By John Balch
News-Leader staff
Tyler Shuffit has only been metal detecting for five years but he has already found some interesting pieces linked to the history of Howard County’s Corinth community.
The piece that currently fascinates Shuffit the most is a token bearing the name “W.E. Leslie & Co. Corinth” on one side and “Good for 25¢ in Merchandise” on the other.
Shuffit said historical records show Leslie was the postmaster of Corinth from 1892-1897 and possibly operated a mercantile store. He added that his research found that Leslie was enlisted in the 19th Arkansas Infantry Confederate State Army known as “The Davis Blues.”
Shuffit’s research also lead him to locate the fresh water spring he said was the “deciding factor” for Corinth community to be homesteaded so many years ago. “The whole idea of me going out there, I was looking for that spring,” he said. “And I wanted to find something personal, or anything that said there was a town here.”
And, he found it, too, when he unearthed the token located on private land in the Corinth community where he has permission to search.
The private land is also where Shuffit dug up a Texas-star saddle ornament made of pewter and a “bit boss” or horse tack dating to the mid-1800s to mid-1900s.
Another notably find is a “toe tap” described as a metal plate attached to boots to protect the toe and heel. This find bears as a patent date of Nov. 20, 1859.
“(The toe tap) very well could have come off the boots of some of the first settlers there,” he said.
Shuffit has also undercover smaller finds and old bottles on the site with every find giving him more inspiration.
“I was very overweight and into video games when I was growing up,” he said. “You wouldn’t have caught me outside.”
The slender 29-year-old Tyson worker said he now gets out on the search every day, even in this heat, and always informs the landowners of his plans. If any landowner is interested in Shuffit searching your land, call him at (870) 200-3079.
