The find of a lifetime was uncovered while exploring sunken ground in a city park.

I'm surprised there's another bottle of Hutchinson soda out there, and overall the

find

s have been a bit sparse, but I know it's quality, not quantity. Murphy Brothers in Dakota Territory is a Holy Grail. Welcome to the channel. My name is Tom. I travel the US today in search of artifacts. I will be working west of Fargo, North Dakota, in a small town called Walcot. I will be excavating the site of the train station and the initial lot of the hotel and what I believe is one of the first sites of the hall. These all date back to the 1880s, when the

city

was started even before North Dakota was a state, so the potential is through the roof.

I'm standing directly behind where the Scandinavian Hotel once stood. No longer exists. It was a smaller structure. It faced the street. What I'm going to do here is clean this up. I will be pushing a problematic rod through the soil and looking for differences in objects and compaction that could indicate a place where the soil has been disturbed at the back of the lot toward the alley, you see, I put some sticks in the

ground

. I was probing, there wasn't really any indicator of anything here, the

ground

hadn't settled, but the rod slipped through the ashes of a stove, some objects, I think I felt glass which is a good indicator of early vision, so that we will open this thing.

I'm down just a foot already some pieces have been found uh it looks like some kind of prescription bottle this thing has a great age I would say this thing is pre 1900 it's definitely over 120 years old this thing I was working on you know this it could be an old horse brush it looks like it has some jagged edges it has a wooden handle which is definitely a sign of the times there has definitely been some broken glass some broken windows another prescription bottle that is old you know ah it has an m on a circle at the bottom there is a glass company mark, I'm not entirely sure which one it is but it's another piece, it's over 120 years old, the water cord is high, here you can see the bottles are full of water , let's see, and another pharmacy bottle, you already know this one. it could be closer to 1900.

It is not likely that there will be any relief in a local pharmacy. I'm working on the south side of the well. I will tell. This thing is loaded. What do we have here? A bottle of extract. McCormack Beni and Company. Pure extract. St. Paul I'm not sure. I ever dug one of these before, this one has a long neck of great pre-1900 age, sure, look at all this stuff, there's some kind of panel bottle that looks like an extractor ball neck of some kind, you'll see. You have the bead around your neck, call a spherical neck panel, these contain extracts and medicines, okay, we have that white color which is lime, this was thrown over the ouses pits a long time ago to neutralize the smell, this it's a good sign that there's an old Look at all these prescription bottles, so there's no relief on this one that had a cork lid and what do we have here?

I think some type of ink or some type of stationary bottle, it has a tool cap and a prescription bottle, so it has the Dean Foster and Company branding, you will see it has the classic Dean Foster Sunburst on the bottom, usually They're from 1890, uh, you can see it still has some medicine in it. I'm down almost 2 feet, you can see there are some seeds floating around. uh undigested seeds from the well of the house there is a water table fighting hard I also have some uh written about this what we have left water can play a good role in washing this looks like the Cardo pharmaceutical company London England that is wild this is sent from far away it's like a cap carved around 1890 and there's a little prescription bottle floating in the water gu this is a Philadelphia oval style without writing this is really good age possibly the oldest prescription bottle I've ever gotten out of here so far and the Tool toop ketchup bottle are sometimes embossed, this one would not have had a paper label, possibly from the HJ Hinds company, again good age, pre 1900.

I found the bottom, it is compact clay, but there is few. The pieces here are unusual. They have thin lips. What is it? They have an m and a diamond. I'm not sure I've seen it before, but this thing has a very nice shape. It's another prescription bottle a bit. I think it's called round holder style ink here we go sanfords sanfords and Carter were the most prominent ink makers at the time this was probably used for horse riding this could be intact it's some kind of semi porcelain chinese piece oh okay, the bottom is beat up It must be because it was discarded but yes it is an ironstone porcelain or semi porcelain bowl some kind of white wear worked its way along the bottom and I started

find

ing these pieces of English transfer plates, now, this is an early, early style. pattern is broken but this could predate the hotel by decades look at that thing that's early it's something the Pioneers brought with them this is significant this well is made here is the lobby this was small for a hotel well I wonder if there could be been related to a building that was here later or it could be that the hotel just wasn't as active, we got a decent variety of things, although some semi-porcelain pieces from Ironstone China got that lid and that plate from Germany.

