Photo test /Old Cistern

[jm.]

Was a lot of talk on here the other night about wells & cisterns. when I bought this farm it was the gathering of about 5 old farms. we had found several wells and cisterns but this afternoon wife and I were out, she loves taking photos. Here is photo of Cistern . That is a water holding hole. I took a cord and weight checks out over 30 ft. deep. Not over 4 feet there at the top but by the time it is 4 ft. under the ground it starts belling out and looks to be at least 10 to 12 ft diameter after 10 ft down. How they dug it and laid those bricks is a mystery to me. Bricks look like they could be homemade or certainly different from most. Going to try this new photo thing.

 

[JRSutton]

yeah - always wondered how they dug those too.

... well - the DIGGING part I get - I just wonder what steps they took to keep it from caving in on them.

 

[jm.]

The thing just almost had to be dug, then bricked. I see no way to brick as you went down but then I was not there. I know one thing I would have never had that job. Be worse than going in a coal mine. This one actually looks real good and I know has not been a house where we found it in over 70 years. This place is 4400 acres and we just get a little more of it explored ever year.

 

[C. Amick]

We would call that a hand dug well where I come from.

 

[Russ from MN]

You should maybe put a very heavy cover on it.

 

[jm.]

Wells normally have or go to a source of water. No water here, this thing is on top of a hill . You could probably dig 200 ft and not strike water. All this ever did was catch the water that fell on top of the roof or they hauled it in. At least in this part of the country it would not be called a well.

 

[jm.]

Russ pretty remote area probably a mile to civilization any direction but we will fence it with heavy fence, at least that is what I have done to all the rest we have discovered on this place. Some chance a hunter could stumble into it and for certain he would be there. I have owned this place for 20 years but today was the first time I was right there, close several times but wife saw the flowers and we made our way up to the area. Sure enough an old home place, found some of the foundation rocks but that was about all. Really not even any sign off a road to get to the place.

 

[sms]

If you read the local history of our area there are stories of well diggers being overcome by lack of oxygen or gas and dying in the well same as stories of deaths in silos. One in trouble another goes to help and he is also overcome.

 

[glennster]

Ever look down in the bottom? May have a lot of antique bottles and stuff in there. Could even be PIRATE TREASURE,,,,,,

 

[jm.]

I always heard they kept a bird in a cage down in there with them. Something about the bird would pass out from the gas before the man and hopefully he could get out. I could see the bottom looked like mud and maybe just maybe some old bones .

 

[C. Amick]

OK, I stand corrected. It would be a cistern in this case.

 

[55 50 Ron]

Roughly where is this? State or area of a state? 4400 acres - Farm land? Ranch land? I assume the thing is dry now?

Ron

 

[Hank ABAB]

Certainly is a nice picture!

 

[John B.]

I don't trust any old cistern or well. Just one of my quirks...

 

[ShadetreeRet]

Very picturesque spot! Those trees grow larger in a few years, they will push the brick aside and it may cave in.
I would imagine that there are thousands of such places scattered over the country, that, for some reason were abandoned and no one ever thought about the old wells, cisterns, etc. and the inherent danger therein.
Most of those old wells were hand dug. When I was a kid the well where we lived was hand dug. About 90 feet deep and at least four feet diameter, walled with rock. Weren't much other way to do it back then, that's why property with a spring on it was highly desirable.

 

[jm.]

Dry no water,,Most of the acreage was an old iron ore mine. Very low grade sand looking material that was mined before and after the civil war. Several farms or at least home places scattered around over it. Really neat to go down in some of the old dug out areas. I am told that at its peak there were about 80 Chinese doing the digging. My great grand father ran the furnace and the out put was a product called Pig Iron.

 

[huntingreen2day2]

Reckon there are any bodies in the bottom of it?

 

[SweetFeet]

That's a beautiful spring photo.

 

[ditchwitch]

I saw something about how they dug those. I cant remember the excact process. But was something like they started with a ring made on the top of the ground and as they dug down the ring would drop. And as they got deeper they would just add more brick to the ring. Thats why they also were wider in the bottom than the top Kinda like a bell shape. But dont quote me on this but im pretty sure thats how i remember it.

 

[Brian G. NY]

A wonderful picture.....I like the Old bricks with the moss. The daffodils in the back add a nice touch!

(quoted from post at 01:18:22 03/26/15) Was a lot of talk on here the other night about wells & cisterns. when I bought this farm it was the gathering of about 5 old farms. we had found several wells and cisterns but this afternoon wife and I were out, she loves taking photos. Here is photo of Cistern . That is a water holding hole. I took a cord and weight checks out over 30 ft. deep. Not over 4 feet there at the top but by the time it is 4 ft. under the ground it starts belling out and looks to be at least 10 to 12 ft diameter after 10 ft down. How they dug it and laid those bricks is a mystery to me. Bricks look like they could be homemade or certainly different from most. Going to try this new photo thing.

 

[ditchwitch]

Ive dug Horzonial tunnels for pipelines but not verticle. Horzonial you dig just outside the end of the pipe enough to add another ring of liner plates and just keep going from there. As i understood it the ring was built up from the top of the ground and as a man would dig down and undermine the ring it would just keep sinking down in the ground.Surely there some kind of wait time when a couple 3 rows of brick was added to let it set and dry before they kept digging. Now one with steel liner plates i wouldnt have a problem with but the old days using bricks no thanks.