Monday, January 30, 2012

Stone Cabin - Lower Yoder

A possible stone chamber - known as the 'stone cabin' in Lower Yoder Township. As luck would have it - it's a site first brought to my attention by Norman Mueller and Kathy at http://twoheadwaters.blogspot.com/. I missed it - in my own neck of the woods. And in a strange twist a reader at my sister site Vintage Johnstown sent in these two pictures of her dad at the structure in the 1980's.
The story goes that it is a hunting cabin used for decades. It's been on my list to search for alot of reasons - but the main one is that the location of this structure lines up with some large rock mounds - a few of miles away. I would like to thank Kathy at twoheadwaters for pointing this out to me. This used to be a popular GPS cache spot till the neighbors started complaining.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Evans Hill Area - Part 4

Part 4 and a wrap up of my visit to Evans Hill. I am now going to head to the area of the woods directly behind where I am standing - where I last left off HERE.
These two things caught my eye. One is a short, rectangle like, stump of a wall like thing - more cigar shaped than anything else and the other is a circular mound that looks burial to me.
This example is exactly the same as the type I've found elsewhere.
This possible structure right by it - on the other hand - I'm not very sure of. Could be field clearing - but to me - it does look like a long rockpile - it does have some age to it.
As far as you eye can see - more rock on rock.
And small rockpiles.
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Now heading back out to the car - a different way than where we walked in and in the words of my 7 year old nephew - "what a beautiful view" - I have to agree - with a nice rock on rock example pointing the way.
Nice size cairn that shows its age.
Another mess of a cairn.
Back to back cairns - I've posted example of these structures before.
Trying my best to show them both in one shot.
Closeup of the cairn on the upper left of the previous picture. See that triangle stone - it points north - according to my GPS.
RJ proudly showing off his coyote skull he found there.
Another mess of a cairn.
From the other side.
Another rockpile
This one and this next example.
All in all - this site is alot to take in. When we were almost done walking around - one of the homeowners (who is nice to us) stopped to talk. He owns the land where THIS GRINDING STONE is. I was asking him about his property - because I'd spotted lots more rockpiles and a wall that shows some age. He told me - the wall was there before him as were some of the rockpiles - but not all though. He said he'd made some of them clearing his backyard.
Wrapping up this long, four part series...there are more walls and rockpiles out there that next time I go out I will get some shots of - once the snow melts that is. My opinion of the site hasn't changed the more I explore the area. I believe it was once held as a very sacred and ceremonial place - more so than most of your average sites. I believe that the area now destroyed by the strip mine - most likely was like this section - full of rock on rock and small rockpiles.




Sunday, January 15, 2012

Evans Hill Area - Part 3

Out of the woods and back to the field full of very large - round rockpiles. RJ is about to check out this rockpile - which I believe is field clearing with an older - round rockpile in the distance.
This is one of those rockpiles that shows up in the 1939 aerial shot. But like I said - looks like field clearing. Though having said that - it is built up on the bottom like the others - I guess someone could have dumped these larger stones on top. But I really don't think so.
This is a shot of the large rockpile that was in the distance. Off to the left hand side (not shown on this picture) was this...
Is this possible rock mound - but I didn't get a chance to check this possible structure out better - just off in the woods.
Another rockpile in the field - made up of larger stone - which again looks more like field clearing. But it looks like there might be something off in the distance - that I didn't have time to follow up on.
Another rockpile - with the previous pile behind it - this is hard to tell - considering the size of the tree growing out of it. But I do think it's more likely to be field clearing.
But now we're heading to a section that I do believe are structures of very large size. See what I mean about bigger stone on the outside and smaller used in the middle.
Some of these larger rockpiles are built up higher on one side - actually they are all built up (like a ramp) on the same side of each of these.
And again - it looks like a possible manitou stone in the upper left hand side.
Another rockpile - but first - before I talk about this one - there is another rockpile underneath where that tree fell in the distance. But I didn't get a chance to get any shots of it.
This stone is actuallly wedged in there pretty good - with what looks like some stray bullet damage.
The center of the structure.
This is another rockpile - note the 'ramp'.
RJ heading to the ramp.
It's built up more like a small wall - with the mound off in the distance.
Another rockpile in the same area - that looks like field clearing to me.
The thing is just a mess.
RJ off to check out another of the rockpiles.
Again - larger stone on the outer ring - smaller towards the center.




Friday, January 13, 2012

Evans Hill Area - Part 2


Part Two - from my trip to Evans Hill in Indiana County. This is the first of the very large, round, angled up rockpiles there. This is number 5 on the map.
This is 2012
And this is the same area back in 1939. Pile number 5 is in the middle of the red circle. I honestly can't help but feel that those rockpiles are meant to be viewed from either the ground to the mound or even better yet form a constellation - I have been going thru some - but haven't come up with a match yet. But my hunch is that if you are on the rockpiles themselves - I wonder what the night sky looks like directly above them during different times of the year. The areas circled in blue look like they had rockpiles in 1939 - but I didn't get  chance to follow up in those areas.
This is the rockpile that has been re-worked as I have stated in previous posts. I believe that the manitou stone in the center came from the outside of the ring of stone. It was set up like the manitou like stone in the front here - the other piles show this same kind of stonework feature. Bigger stone on the outside and smaller in the center.
I'm heading now to the lefthand side of the woods.
This is the section that contains some very large stone ringlike structures with the mound off in the distance.
Some of these shots didn't turn out very good. For one thing - they look better in person and two - they are just too large. Looks like at least one or two possible standing stones.
Another stone circle-like area.
Another feature hard to see in a photo - what you are looking at is one of a couple of semi-circle earthen rings that are sprinkled thru out this section.
Another one that is hard to see.
Another circle of stone with what looks like a "tail" on the left hand side.
And another ring of stone - I know that's hard to really see - but on site - these structures just pop out of the landscape.