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Those Elusive Cellar Holes

Posted on August 14, 2014 By Detecting Diva 20 Comments on Those Elusive Cellar Holes

cellar holeWhen it comes to finding those elusive and coveted cellar holes, apparently there is some formula to it that folks like myself, just aren’t privy to.  Oh, and you can forget about asking Todd Hiltz & Dave Wise, their lips are pretty much closed on the subject.  But, even if they told me, I wouldn’t go running my mouth off about it anyway.

I don’t blame them for keeping their methods to themselves.  They spend countless hours researching to find old home sites and colonial settlements, and they deserve to reap the rewards that come from it.

So, from my own research, and experience, I’m going to share some of what I’ve learned, to help you find those sites in your area.  Some of you may know all this already, and that’s cool, ‘cause this is for the people who don’t.

Being from Connecticut, this is based on the Northeast.  I have no idea about the terrain or flora and fauna in your area.  It may be the same, or not, but this is only a guide.

To start, when I’m hunting an area, whether I’m there because it’s an old area I’ve researched, or  a random spot that just looks good to me, I’m pretty successful at pulling a few cool old finds out of the ground. This is because I look at the area, and the terrain, usually wooded, and sometimes densely.  I try to envision what it would have looked like a few hundred years ago, and without all the trees and such.  I take my cue’s from the landscape and common sense.

If you’re new to detecting, it may take a while to figure out if it’s a good spot or not.  Don’t get discouraged—patience is key in this hobby.

Sites are obviously much easier to visually scout out in winter, when the trees and ground are bare, so when you’re driving around in winter, anxiously awaiting the thaw, stop at those interesting spots on the side of the road, take a look around, and make notes.  Seriously, take notes, because when you suddenly get the opportunity to hunt again, you won’t remember.  Trust me on that.

If you’ve done any research on stone walls or farms, you’ll know that a few hundred years ago, trees were not a dominant part of the landscape.  Most of New England was cleared for farming, and grazing.  The wooded areas you see all around you probably didn’t exist then; and with the help of the mighty Ox, the fields were cleared of their rocks, hence creating our great and abundant stone walls.

These stone walls served as property lines, animal enclosures , lined roadways, and as hiding places for money & valuables (especially in times of war), although to date, I haven’t found any of those hidden treasures.

So when taking in an area, notice how many stone walls there are, and if there fresh water nearby? Is the area next to and old road?  Is there a hill or a slope that would have made for a good homesite? Drainage was an issue back then, and homes sometimes were built on higher land, even if it was further back from the road. These are things people needed to function successfully at that time.  Think about what you would need, if you had none of the modern conveniences of today.

Look for breaks in the stone walls.  Clean breaks, not those hastily made by loggers, or Boy Scout trail blazing projects.  Look for old town roads that have rock walls on each side of them.  These roads were usually three rods wide, but I’ve also seen mentioned that they were two rods wide (a rod is 16.5 feet).

When you find these roads, look for a break in the wall, on the uphill side of the road.  If there is a cellar hole around, it will usually be close to the road and through that break in the wall.  Not always, but usually.

If you don’t find an obvious rock foundation, don’t get discouraged.  Look around for a mound of dirt leftover from when they dug the cellar hole, and you may, or may not be able to spot some of the original foundation stones. Use your intuition.  It could have been an old cabin site, without a foundation, and not all homes had cellar holes, so swing around a bit and see if you pull up any iron or nails, a sure sign that some type of building was there.

If you find what you think is a cellar hole, and it seems to be in an odd spot, it could be the remains of a root cellar, or some other type of random farm building.

And don’t forget about Farm Plans–Farms were laid out on a four field system, with the house and barn located near the road.

The area that was used for growing crops, was the area that required the most attention, so that area would be located nearest the barn. Then came the fields for growing hay, because obviously that needed to be near the barn as well.  Then came the pasture area, and cattle would be driven to pasture daily.

Wood lots were the furthest away from the house, and it may not make sense, since wood is so heavy, but the wood lots were not used as frequently, and wood could always be transported via wagon, or sled in winter.

Most homes also had wells, as close to the house as possible, and some houses had wells inside them or attached, so look around, but carefully, sometimes they are covered by brush, and not so obvious.

If you do manage to find an old homesite, look around and try to figure out which side used to be the front yard.  The front yard usually contains the least amount of metal.  Sometimes it will be obvious by the placement of large rectangular stone steps, but again, not always.

Many homes were built facing the road, as they are today, but some were built facing the South, to take advantage of the sun. Hunt around a bit, and if you find spoons or pieces of old harmonicas, you’re probably in the spot they spent most of their time hanging out outside. This is usually on one side or in the rear of the house.

At the last cellar hole I hunted, I used this information and was quite pleased.  I determined the front of the house fairly easily, as there was a huge ledge of stone behind the house, (so much for having a back yard).  I moved to the left side of the cellar hole, figuring that would be where I would hang out, and immediately found a very old coin silver spoon.  A few minutes later, harmonica pieces and a flat button, and then a large cent, just like that—it was a textbook kind of site.

Of course, not all sites are textbook, and even back then you had your share of strange folk, who built against the grain, or thought their way was better, or for reasons we’ll never know,  just didn’t follow the norm.  So keep in mind that not everyone followed the tried and true building methods—I’ve found some sites that defy all logic.

Other things to look for when searching out cellar holes are Lilacs, open areas, Roses, periwinkle, morning glories, old apple trees or old-looking trees in general;  Day Lillies, Hydrangea, Sugar Maples, and let’s not forget the briars.  Pricker bushes were planted to keep the deer away, and to keep children out of certain areas (like garbage dumps).

