By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.— A square nail and a handful of corroded coins has provided a peek to the past of an area community.
In early July replacement began on about one mile of Atlas sidewalk along Gale and Perry roads. Burton-based Streeter Brothers first removed the narrow aged sidewalks that over the years had succumbed to temperatures and active tree roots.
Left behind was a dirt pathway that area coin hunter Steve Lehto says produced a host of history.
“There’s a very good chance that prior to pouring cement for a sidewalk, there was a dirt path,” said Lehto. “The ground exposed had not been seen in decades.”
So on Saturday, Lehto, who has been metal detecting for more than 50 years scanned the mile or so pathway through the historic Village of Atlas.
“Consider locals with coins among other metal objects walked to school, jobs or just hiked along the trails.”
Recovered during the afternoon of detection were Indian head pennies, Buffalo nickels, Roosevelt dimes, along with a rare large cent that was last minted in 1855.
“The large cent was very corroded, but 184 could be seen on the front, I’ve found only five in 50 years of hunting in Michigan,” he said. “The Indian head pennies date back to pre-1907.”
The actual value of the coins are not too much, he said.
“It’s all about the hunt and the story of the items I find,” he said. “In Atlas there’s a lot of good dates.”
By 1890 square nails were gone and builders used round nails.
“It appears the Village of Atlas was an active community before there were sidewalks,” he said. “Modern technology gave us a look at the past.”
Atlas Township was organized in 1836 as part of Lapeer County, and was one of the earliest townships in the region to receive settlers. The township was detached from Lapeer County and added to Genesee County in 1843.