That, and walking the property with a good sturdy stick to poke the ground.
We have almost an acre here, and we had been here almost 15 years before I ever went all the way to the back of the property! The lot is only about 100' wide but is more than 350' deep, and is cut in half by a drainage ditch that runs across the lot and down the hill. I hadn't been to the part behind the ditch, mainly because it is a sharp slope downhill, and there was nothing there but trees and bushes, which are close spaced in the spring and summer. When we had the lot surveyed three years ago when we were planning the remodel, I finally walked to the back to find where they'd put one of the corner markers. It's a hike back there, but even more so coming back UP the hill! ;o)
We have an organization here that cleans up old oilwell sites...called OERB and they do it for free...but I don't think they cover "mine shafts".
I wouldn't know where to begin to look for a land's history, beyond the obvious "Tar Creek Superfund"...an area of Oklahoma that was mined and a by-product that was left behind was literally *mountains* of lead-contaminated "chat". I'm talking mountains (not mounds) that you can see from a distance that has now leached into the water.
Obviously, we won't want to buy in that area...heh.