LIVINGSTON PARISH - On the side of a dead-end road stands the remnants of a once-bustling town called Amite Springs, also known as Denham Springs. A hole in the ground is part of an ancient bubbling aquifer that helped establish the city back in the 1800s. There even used to be a hotel here.

"We're looking for the footprint of the hotels. There were two hotels," said museum curator Florence Crowder.

Photos in the old City Hall show what the hotel and springs used to look like. The problem, however, is that all remnants of the hotel disappeared when it burned to the ground more than 100 years ago.

Now, after securing money in this year's budget, the city is turning to a professor at LSU to help locate them.

"If there's just a remaining nail from the original hotel when it burned down, he should be able to find that nail because of the minerals that are left behind in the dirt," explained Mayor Landry. 

Douglas Carlson, the geological surveyor, will use a magnetometer to find magnetic fields in the dirt. 

"I'm sure what he's going to do is probably going to be minimal disturbance to the property," said Landry.

In the next few weeks, you may see a man out there with surveying equipment, but it could take up to a year for the project to be completed.