Discovering The Old House Site With Brandon And Casey
Two explorers stood before a weathered home in Alabama’s countryside. Cedar trees framed the structure like sentinels. These evergreens can live for centuries, which makes them natural indicators of age and silent witnesses to generations passing through.
First, Who Are The Explorers?
Brandon and Casey are historical explorers and content creators who document forgotten places across the American South. In the video titled "Exploring a Lost 200-Year-Old Plantation and a Creepy Graveyard," they investigate abandoned sites, such as old plantations and graveyards.
Why Metal Detecting Without Headphones Keeps The Search Social
Hunters chose to swing detectors without headphones and talked as they worked. Out in rural silence, no neighbors risked disturbance. Conversation accompanied each signal. This turned an otherwise solitary beep-and-dig routine into a collaborative effort that echoed the oral tradition of shared storytelling.
Estimating The Age Of The House From Cedar Trees And Maps
Cedar growth patterns, coupled with century-old maps, provide surprisingly accurate timelines. Surveyors often marked farm boundaries with tree lines. When aerial photos match mapped outlines and mature trunks, you can gauge that a house may easily predate electricity or even the railroad’s arrival nearby.
First Find: A 1984 Penny In The Soil
A 1984 penny appeared during the first sweep, a Lincoln cent mostly zinc with a thin copper coating. Corrosion attacks these coins quickly. Yet even modern finds show activity. People walked these grounds as recently as Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
Striking Copper Again: The 1974 Penny Discovery
The 1974 Lincoln cent still contained 95% copper, weighing 3.11 grams. Kids in the seventies could buy a piece of gum with one. Discovering it near a walkway indicates where people likely passed, coins accidentally tumbling into grass to rest for decades undisturbed.
The 1964 Penny—Last Year Before US Silver Coins Ended
Coins dated 1964 mark the final year of 90% silver dimes and quarters, though they continued circulating into the 1970s. To meet demand, the Mint struck 1964 coins even after that year. Over 2.6 billion pennies were made, and this links this discovery to the silver-lined era.
Ball Mason Jar With Intact Porcelain Lid Unearthed
The Ball Mason jar, pulled from the soil bore, had a porcelain-lined lid still intact. Ball jars first appeared in 1884 to revolutionize food preservation. Families relied on them for winter storage, filling basements with rows of home-canned beans, peaches, and preserves.
A Small Silver-Washed Buckle Hidden Beneath The Ground
A corroded buckle surfaced, once dipped in silver to mimic luxury. Buckles traveled with people daily because they fastened belts or straps. This one, tiny yet ornate, mirrors the styles sold in the late 19th century, when decorative fittings could be ordered directly from catalogs.
Childhood Relics: An Old Toy Tank Buried In The Yard
Among the finds lay a die-cast toy tank, possibly a Mattel model from mid-century America. Metal toys of this kind mimicked wartime vehicles. For a child, rolling it across the dirt could have mirrored images from newsreels or comic books.
A Worn Marble Adds Character To The Hunt
A scuffed marble turned up, its glass body clouded but patterned with faint colored swirls. American-made machine marbles reached their peak in popularity by the 1920s. Kids played “ringer” by shooting marbles toward a circle scratched into bare ground, aiming to knock opponents’s marbles outside the ring.
Arrival At The Second Site Believed Over 250 Years Old
The search shifted to a ridge believed to date back to the 1770s. Land like this possibly held early farmsteads before Alabama's statehood. Standing there, you step onto soil that once bore the footsteps of pioneers carving homes in the wilderness.
Surface Find: A Horse Bridle Piece From The 1800s
Lying on top of the ground rested a corroded bridle fitting. Horse tack fragments like this were essential in the 1800s when horsepower meant muscle, not machinery. The moss still clinging to its iron surface showed it had lain exposed since recent land clearing.
The Axe Head With Roots Growing Through Its Eye
An iron axe head emerged with tree roots threading through its opening. That growth alone proves it rested untouched for decades. Its design—with a pronounced beard and narrow eye—matches tools commonly forged in the 19th century for splitting timber into boards.
The Axe Head With Roots Growing Through Its Eye (Cont.)
