The Ashley Gang, Palm Beach/St.Lucie County FL

[TheHorticulturist]

Hello All,

I was surprised to not find more leads or searches on the forums for these caches supposedly hidden around Hobe Sound and Stuart. Ive gotten ahold of the county sheriff records from 1920s, mentioning the destruction of their still sites with round about locs. Just trying to find out if anyone else has ventured out into the small plots of undeveloped land around Hobe Sound and had any luck before I brave the mosquito thickets myself!

Happy Hunting!

- Jonny

 

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[Honest Samuel]

Welcome to our website. You will learn a lot about treasure hunting.

 

[MiddenMonster]

I was surprised to not find more leads or searches on the forums for these caches supposedly hidden around Hobe Sound and Stuart. Ive gotten ahold of the county sheriff records from 1920s, mentioning the destruction of their still sites with round about locs. Just trying to find out if anyone else has ventured out into the small plots of undeveloped land around Hobe Sound and had any luck before I brave the mosquito thickets myself!

Since a lot of his caches would have been made up of bank robbery money--i.e. paper cash, what condition do you think they would be in after being buried for a century? Good luck finding them, but given the climate and sogginess of Florida I think you'd probably be more likely to find an old pirate treasure cache than something John Ashley buried. But if you are going to search for them, I'd say your best bet would be to search in places that are within eyesight of his hideouts and where he lived. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would travel 50 miles to hide money that he couldn't keep his eyes on.

 

[TheHorticulturist]

Im in agreement with the paper currency however, silver and gold was still used back then. The first time he robbed the Stuart bank he reportedly made off with gold and silver. Between banks, trains, rum-running and looting, it couldn't all be paper currency. thank you for the tips though!

 

[MiddenMonster]

Im in agreement with the paper currency however, silver and gold was still used back then. The first time he robbed the Stuart bank he reportedly made off with gold and silver. Between banks, trains, rum-running and looting, it couldn't all be paper currency.

If he made off with coin, that could definitely still be out there waiting to be found. But there is also a commonality across the criminal spectrum that is pretty much a constant: They lived for the high life. Women, whisky and song. They weren't known for putting away a nest egg for when they retired. At best, they might have stashed some money around in various places so they had something to live on when they moved from place to place. The criminal that sets a goal and then retires when they reach it is a rarity, except in movies as a plot device. In fact, that could be said for a large part of the population at large. A friend of mine told me he believes that for most people, money burns a hole in their pocket no matter how much or how little of it they have. That said, if Ashley did stash money somewhere I still think it would be within eyesight of his hideouts and residences.

 

[Mesohi]

just started looking into the Ashley gang