Southland Beele Shoes "Southern Made For Southern Maids"

I was feeling better today after rough bout with the lymes I have been battling for a few months now, so after about a month of no detecting, I felt is was due time to get out and see if my Minelab Etrac could still hunt. I hopped in my Ford 4x4 and headed to town to knock on a few doors to detect for a while. I spotted an older looking home across the street from a Church that looked to me to be circa 1820ish. I knocked on the door and was greeted with a smile. I introduced myself to the elderly farmer, his wife and grand daughter. I shook the farmers hand and introduced myself, and explained my obsession with metal detecting. The farmer explained the home was built in 1860 and slaves had also lived in the back building behind the beautifully restored 4 chimney home. We talked for a good half hour about history, and the secret to growing great Southern Virginia sweet corn. Cheesy I fired up the Etrac and plugged in the Coiltek 12x8 Platypus coil. It was so hot I wasn't sure if i would last long detecting, but before I called it a day, I dug a couple keepers including the old brass Southland Beele Shoe press for newspaper advertising. By the mid-1800s Lynchburg, Virginia was a thriving center for manufacturing, trade, and shipping . A large number of factories opened, some of which would remain cornerstones of the economy for years to come. At its peak, the Craddock-Terry Shoe Corporation became Lynchburg's largest industry and the largest shoe manufacturer in the south. (mid 1800's) The old shoe factory is now a luxury hotel.