Unlike modern axes with symmetrical profiles, this relic dipped sharply along one edge. Tool historians note such patterns align with mid-19th-century styles. Weighing several pounds, it would have demanded significant strength, likely used by farmers clearing dense hardwood stands for crops.
A Heavy Crowbar Possibly Forged By A Blacksmith
Close by, a hefty iron bar turned up, and it resembled a crowbar. Uneven hammer marks hinted at a blacksmith’s hand. Blacksmith shops in the estimated era produced utilitarian tools in bulk, each unique in finish. Such a piece points directly to everyday labor tied to plantation work.
Pottery And Jug Shards Scattered Across The Surface
Ceramic fragments dotted the ground, including jug bases and lip shards. Clay pottery was then used to store liquor, vinegar, or molasses on farms. Chipped remains now sit as evidence. These fragile containers either broke by accident or were discarded after years of use.
Evidence Of A Possible Blacksmith Shop In The Relics Found
Iron scatter across the slope suggested a working area. Square nails and heavy scrap often concentrate where forges once operated. Blacksmiths were the lifeline of plantations, since they helped repair wagons, tools, and plows, hammering sparks late into the night near homesteads.
The Plow Head Suggesting Farming Of Corn Or Cotton
Another relic unearthed was a corroded but identifiable plow blade. Such tools cultivated row crops like corn or cotton, staples of southern plantations. Such fields tilled with simple iron tools once stretched for miles.
Shotgun Headstamps From The Turn Of The 20th Century
Brass shotgun shell ends also appeared frequently, stamped with “UMC”. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company produced these from the late 1800s until 1911. What does this mean? It means that these items were still in use, even after the plantation days.
Wikidudeman, Wikimedia Commons
Crossing The Field To The Hidden Graveyard Site
Beyond the relic scatter lay a quiet field concealing graves. Dense growth shielded the cemetery from view, masking rows of stones. Many plantation burial grounds followed this pattern, where they were separated from main homesteads to preserve sanctity while allowing farming to dominate surrounding acreage.
Choosing Respect: Leaving Detectors Behind At The Graveyard
No metal detectors entered the graveyard, and this was a deliberate choice. Archaeologists and detectorists alike consider searching burial grounds disrespectful. Instead, observation guided the visit. Even without tools, markers alone offered centuries of stories, from polished marble to rough fieldstones marking unrecorded burials.
The First Marker: A Woodsmen Of The World Headstone From 1905
A carved monument bore the insignia of the Woodsmen of the World, a fraternal benefit society active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These distinctive tree-stump designs featured ornate carvings to reflect both the craftsmanship and social standing of the deceased.
Discovering An 1886 Grave In The Overgrowth
Another stone emerged from tangling vines, etched with the year 1886. Lichen obscured parts of the inscription, but the date remained clear. By the late 19th century, decorative gravestones grew common, contrasting with plain markers reserved for those with fewer means.
More Decorative Stones Emerging From The 1850s
Stones from the 1850s displayed floral carvings and inscriptions. Mid-19th-century gravestones had symbols such as willows for mourning or lambs for innocence. These motifs carried Victorian sentiment into rural Alabama.
The 1823 Grave—A Pre–Civil War Marker
A stone inscribed "1823" provided evidence of burials dating back decades before the Civil War. Such early markers are rare in Alabama, where frontier settlement surged after the state gained its independence in 1819. The era marks the transition of the land from wilderness to an organized plantation society.
Plain Stone Markers Likely For Enslaved Individuals
In the same graveyard, there were uninscribed fieldstones, also aligned in rows. These modest markers likely commemorated enslaved men, women, and children. Plantation records note enslaved individuals lived here, and their resting places lacked names due to systemic disregard in that era.
Over 1,000 Enslaved People Once Lived Here
This plantation supported over 1,000 enslaved laborers during its operation. Such numbers made it one of the largest in Alabama. Their unmarked burials represent lives spent in toil, forming the backbone of cotton production that fueled regional wealth and expansion.
Stone Foot Markers Complementing Headstones In The Field
Several graves were paired with headstones and smaller stones at the foot. This practice created a defined boundary for the burial space. Foot markers helped caretakers align graves during mowing or tending, a tradition that continues in many rural cemeteries across the South.
Rock Walls Built Around Family Graves For Protection
Low stone walls surrounded select plots as a tradition used to define family boundaries. These barriers kept livestock from disturbing markers and symbolized permanence. Even today, the moss-covered walls stand as handmade fortresses.
