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Gold Rush Artifacts From California


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GB. I basically found a collapsed fireplace and went to work around it.  I covered very little of the area. There is no time limit so it’s mine to detect and I trust me I will.  
caprock, thank you for the info and the cool picture. I appreciate that.   

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5 hours ago, CVISChris said:

GB. I basically found a collapsed fireplace and went to work around it.  I covered very little of the area. There is no time limit so it’s mine to detect and I trust me I will.  
caprock, thank you for the info and the cool picture. I appreciate that.   

 

Well if you want some company, then your "best long time friend Tom_in_CA" is less than 2 hrs. from you   🤣

 

We were just hunting a spot in the Gustine area @ over the weekend !   Regret to say we just got age-indicators , but no quality period coins or buckles.  

 

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Tom the best thing in Gustine is Wolfsen Meat and Sausage.   The Spicy Hawaiian sausage is the best.   They make a seriously great Sandwich and are just nice people.  They are a true treasure.  My wife is a retired CHP officer and if I shared my new spot she may shoot both of us. 

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15 hours ago, Tom_in_CA said:

Welcome to the elite and exclusive seated coin club.   And my friends and I are green with envy on the buckles.   Those are the sought-after badge of merit in CA G.R. hunter circles.

 

What part of the central Valley are you in ?  I'm @ the Salinas/Monterey area.  So it takes me a few hours to reach the Sierra foothills G.R. sections.   Envious of you guys that are a tad closer !  

Those are some great finds CVISChris! Congrats!

Not to change the dialog, but Tom my family settled the Salinas Valley in 1854. We tore down my great grandfather's house built in the 1880's after the Salinas River flooded in the late 90's. I've been thinking about going out to the old spots my Mom told me about where they used to picnic.

Have you ever had any luck detecting the old farmlands between Salinas and Marina? It's all private property, but I know a few people out that way!

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12 hours ago, matt said:

Not to change the dialog, but Tom my family settled the Salinas Valley in 1854. We tore down my great grandfather's house built in the 1880's after the Salinas River flooded in the late 90's. I've been thinking about going out to the old spots my Mom told me about where they used to picnic.

Have you ever had any luck detecting the old farmlands between Salinas and Marina? It's all private property, but I know a few people out that way!

 

Matt,

 

There were/are several recorded recurring Salinas River picnic spots, that past md'rs here have sleuthed out.  Ie.: Where the townsfolk would go out in their wagons or Model T's,and spend a day @ picnic, swim, etc.....   But all of the are utterly worthless to md'ing.   Because prior to the mid 1960s (heck, even later, till-the '90s, as you say), the Salinas river has periodically flooded out, as you know.  Such that any "beach" you can point to NOW, is NOT the same beach that was there even 10 yrs. ago.  Sand is washed out, and new sand-fills in, blah blah.  And any grove of trees along the banks of the river has been silted out, and jungle-like terrain.  And then the govt. has gone in and made levees along each side, for vast lengths.  Such that all the terra-firma near-to-the-river has been utterly altered over all the decades.

 

Yes I've detected several of the "Blanco district" settlers-era homesteads, if/when I can substantiate that they've been gone since early on.  Because, naturally, if they're still just the location of modern ag. farm commercial centers, then they're just going to be a giant junk heap.   So we've tried to isolate a few spots that had structures on them, yet were *gone* by the 1910s/20s.  And are nothing but row-crop land now. 

 

We found one location in the vicinity of East Garrison / Reservation Rd. area (south side of Salinas River), that gave up multiple seateds, a few reales, and a $5 gold.  All dated 1830s-'60s.  

 

The one location that has always eluded me, was "El Tucho".   That was several square miles of land, that was a Spanish , then Mexican land grant rancho area.  And historical citations hint that there was a community of people living there at various mission-era times.   But as for exactly WHERE, on the vast acreage, that this location was, we've never been able to pin down.   You can see the boundaries of El Tucho on maps, no problems (topo maps, etc....).  But that doesn't tell us where the actual homestead/habitation (adobes, or whatever) were.    It was somewhere out @ what is now the Blanco store/ Cooper Rd. area.    Do you have any clues ?

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Tom-Thanks for the response. I'll ask my Mom and Uncle what they remember/ know about things, especially "El Tucho." They spent a lot of time out on the farms with my Grandfather. Some of the growers might have some clues as well. You never know what they see when they are plowing the fields.

Now I just have to get some time to go down there and look around a bit. My Uncle was there yesterday. You are correct about the farm equipment and trash. Where the old homestead was located is now storage for farm equipment. If I can find out anything I'll let you know. Sure would be fun to find some old coins on the family ranches.

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22 minutes ago, matt said:

..... Now I just have to get some time to go down there and look around a bit....

 

What part of CA are you located in now ?

 

When you get down this direction, drop me a line and we can join up to go over some maps.  And I'll show you what I know, where I've hunted, etc....  Is your family familiar with the late Gary Breschini ?   He was a local archaeologist and historian, who traced his roots back to the Blanco district ranching area.  Which is the area you alluded to, between Salinas to Marina.  We used to pick his brain continuously about places to detect at !   Anyhow, drop me a line when you get down to my area.

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39 minutes ago, Tom_in_CA said:

 

What part of CA are you located in now ?

 

When you get down this direction, drop me a line and we can join up to go over some maps.  And I'll show you what I know, where I've hunted, etc....  Is your family familiar with the late Gary Breschini ?   He was a local archaeologist and historian, who traced his roots back to the Blanco district ranching area.  Which is the area you alluded to, between Salinas to Marina.  We used to pick his brain continuously about places to detect at !   Anyhow, drop me a line when you get down to my area.

Will do. I live in Sacramento, but need to start going down that way more to deal with family business. That would be great to get together some time. Most likely my Mom would know Gary. I guarantee he would have known my family. The old homestead farm is actually on Blanco Road. Also have a ranch on West side of Cooper Road (Blanco area) and then out in Alisal at Old Stage Road. My family were big lettuce farmers.

Sorry to hijack your thread CVISChris!

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