Digging up the past at the jail

Using metal detectors, treasure hunters Jacquie Rushlow and Jonny Craig unearthed a few items of interest around the old jail this week.

The best find was a toy cannon made of brass. Rushlow said she is attempting to date the item, believing it could be made as far back as the 1700s. They also found an 1899 large cent coin, lots of square head nails, a primitive axe head, and the top plate from a Parisian Warrior woodstove, which could have been the jail’s original wood stove.

Rushlow and Craig met working in production on a television show (Craig as a camera operator and Rushlow a director) when they travelled to southern Unites States looking for under priced/unknown treasures at yard sales. 

“We soon realized we shared the same passion for history. Jonny went to Belgium that summer and started to detect there with a friend and when he got home with a detector in hand, I was sold. We’ve got amazing collections ranging from bullets, to coins to really cool artefacts like jewellery, WW1 pins, old toy guns, even cutlery and much more,” said Rushlow. 

They both relocated away from Toronto with their spouses – Craig moved to Walters Falls and Rushlow moved to the Creemore area.

The metal detecting duo plans to continue the search. Anything they find on site will be displayed at the Creemore Log Cabin, which is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Thanksgiving.