Broken And Snapped Headstones From The 1800s
Several marble markers had fractured into pieces. The breaks exposed crystalline interiors that stonecutters had once polished and refined. Damage like this is typical in rural cemeteries because there was limited maintenance, and this allows the weather to steadily reclaim carved memorials.
Graves Potentially Dating To The 1700s In Alabama
Some rough-cut stones appeared older than the documented 1823 marker. Local historians noted that a few could predate statehood entirely, dating back to the late 1700s. For Alabama, burials that early are scarce.
Decorative Inscriptions Offering Clues To Past Lives
Carved epitaphs included phrases typical of Victorian memorials, which blended poetry with faith. Some bore lines like “Gone but not forgotten,” or motifs of clasped hands. Others had other symbolism.
Headstone Fragments Showing Only Partial Names Or Letters
Shattered stones revealed single initials or clipped surnames, and this makes identification difficult. Lettering styles help date fragments—block capitals in the early 1800s, cursive flourishes later. These pieces contribute to genealogical puzzles as hints about families tied to the plantation.
The Graveyard’s Hidden Location Preserving Its Secrets
Hidden behind fields and forests, the graveyard avoided plowing and development. Hidden cemeteries like this often escaped official documentation. Dense vegetation now conceals its size, yet such isolation preserved fragile stones that might have vanished under agricultural expansion.
The Plantation As A Community Hub Beyond Farming
Documents tied to the property describe it not just as a farm but as a central gathering point. Blacksmith work, mills, farms, and burial grounds all radiated from here. Plantations of this scale functioned as small towns, sustaining hundreds within their borders.
Property’s Later Use As A Hunting Club Exposed Old Relics
Decades after agriculture faded, the land became a hunting club. Heavy equipment cleared paths, and this disturbed the soil layers. This activity unintentionally revealed artifacts like glass shards and pottery fragments that had rested untouched since the plantation era.
Permission To Explore With The Promise Of Sharing Gold Finds
Access to additional acreage came with an unusual agreement. The property owner granted permission to metal detect under one condition: any discovered gold would be reported to the authorities. Honoring these arrangements maintains a longstanding etiquette between detectorists and landholders.
Searching For The Lost Plantation Home Site In 4,000 Acres
Covering 4,000 acres presented a daunting task. Explorers scanned wooded ridges and creek banks for concentrations of relics. Plantation houses even left patterns—nail clusters, brick scatter, pottery fragments—that eventually pinpoint the true location of the vanished main dwelling.
Clues Pointing To A Mill Site Near The Creek
Close to flowing water, iron tools suggested milling activity. Many plantations operated gristmills or sawmills powered by nearby streams. Mill sites are significant because they provided daily sustenance to turn grain into flour and lumber into beams essential for construction and trade.
Weather Ending The Day’s Search Prematurely
Rain forced the team to halt before reaching every target area. Fieldwork depends on the weather, and wet soil can mask signals or endanger equipment. Even so, the day’s findings provided promising leads, narrowing where further investigation should continue.
Reviewing The Finds
Artifacts from the initial homestead painted a domestic portrait. Coins dated from 1964, 1974, and 1984. A silver-washed buckle suggested 19th-century apparel. A toy tank and a marble revealed childhood play. The Ball mason jar offered evidence of food preservation common to rural households.
Reviewing The Finds (Cont.)
The bridle fragment indicated equestrian work. The axe head displayed mid-1800s styling, while the heavy crowbar bore blacksmith marks. The plow blade hinted at row crops, staples of plantation life. Together, these items confirmed agricultural and equine activity central to the site.
Reviewing The Finds (Cont.)
Square nails confirmed early structures. Pottery and jug fragments showed household storage practices. Glass shards suggested bottles once carried medicine or liquor. Shotgun headstamps, produced by UMC around 1900, tied the property’s later chapter to recreational hunting and rural traditions.
Plans To Return For Creek And Graveyard Exploration
Future efforts aim to scan the creek for mill remains and revisit the graveyard for a detailed study. Explorers expect to uncover further evidence of plantation infrastructure. Each return promises discoveries that deepen the narrative of this 200-year-old scenery.
