Property Lines?

[Mike L]

I find these what appear to be hand dug trenches in all the woods I search around Long Island. Anyone have any ideas of what they may be or from what time period? Old property lines?

[Richit]

I've seen the same thing in the woods in a park in coram, I can't remember the name but I'm pretty sure it defined property lines in the 1800's. It may also be old trails.
Where did you take these pictures? And welcome to BygoneLI !!

[Curly]

Back in the day thats how they defined the old property lines. Farms and such. Where were these taken? In the wooded areas around old Camp Upton you can still find trenches from the WWI army camp. They had to practice trench warfare back then. Welcome to the site!

[Mike L]

Thanks for the welcome, I took these pictures in Coram near where I live. It's a small lot of woods remaining in a development. Historic Aerials shows the woods in 1954 and there were no buildings there then, just woods. I've seen these trenches in Prosser Pines in Middle Island as well as other woods. I agree that they are most likely property lines. I actually have a small strip of woods behind my house that has one running across it. Thinking about metal detecting it to find some relics!

[The Commish]

Upstate and New England area they built rock walls, we don't have the amount of rocks so I guess earthen berms were the next best thing. My wife's parents yard in Massachusetts is bordered by a rock wall.

[Bruce]

The trench pictured below was hand dug well over a hundred years ago. It goes from Long Pond to Sag Harbor Cove and is about two miles long. It supplied water to the Village of Sag Harbor before deep wells were used. It is also a property line with Southampton Town on the left and Sag Harbor Village on the right.
Bruce