Is it legal to collect at Frenchtown Elk River packet and rail landing?

Gray area. Land status not confirmed; many townsites are private or federal (ARPA), confirm before detecting.

What can you find at Frenchtown Elk River packet and rail landing?

Colonial and Spanish coins, large cents, Capped Bust silver, military and civilian buttons, War of 1812 musket balls, wharf and rail hardware, wrought and cut nails, kaolin pipes, early bottle glass

Explore / North America / Maryland

Maryland

Frenchtown Elk River packet and rail landing

Ghost town Documented siteGray area

Save spot Explore on map →

What you could find

Reported finds from this ground.

Coins and tokens

Buttons and buckles

Nails and fittings

Also reported: large cents, War of 1812 musket balls, kaolin pipes, early bottle glass.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service, Amy Downes, (CC BY-SA 2.0), Unknown (Public domain), North Lincolnshire Museum, Martin Foreman, (CC BY 2.0).

Why this spot

18th century to 1858 packet wharf, turnpike and railroad terminus

A relay point on the Philadelphia to Baltimore route where Bay packets and later steamboats met the New Castle and Frenchtown turnpike and railroad. The British burned it in 1813, and after the canal opened and an 1837 rail line bypassed it, traffic had stopped by 1858.View source →

Before you go

Hazards noted for this site.

tidal river shoreline

Keep exploring nearby

More spots in this area.

Check access and collecting rules for each site.

Elkton3 km away · Tidal mudflat

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Chesapeake City6 km away · Tidal mudflat

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North East head-of-river iron town9 km away · Riverbank

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Charlestown colonial North East River port12 km away · Riverbank

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