Legends of Lost Treasures Pennsylvania (d - E - F)

D

DAUPHIN

Dauphin county, Pennsylvania: In 1919, it is said that some boys exploring the Echo Caverns near Hummelstown discovered a chest of mysterious objects. Coins minted between 480 B.C. and 1288 A.D. from a variety of countries, a package of moonstones, a few pieces of jewelry and a small bottle of aluminum paint powder.

DELAWARE

Delaware county, Pennsylvania: Mordecai Dougherty and James Fitzpatrick, alias Sandy Flash, were highwaymen who operated in the area of Concordville during the late 1700’s. Old tales relate that the outlaws amassed a considerable quantity of loot which was secreted somewhere in the vicinity of Concordville. They were hanged for their crimes and never recovered their plunder.

Delaware county, Pennsylvania: In 1742, privateers captured a Spanish galleon in the Caribbean and obtained several tons of mercury and 38,000 pieces-of-eight. Heading for their homeport at Philadelphia, they buried the treasure on the W bank of the Delaware River, about 3 miles SW of Chester. When they returned to recover the cache, flooding had deposited tons of mud along the banks and they were unable to find the spot.

Delaware county, Pennsylvania: Hessians fleeing the area when they were about to be attacked by Colonial troops during the Revolutionary War, stuffed their gold into a cannon, filled the end and rolled it into the Delaware River at a point believed to have been between Chester and Eddyston. It has yet to be recovered.

E

Erie

Erie county, Pennsylvania: Several unidentified shipwrecks lie off Erie. One of these vessels is known to have been carrying a large quantity of gold and silver coins, none of which was ever salvaged.

Erie county, Pennsylvania: The steamer Erie sank near the city of Erie with $200,000 in gold coins in the ship’s safe.

Erie county, Pennsylvania: On August 19, 1852, the side-wheel steamer Atlantic sank in Lake Erie carrying between $60,000-$300,000 in gold in the ship’s safe.

Erie county, Pennsylvania: On September 21, 1873, the steamer City of Detroit sank in Lake Erie carrying between $200,000-$450,000 in gold coins and a large cargo of copper ingots.

F

Fayette

Fayette county, Pennsylvania: There are 2 different stories as to how 15 tons of silver bars came to be cached inside a cave near Uniontown: The hoard was being shipped by ox cart from Buffalo, New York, and cached to prevent it from falling into the hands of the British during the War of 1812. The treasure was hijacked from a train during the Civil War in 1865 as the conflict was coming to a close and the silver secreted in a cave and never recovered. Silver ingots from this treasure have come into the open in the hands of individuals, turning up in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois. The loot was reportedly found by 2 hunters in a cave around 1957 and, as hazy as the story becomes, it is believed the hoard was moved from its original hiding place to another cave or old coal mine shaft where it supposedly remains for whatever reason, except for the few bars already found and in the hands of these several individuals. The ingots are 8 ¾ x 2 x ¾ inches, weigh 3 ½ pounds and are stamped: (Syracuse Smelting Works-Government)

Fayette county, Pennsylvania: In 1804, the Kirk outlaw gang had their hideout in Dulaney’s Cave, now Laurel Caverns, and buried a large amount of coins somewhere in or near the cave. The gang, who ravaged the area between National Pike and Morgantown,

Fayette county, Pennsylvania: In 1755, British General Braddock and his troops were attacked by French and Indians near the ford on the Monongahela River, a few miles from Fort Dusquesne and 7 miles SE of Rankin. All of the supply wagons were captured with the exception of the one carrying between $15,000-$25,000 in gold. Braddock’s pay chest and personal fortune. The driver of the wagon, fearing capture, fled S on a road along the river to Fort Burd, later named Redstone Old Fort. Somewhere along this road he buried the gold and made good his escape. The treasure was never recovered. Some researchers say that the pay chest was buried or hidden somewhere on or near the battlefield.

Forest

Forest County, Pennsylvania: A lost silver and lead mine is reportedly located in Tionesta Valley near Tionesta. Early Indians obtained their metals from this region, making ornaments and symbols dating prior to the 1800’s. The Indians refused to divulge the source and it has remained lost. 8. During the late 1700’s, a member of a pioneer family named Hill sought shelter from a storm in a cave about 1 mile N of where the Allegheny River passes Tionesta. Inside he found veins of silver and lumps of silver littered the floor. When he tried to relocate the site, he was unable to find the cave, even though he searched until he died.

Franklin

Franklin county, Pennsylvania: During the 1840’s, a farmer named Johnson had a contract with the U.S. Army selling horses. On one of his trips after selling his stock in Pittsburg, he buried the gold coins at Widow Springs NW of Shippensburg. He was killed during a tavern brawl that night and his cache was never recovered

Franklin county, Pennsylvania: Confederates burned the town in 1864 and General Lee made his headquarters here on the outskirts of town in 1863. Several caches of coins and valuables are believed buried in the region as well.

Fulton

Fulton county, Pennsylvania: Stories that date back to the pioneer days say that Indians traded silver at an area trading post for guns, powder and whiskey. Their secret silver mine, which was never found by the white settlers, is supposedly located in the James Buchanon State Forest.