Very interesting ink bottles. some medicinal extracts condiment container tomato sauce there you go look at this thing full again in that place cleaned well over there I was walking with a probe Rod noticed this

sunken

area I pushed it through the ground I felt a loss of compaction a glass that is a good indicator of another well, we'll open this thing in the 1870s, 1880s, there's a little pocket of bottles here, it looks like a french square style prescription bottle with carved lid, there are no reliefs on the thing, this ground is incredibly smooth, look at that, that's wild. it's some kind of glass pattern you know I'm not sure it could be an eyewash or something look at the weird top on that if anyone knows leave a comment yeah this is all kinds of stuff down here , looks kind of small, uh. bottle of medicine or linament uh carved lid all the things were thrown to this side for some reason there is a bottle of amber amber up here wow this thing is old this is a piece with a strap that is amazing uh it could have held a little or a tonic of some kind uh, I think I dug something similar in a saloon pit in Parker, South Dakota.

To widen this, it's actually a very long well, it's shallow. I was hitting some things here, it looks like some kind of plug, do you know what it really has? a round lip I think this is an Old Shaker of some kind maybe an alternative pepper shaker possibly for the hotel restaurant this is a solid wear layer you can see seeds it's definitely the ous well we have a cup of coffee it's like it doesn't have handle but I think it was made without one which is actually really cool, Iron Stone China, it's on the bottom, I think it's a French square style pharmacy bottle, look at that thing it's blue, it's cobalt blue, ah, shame, This had no relief, yes, oh. that's unusual, although it could be like a small poison bottle of some kind, the well is finished, this thing was long, I'd say around 10 feet, definitely related to the hotel when I was cleaning one of the last corners, the bottle of volcanic linseed oil from this mcan. came out I've heard of these, I've never dug one, it has a lid applied, well there wasn't much in this pit, but it was early enough, it definitely dates back to the beginning of the

city

, you can see we have a sort of eye drop, eh, a Chinese ironstone cup of coffee, bitter, a poison, a medicine, it wasn't so bad, it's always fun to get into these first pits.

We'll fill this thing in the Scandinavian Hotel lot, clean it up good. Now I'm on Main. On the street behind where I think a saloon once stood, there aren't many indicators of where exactly the building was, but I got permission to excavate this entire lot. I noticed some low spots, so I'll start there and work my way out. Walking towards the back of the lot and noticed this

sunken

area. I pushed a test rod through the ground. I felt some compaction differences. Some ashes, possibly some glass. You will see. I kicked some marks on the floor showing the dimensions we will get.

It opened up and there's stuff everywhere in here, mostly broken shards and stuff, but okay, a ketchup bottle. Sometimes these will have markings on the bottom. This could not have been from the HJ hindes company. It had a Twist cap but a also had a tool cap, okay, a champagne bottle, another tool top piece, this is a twist mold again, that 1890 range turns into a layer of solid junk, it looks like some kind of medicine or extract, there is no embossing on this thing, it would have had a paper label on the front panel all kinds of ashes and different layers here definitely a solid garbage it looks like maybe sewing machine oil it has that triangle shape it could have been a medicine extractor too I guess I've been working on this around here Looks like there's a bottle of Henson's soda.

I can see something in relief. A slug-shaped plate is wedged between this piece of metal here and I've just been working around it. There is some ironstone porcelain on top. I don't want to break it, let's see here, ah. broken Joseph Simonic Botler won North Dakota, so I've dug them before. It looks like this is probably Aqua. He may have broken me when he was thrown into this piece of metal. I'm trying to get this out now, it's still a little stuck. Wow, that's an old teapot that would have been on a stove. This thing is cast iron.

I bet this thing will clean very well. It looks like we have a bottle of Hinson soda. There's a dish I've been working on. At the water table I am still struggling. that has an older pattern, what do we have in this thing? Oh, Alfred, well, I've dug up a lot of your stuff over the years. This is a semi-porcelain plate. It's hard to see the design because of the mud, but there's something about it. brown leaves on top there's something I was working on too I don't know what it could be uh I think it's made of wood possibly if anyone knows leave a comment about this thing cooling in water again be careful I don't.