Also, many old homes didn’t have cellars, and are just depressions in the ground.  Most cellar holes are square or rectangular.  Barn foundations will be wider and taller, being built from large stones and slabs of granite, and some cellar holes will seem circular in shape, because over time, the side walls have caved in.

For help in finding old homesites, you can also use old Beers maps of your town or the area.  Compare old and new maps.  Find major rivers and roads and compare the two.  You can also do an image overlay on Google Earth.  You can search for instructions on the web on how to do this. (Note:  If you’re using Google Earth and you have an ipad, the Google Earth app does not allow you to get historical imagery, you’ll have to use a regular PC for that).

And remember, there are a lot of egos and opinions when it comes to determining where to hunt with your buddies.  I’ve had a lot of people dismiss my observations, telling me a site is no good, or there’s nothing there; and not always, but most of the time, I’ve gone to these sites anyway, alone, and come out with some pretty awesome finds.

Maybe there wasn’t an obvious cellar hole, but my intuition told me there was something there. Don’t always listen to other people.  If your instinct is telling you something is there, go with it, you can’t find anything if you don’t search.

Happy Hunting!

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Comments (20) on “Those Elusive Cellar Holes”

  1. Dick Stout says:
    August 14, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    Allyson, terrific post. Lots of very good information and your last comment about using your intuition is something I really believe in. Thanks so much for sharing all this.

    1. Allyson says:
      August 14, 2014 at 1:26 pm

      Thx Dick, glad you liked it–at least I know someone is reading the stuff 🙂
      Yeah, I’m a firm believer in using your intuition, sometimes I’m just drawn to a spot and I hit upon something good.

  2. Dick Stout says:
    August 14, 2014 at 1:04 pm

    Incidentally Todd and Dave shared a few of their promising sites with me knowing I wasn’t coming back East so check your email I will forward them.

    1. Allyson says:
      August 14, 2014 at 1:27 pm

      Ha ha ha!

  3. Dennis Boucher says:
    August 15, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    Thanks Allyson, good post, I too believe in going for it if you think something may be there. It is amazing sometimes the things you find just in the woods, cause it was not just woods before. Thanks. PS I take it you healed ok..

    1. Allyson says:
      August 15, 2014 at 10:20 pm

      Yeah Dennis, I’m always amazed at what a little intuition finds me. So much has been grown over or covered up out there.
      Yup, I’m feeling much better now. My face is still numb, but at least I don’t look like a chipmunk anymore.
      Happy Hunting!

  4. Rob says:
    August 15, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    Thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading this post!

    1. Allyson says:
      August 15, 2014 at 10:21 pm

      Your welcome Rob. Glad you enjoyed it!

  5. del says:
    August 15, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    Nice write up Allyson , Its hard to believe but even the style , size and amount of stone work of the cellar can tell you so much more information and in some instances it can tell you if there is another one very close by . Also there were probably a lot more “on grade” cabin sites then actual homes with foundations around and even Todd & Dave can miss these sites and doesn’t that give us all hope . lol lol

    1. Allyson says:
      August 15, 2014 at 10:31 pm

      Hey Del–thanks for the info. I’m sure not everyone had the time to dig cellars all the time, or planned to be in one place for long, or for whatever reason just built a cabin; so I can definitely see your point.

      Todd & Dave miss something?? C’mon …. Got to give them props for their efforts, ’cause they sure as heck know a lot more than I do. Happy hunting!

  6. Dave Wise (HeavyMetalNut) says:
    August 20, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    great write up! we stumbled onto a few cabin sites that were very productive..now we really gotta get our butts in gear as you let people know how to find em : Op just teasin ya

    1. Allyson says:
      August 20, 2014 at 3:05 pm

      Hey Dave–all this info is from my own research and experience. As you and I know all too well, even armed with that information, it is possible to wander endlessly in search of what should be there 🙂

      If I knew the inside info that you cellar hole junkies were privy to, I would be spending more time hunting those cellar holes than writing about them.

      I will never understand how Todd can look at an area, decide where the cellar hole should be, enter the spot in his GPS, show up at the location, and it’s there.

      Don’t worry, no one has close to an edge on you guys.

  7. Dick Stout says:
    August 20, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    Same ones you told me about Dave?

    1. Allyson says:
      August 20, 2014 at 3:06 pm

      Where did you say they were again Dick?

  8. Dave Wise (HeavyMetalNut) says:
    August 24, 2014 at 10:38 am

    yep those are the ones Dick!

  9. Rob Ozarks Williams says:
    January 2, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    Can also read my article, INDICATORS TO LOOK FOR WHEN DETECTING HOMESTEADS http://detecting365.com/indicators-to-look-for-when-detecting-homesteads/ which will help identify homesteads and long gone properties!

    1. Detecting Diva says:
      January 2, 2017 at 5:31 pm

      Great article–Thanks for the link Rob!

      1. Rob Ozarks Williams says:
        January 2, 2017 at 6:03 pm

        What a dummy I am!!! I forgot to tell you… I enjoyed reading your tips and article, lots great info in this one. Thanks for sharing our link as well… by the way, look on D365, I hope you dont mind the modification I made to your feature image/ logo. Keep up the great work!!!

        1. Detecting Diva says:
          January 2, 2017 at 9:05 pm

          Hi Rob-I checked it out, clicked on it, and I think it’s directing to the wrong story 🙂

          1. Rob Ozarks Williams says:
            January 2, 2017 at 10:29 pm

            Which link?\

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