Fernewood resident Ken Brodnax found his first arrowhead in 1959 at a dirt boat launch, and he’s been hooked on hunting for artifacts ever since. The true genesis of that interest were grandfather’s stories of discovering Indian artifacts on the family farm outside of Bastrop, LA.  With his interest already piqued, that first find sparked a fire in his imagination that still burns 65 years later.

The northwest Florida geography of Ken’s own youth featured fewer plowed up fields for hunting, but he began an early collection scouring the edges of bays and creeks.  When he transferred to LSU in 1968, his interest in artifacts and Civil War (CW) history took a quantum leap forward after a simple visit to a gun show revealed that nearby Port Hudson was a virtual treasure chest for relic hunters.

Of course, it wasn’t long before he and a buddy were making their first of many trips to see for themselves what Port Hudson had to offer.  Then all it took was one encounter with relic hunters on their way out of the woods eager to tout their finds, and Ken was soon invested in his first metal detector. That basic Heath Kit was the first of many makes and models he’d employ over the decades, but the combination of it and Port Hudson were enough to remove any doubt- he was hooked.  Just listen to him tell it…

Each site that I’ve had the pleasure of hunting presents its own unique challenges, but also its own unique opportunities that have always made it worth the effort for me. Here’s a quick timeline of my relic hunting experience:

• Undergraduate at LSU – Port Hudson – Started with the Heath Kit but soon upgraded to a Double Eagle detector as a consolation prize to myself for getting drafted.
• Army – West Texas & New Mexico fort sites – I met a nice family who were very generous with their support, and with sharing their best sites.
• Graduate school at LSU – Port Hudson and LSU campus I recently donated CW artifacts that I’d found on the campus to the LSU Tower Museum. During this time I also found my first Confederate Soldier buckle at Port Hudson, and a Smith & Wesson silver-plated pistol inscribed “Capt. J. A. Richmond 52nd Mass.”; I contacted some of his descendants and visited his grave in Shelburn Falls, MA. I used to average 40 to 60 minie balls a day, and I’ve found at least 5,000 CW bullets over my lifetime of hunting.
• White Oak, TX, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Natchitoches and Fort Jesup, LA – Found War of 1812 and Mexican War items at the two latter sites.
• Delhi, LA, Vicksburg and Grand Gulf, MS and NE LA – My best day for cannon balls was 9. I have found around 56 artillery rounds mostly from Vicksburg and PH.
• Lafayette 1978-87 – Searched Bayou Tech, Bayou Carron Crow, Sunset and Moundville areas.
• Houston. TX – CS camps in Brazoria and Matagorda counties, TX.  Indianolla, TX – Water Hunting – My best day was 9 US cartridge plates and belt buckles.  Donated CW artifacts to the Bay City, TX local museum.
• Slidell, LA – Hunted the Camp Moore area.
• Donaldsonville, LA – Hunted fields along the Mississippi River and Bayou Lafourche where I found most of my Spanish and US coins in these fields dating from 1767.
• Lafayette, LA – Now concentrating on the Red River campaign area primarily from Lafayette to Alexandria.

Once we had children, it wasn’t feasible to go digging with children in diapers, so one of the big incentives to potty training was the chance to go with Dad relic hunting. It was an adventurous day complete with at least one stop at a convenience store where they could pick out one piece of candy of their choice. And the reward at the end of the day was an ice cream cone or milk shake on the way home.  All relics found that day are marked with their name.

My relic hunting has been fun and interesting. Currently, I average around one CW bullet a trip. I still get excited when I find a CW relic. As I have gotten older the fun is in the research and finding, not the possession. I usually give what I find to the landowner to show my appreciation for the privilege of searching their property. I have met some extraordinary people and made some good friends in my hobby!