I want to damage it, this is right at the bottom, uh, there's embossing on the bottling. Jobs won. ND, I think this is strange. I had never dug one of these before. This must have been right after State Hood, definitely 1890, there's all kinds of stuff. here this Pit is loaded let's see uh oh yeah Frank Miller's Crown Crown Dressing was a shoe polish popular in the past as a kind of blackening oh and an ink looks like it still has some product in it what do we have a Carter's? the making looks like a mix Carter's mix uh yeah, there's some kind of lavender product in there, it's a guilloche top piece, uh, we have a big old champagne bottle, it's a rotating mold, the dropped caps might have been when the opened or when they fell.

I'm surprised we have another bottle of Hutchinson soda, I think it's good in the bottom here too. My shovel slammed against it. Let's see what we have. Another won bottling. Works won in North Dakota. Oh, that's beautiful. They have an incredible shape. They actually had a spring-loaded cap to seal the contents when it looked like some sort of Shoe Fly liquor jar. This is just after the 1890s of State Hood. Without relief, but it is in good condition, it has some groundwater. I seem to be surprised that there is another bottle of Hutchinson soda and overall the finds have been somewhat scarce, but you know it's quality, not quantity.

Murphy Brothers in Dakota Territory is a Holy Grail that is as good as it gets, there are only a handful of these. known things I'm in a last corner here still a couple of pieces uh look that's an old Ironstone China coffee cup no marks but it has to be from 1880 1890 uh small uh I don't have a bottle of glue or some kind of lid pharmaceutical cork looks like maybe a Monte extract with this shape, let's see, oh yes, actually a bottle of applied top malt extract that has a very nice shape and a very nice color.

What was this as a base for a probably Albany slip-glazed liquor decanter? I can see Red Wing there, it probably looks like the Minnesota stoneware company of Redwing Minnesota, this well is made here is the room, this was monumental, everything dated from the late 1880's early 1890's, it looks like the well had been cleaned up, fortunately they threw some things away. Back I have that strange piece of wood Cogwheel that teapot of course the absolutely amazing soda bottles some medicines or extracts of some kind champagne ketchup bottle had a stone carrier the yellow ceramic chamber capsule and some bottles of liquor bottle ink that extracts malt some clothes for dinner Well, there you have it, we'll refill this.

I am now at the Walcott train station site. BuildingIt's long gone, but it was near the intersection of the highway and the railroad tracks and ran parallel to the tracks. There was a boardwalk that stretched over here and this is where we will be working. I noticed a low area that seems to have some potential, so we'll open this thing up. We are in a well. I just entered a usage layer. I'll notice some wainscoting on the sides here and we're experiencing a color change on the floor. I noticed some artifacts that I've been cleaning. It's been a mess down here and it looks like a lamp chimney.

Look, that's over. a hundred years would have been for an oil lamp of some kind. I can feel the bottles down here with the ride, oh, here we go, so this is before prohibition, this liquor bottle, uh, it's machine made, it dates from about 1910 to 1920, oh. Sloan Linament. I've dug them before this.the thing is circa 1915 1920 it has the illinois glass company mark on the bottom all kinds of stuff here is ok a machine made wreath that probably contained ginger ale something like that oh wow, so this was a soda bottle from the American Bottling Association of Fargo, North Dakota, and you'll notice it is severely damaged, they are usually returned unless broken.

I drained some of the water. This is an absolute disaster. I noticed a couple of exposed pieces. Okay, it's a little older. It is a patented medicine bottle. full of ground stuff dates back to about 1910 I felt all kinds of pieces here this one fell Taylor and Williams Incorporated Louisville Kentucky that's a machine made piece it has that cool glass stopper this thing dates from about 1910 to 1920 solid wear layer, oh there we go, a bottle of beer, a vintage machine made from Haman's Brewing Company of Lacrosse Wisconsin. You can see the relief on the shoulder. This is another pre-prohibition piece from 1910 to 1920.

