Strange find I.D.'d

[Ronnie D]

Took to U of M , Dearborn & was put in touch w/a professor of primitive engineering who is also a curator at Greenfield Village & he recognized it right away. The outer shell is tin pounded over a rounded bottom mold ( no seams to get stuck in mud) probably excess material from a roof. It was then filled w/ pitch tar, paint, slag, rocks nails etc., to use as a weight/ counterweight system that hung on levers to throttle a canal gate which kept the creek level high enough for the homestead, which makes sense because there's modern culverts around 50' from where i found it.
I blew this guy's mind when i told him where i found it. It appears it's the former property of William H Burt, a famous inventor of the typewriter, solar compass and some other engineering toys.
He ballparked it's age around 1850 & said it's a 50/50 chance that he handled it
Not a bad way to end a hike

[Rebelss]

Wow! That's pretty danged cool, that and the fact you took it to an expert! Good goin'!    I love old history and finding things....

[Iceshanty]

Thanks for the follow up. Very interesting indeed.

[theskydiveguy]

Super cool find, nice work following up with it!

[appleye]

Awesome find and story to go with. Thanks for sharing.

[Raquettedacker]

Very cool.👍👍

[cwavs1982]

This was an interesting thread!  Enjoyed the followup.  Would not have guessed that's what it was for. 

[Ronnie D]

Thanks for the input everyone. I was at the point to where it's origin had to be explained or my sons were never gonna stop w/ da Joe Dirt jokes.
Swift Tines

[esox_xtm]

Thanks for the "Rest of the Story" Ronnie! I was as confounded at snagging lots of those klinkers while fishing certain spots. Every cast seemingly. Finally put the pieces together reading some history of the area. Really cool stuff! Thank you!