large building was located. It was right next to the large tree in the clearing.

The nice thing is there about 9 or more stones for me to find :) :)

Guy
Click to expand...

Many thanks, Guy, for the nice pics! It is almost like being there...:jd:

ebsi
 
Teegate

Teegate

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All,

Since it has been quiet here I thought I would pass this along.

Tonight I was looking over the various maps I took photo's of, and noticed that this one shows the survey(s) of the property that I found the stones in this thread concerning Howardsville. The very large white stone I found is shown in this photo on the right towards the top.

What is interesting is two surveys are mentioned of this property showing dates of 1773 and 1887. So there is a possibility that the large white stones was placed there before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Tomorrow the stone at the very bottom in the middle, along with others, are on the agenda.

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Guy
 
Teegate

Teegate

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All,

We visited Howardsville again today, and did quite well.

Our first stop was about 300 feet off of Howardsville Road near 72 where we found this.

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Our next stop was actually right along Howardsville road. I was looking in the woods in the wrong spot when Jessica found this.

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Don’t let that photo deceive you...it was right along Howardsville Road.

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Then we had to park and walk, and not far from the open field we found this. It has the same holes as the other ones.

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Next on to this one.

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Then this one quite a distance in the woods near a swamp.

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We then found this dear stand. On the way out later we ran into a man who said he was heading to his stand to remove it. I whipped out my camera and sure enough..it was his. He spent all week there and only saw two deer. He will not shoot doe on Wednesday, and is not into muzzleloaders so his hunting is over.

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Our next stop was to find a Howardsville stone on the Lawrence Line, and as usual I could not find it. It is really close to a dirt road and that usually means they are gone as was the case here.


Our next and final location for the day produced this.

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We discussed the "transmission" lines before on Howardsville, and it is apparent they are the power lines that ran into there to supply electricity. On the curve near the open field you can find this evidence of that.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegat...DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2082&g2_serialNumber=1

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegat...DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2084&g2_serialNumber=1

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegat...DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2086&g2_serialNumber=1

We also saw a man and woman with their dogs there roaming around near where the large packing house once stood. Maybe from this site???



Guy
 
bobpbx

bobpbx

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Oct 25, 2002
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Pines; Bamber area
Guy, those old stones; I wonder if the style is something the guy who installed them there took with him when he left Europe or England?
 
Teegate

Teegate

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bobpbx said:
Guy, those old stones; I wonder if the style is something the guy who installed them there took with him when he left Europe or England?
Click to expand...

You may be correct. They are for the most part the biggest and nicest I have seen for a particular tract. There are many many more to find. Some I have no idea where they are even at. Next Saturday I will be looking for at least three more in my travels :)

Guy
 
RednekF350

RednekF350

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Feb 20, 2004
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TeeGate said:
We then found this dear stand. On the way out later we ran into a man who said he was heading to his stand to remove it. I whipped out my camera and sure enough..it was his. He spent all week there and only saw two deer. He will not shoot doe on Wednesday, and is not into muzzleloaders so his hunting is over.

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Guy
Click to expand...

Well if he left that ladder permannently tethered like that and that stand is in open oaks as it appears, that might explain why he didn't see more than two deer.
That ladder silhouette and the outline of that stand will spook deer as bad as a Metallica CD played on a blown speaker.
It takes a month or more for a deer to get used to seeing something like that in the woods before they will relax.
And that is only if there is no one perched in it flinging lead at them! :D
Scott
 
bobpbx

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,674
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Pines; Bamber area
RednekF350 said:
That ladder silhouette and the outline of that stand will spook deer as bad as a Metallica CD played on a blown speaker.
Click to expand...

Good one Scott!

Reminds me; my son and his buddies had a garage band this summer. Woodjin (Jeff) stopped by and we poked our heads into the garage while they were practicing. Nick gave Jeff the guitar and Jeff played some licks from a Metallica song. He was flawless, and perfect! The kids eyes popped outta their heads and they had the biggest grins from ear to ear. Nick practically pushed the drummer of his seat and started hammering away trying to keep up with Jeff.
 
Teegate

Teegate

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All,

Jes and I headed out just after 7AM this morning to look for a few final stones at Howardsville. Our first find was someone's idea of a deer feeder

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Then to the first stone. A nice one!

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The second one was a 1/4 mile away and all briers between them. It was tough going and my new pants just do not cut it. They have holes and serious pulls in them already. I am not happy with that. I may have to spend the money and buy the more expensive pair and hope they can take the rigors of the pines.

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Guy
 
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