I've dug a bit of a hole. down on one side so the water has been draining, you can see the solid wear layer here, that background color, we are definitely in an old well, here is one of the first machine made pharmaceutical bottles by the company of Illinois glass. Well, it looks a bit like some kind of Vaseline container, it's one of the first machines made. I put this thing up around 1915. There it is, we've been finding a monumental amount of these windows. If you look, you will see the type of rainbow that opens over them and that is iridescent because of the minerals. the ground appears to be the bottle sitting on the edges here we have a machine made carved cap, whether it was an extract or a medicine, it would have had a paper label on the front and another, yes, the same carved on the top, this dates back to about 1910. still in a layer of solid wear uh looks like some kind of cold cream container toiletries sometimes well ponds I've dug a lot of these it was a major toiletries company, they sell skin creams moisturizers stuff like those machine made beer um dates on that Range from 1910 to 1920, oh, a couple of pieces, so this is a guilloche lid made by the Whittle Tatum company.

You'll see wtco at the bottom, they were from Back East. It looks like it could have been some type of shoe polish, perhaps a pharmaceutical and a liquor. uh half pint flask actually has a crown cap like a lid that comes off uh that same range from 1910 to 1920 h a little bit another small uh machine made prescription bottle Around 1915 it never ceases to amaze me how well the water table preserves things here a part of what I believe to be a newspaper seems to say French territory granted that could indicate the beginning of the First World War at that time, which fits with the rest of the information, finding that there is no end to the view down here, this is about overcoming everything. these broken windows but it's been a battle another uh machine made liquor flask uh bulb neck kind of looks like it has a glass stopper well a toot styled beer the age is getting a little better uh what do we have here lysy Poria Illinois so that you I can see on the shoulder the worst Illinois and Lysy, I'm not sure I've dug one of these before, but this dates back to about 1910.

This is a strange half-pint jar full, oh kohai, uh Coler and henrix, I think which is, yes, popular. The pre-ban piece looks like it actually had a cork that someone had put in it after removing the lid, huh? Alright. A tool cap or an early machine made beer, let's see it's another old style recorder from Hemans, it's hard to read, it's just covered in mud, but yeah, it's another one from Lacrosse Wisconsin. This is an export style beer. You may have found the bottom on this side. It looks more like beer bottles. What we have here is another row of Wisconsin Lacrosse and another.

This was a super one. Popular product. I find them in all the other wells in this part of the country. What we have? I've never seen this before. It's an embossed prescription bottle, but it only has a cross on it. Usually it would have been the name of a pharmacist. I'm not sure if this is from a local pharmacy. I know it could be holy water from a local hospital. It's older, although I put this in around 1905. It's almost like a cathedral-style extract bottle. You can see the pointed panel. the front is a thin piece, uh, looks like it dates back to about 1910, uh, another one of those Poria Illinois beers, uh, this could be a carved cap, yeah, the carved cap, uh, on the shoulder, Andia Illinois , you'll see, you'll see the beautiful iridescence of all the minerals in the soil is actually a bottle of water and another bottle of extract from this machine probably made around the 1910's and another one of these Cathedral style or semi Cathedral style extract bottles the smell down here is terrible everything is very well preserved D and another bottle of beer, another hand, there is a boss there on the shoulder, an old style lumberjack from Hyman and another, another man you can see on the shoulder, this one has a very weak relief. down, uh, I cleaned all this up, look how they landed a long time ago, when I confirmed it, down, I played clay, uh, oh, that's older, some Tool stuff, up, down, I got a Blatz for Milwaukee, this thing dates back to about 1910, 1905, 1910 and another, uh, this. one is a machine that let you know this is right on that cusp when they started using the automatic bottling machine and a tool extract, maybe a little bit of medicine of some kind from the 1910 range.

I just put broken beer here and a machine made of hams, you see. hams on the pallet, you know, a decent amount of beers, at least we have some embossed pieces, a machine-made beer, another one of these, uh lysy from Poria, it's a FIA Illinois lysy, uh, I think we have three now or four of these things also finding a bunch of peanut shells down here it's amazing how well everything is preserved we have the last corner this well is made here is the hallway everything dates from about 1910 to 1920 has a decent variety some prescription bottles one with the interesting cross I have that Sloan linament there is a cold cream container, extracts, maybe medicine, some theoretical pieces, beer bottles, lots of beer bottles and then some liquor bottles, overall it was pretty standard for the pit from a train station during that time, well there you go, we'll get this thing. filled out again