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wakka55 t1_j7daa1f wrote

Reply to comment by Sunnyjim333 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

They carried lead along the oregon trail? The heaviest known substance of the time? To...mark corners of peoples home plots????

Please elaborate so this stops sounding crazy

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Sunnyjim333 t1_j7dlv09 wrote

Lead does not decay very rapidly. It is also soft, you can scratch words onto it. You don't need much to mark a corner. I don't know about the Oregon Trail, but it was used through the ages.

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wakka55 t1_j7dofrg wrote

people were saying these were large, 1/2" thick, foot or two wide slabs in the comments. how else would they find them later?

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