A few weeks ago, I, along with the lovely and talented Amy Merrick, woke up early to be out at Dead Horse Bay by low tide. Dead Horse Bay, in Floyd Bennett Field, was basically the Fresh Kills of the 1850's through the 1930's, now it's a scavenger's dream. When the tide is out, the beach is filled with bottles, ceramics, and other treasures from the early twentieth century. Amy had been to the beach last November, so she graciously agreed to escort me on this trip. We hunted alongside some serious bottle collectors who gave us tips on searching. Everything was covered in silt so you certainly needed a good eye to spot the treasures! We returned home with our finds to clean them up.
Treasure Hunt at Dead Horse Bay
Are you curious as to why the spot is called Dead Horse Bay? According to the New York Times, From the 1850's until the 1930's, the carcasses of dead horses and other animals from New York City streets were used to manufacture glue, fertilizer and other products at the site. The chopped-up, boiled bones were later dumped into the water. The squalid bay, then accessible only by boat, was reviled for the putrid fumes that hung overhead.
I thought I might have seen one leg bone (but I might have been imagining it!). Everything was covered in a rusty, smelly silt, so cleaning up our finds was a challenge. I soaked my treasures in bleach, but had trouble with some stubborn rust stains. Amy suggests using Barkeepers Friend products.
1-4,6 Photos: Amy Azzarito (rice flowers from Sprout Home)
5,7 Photos: Amy Merrick
8 Photo: Ginny Branch (Amy's bottles made an appearance at Ginny Branch's wedding shower!)
Comments (5)
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This sounds amazing! I want to go treasure hunting now.
view rayandlucy's profile
Intriguing! But also a little creepy.
view LizzardtheBlizzard's profile
frickin love it. i live very close to this area and haven't yet been. but other than an old pair of docs, i don't really have boots i'm willing to ruin heheh
view kdkaboom's profile
Fun!
You might want to think about how much to clean things, though. Iridescence can accumulate on old glass and it's more collectible that way.
view SherryBinNH's profile
I just headed out there today and I'm home now, sunburnt, with about a dozen bottles and jars of various sizes bobbing merrily away in a sink full of hot water and bleach. In fact, I could have used some bleach as well -- this place is GRITTY and silty, and you have to dig around and get your feet wet to get most of the sand and kelp out of the bottles. Even so, and possibly because of this, it was terrific fun and I'm amazed by the pure zen-like joy I experienced just stomping around out there.
The Q35 stops right at the path, which broke off and meandered through trees in three directions. I had the entire beach all to myself at low tide, save for a trio of picknickers perched atop that marooned motorboat you can see on google maps. It's amazing how completely the beach had been filled with glass and tires and old metal sinks. (There's not really a great beachy place for picnics unless you go to the very distant end or stay on the high path under the trees.)
I found three large milk bottles -- one of them the same brand my grandfather used to deliver -- and lots of little cobalt and milk glass bud vases. I wore tennis shoes, which got wet, and very nearly rendered myself desperately in need of a tetanus shot on three separate occasions.
Tips to bring:
Sturdy shoes you can get wet
Plastic bags
A stick to dig with
A bucket or large bottle to help with rinsing your finds
view v.darkbloom's profile