Had an interesting talk last night with the former owner of the land next door. The guy that put his well in back in the late 80's was big into the local history around here. (Worth Pickard -- he build the replica of the old gilliam mill thats right beside NC42 west of Sanford.) A hundred feet behind my house site is the remains of a sunken road bed. It runs about parallel to the logging haul road, so I figured that it was just where they had shifted the road a time or two due to rutting, wet, or whatever. But...the history guy said that was one of the main link roads between Sanford and the old Plank road farther out of town. There are just a few places along it's route that the old road bed is still visible. At the location it crossed pocket creek, about 1800' from my house, there is supposedly the remains of a rock and rubble bridge footing. I'll wait until winter comes back around to look for it.
The old mill that is on 42 now is a replica of one built just downstream from there (North of 42) in 1850, and was washed out in 1929. There was an earlier, older mill just upstream that was probably from the 1820's or so.
One oddity that is nearby, and another thing I need to hunt for when winter comes, is at an old home site just off my back corner. House was torn down about 1972, but shows on the earliest aerial photos. Near that homesite is an 18"x18" square hole cut in a brownstone rock. It's in a depression, and the best guess is that it was a spring box, with spring house probably built over it.
First pic is looking down the sunken roadbed. Center is just to left of the center of the pic. Shows much better in person. Thats the old haul road, now the road to my shop, in the background.
Side view from my shop road. The two bigger trees on either side of the frame are on top of the high ground. The green ground cover is on top of the other high side.
