Built in 1848 by Azariah Sweetin, the Old Stone House has become a legend in the area near Eldred and Hillview. Mr. Sweetin used the limestone from the land that he bought to make the elaborate mansion. The woodwork was all walnut. On the third floor was a ballroom that he used for dances on holidays.
The mansion is said to have a lost treasure of gold coins hidden somewhere inside it. Legend also tells of a murder that happened during one of his dances. The party was for the soldiers that would be going off to the the Civil War.
The sons of two local farmers had an arguement as it got worse, one of the men got disgusted with the whole affair and turned to walk away. As he did the other man stabbed him in the back, he fell onto the fireplace hearth and bled to death.
For many years it has been said that the ghost of the young man appears on the hearth. His blood stained the hearth in the outline of his body. They were never able to remove the stain, and it is said that it is still there to this day.
Mr. Sweetin had done quite well in cattle trading before the war, he didn't trust banks so he started hiding gold coins all over the mansion. No one was sure where it was hidden and Azariah lost his memory due to being thrown from his horse and hitting his head.
The mansion slowly turned to ruins, after it had been deserted, local youths, treasure hunters, and curiosity seekers tore the house apart trying to find the gold. The gold was never found and some say that it was never hidden in the mansion but, instead, in the caves behind the house.
The caves are hiding places for rattlesnakes which has scared away many treasure hunters. But they aren't the only ones protecting the gold, it is said that Azariah's spirit still watches over it.
Hartwell Ranch House aka Sweetin House, is the most imposing of all the limestone houses. Azariah Sweetin, stockman from Kentucky, Earlier a stonemason in England, started building the house in 1848. Mr Sweetin died in 1871 at the age of 50. The land was purchased by Cyrus Hartwell, land owner and railroad developer of Hoopeston, Illinois. Hartwell or members of his family occupied the house until his death in 1894, when his vast holdings were divided and sold.
Mary Hartwell Catherwood of Hoopeston, 1847-1902, included stories of the Lower Illinois Valley in her versatile writing career - of "corn belt local color" and the French in the new world. She gathered material for her stories as she visited her Uncle Cyrus Hartwell, in the ranch house in the 1880's and early 1890's.
Greene County Census 1860
702 671 671 SWEETEN AZARIAH 44 M W FARMER 6000 2000 KY
702 671 671 SWEETEN SARAH 47 F W TN X
702 671 671 SWEETEN LEONARD 20 M W IL
I go a great distance,while some are considering whether they will start today or tomorrow
122. Azariah Sweetin was born on 27 Jun 1818 in Franklin County, Tn. He died on 30 Oct 1871 in Stone House Hillview, Greene, Il. He was buried Hunnicutt Cemetery, Bridgewater, Sweetin. He married Sarah Jane Wells on 21 Feb 1839 in Carrollton,Green County, Il.
[Notes]
123. Sarah Jane Wells was born on 25 Feb 1816 in Tn. She died on 23 Mar 1884 in Hillview, Greene, Il.
I go a great distance,while some are considering whether they will start today or tomorrow
122. Azariah Sweetin was born on 27 Jun 1818 in Franklin County, Tn. He died on 30 Oct 1871 in Stone House Hillview, Greene, Il. He was buried Hunnicutt Cemetery, Bridgewater, Sweetin. He married Sarah Jane Wells on 21 Feb 1839 in Carrollton,Green County, Il.
[Notes]
123. Sarah Jane Wells was born on 25 Feb 1816 in Tn. She died on 23 Mar 1884 in Hillview, Greene, Il.
THANKS Gypsy!! (When is your book coming out) Anybody go out to this place stvn.
[edit] Indian History
In the 1980s the Kampsville Archeological Center, located in Kampsville, IL, dug in the sand ridge area west of Hillview. Pottery, axes, grinding stones and arrowheads are not uncommon in this area and it was theorized that the area was a factory for arrowheads at one time, without permanent settlement.
[edit] Prehistoric
Mastodon teeth have been found in the farm lands west of Hillview
in it it says: For many years people have speculated were the money was hidden. Though no one ever reported having found the money, we can assume it was found by two of Sweetin’s farm hands who disappeared shortly after Sweetins death.
What about this, anybody go there yet>Is it on private land?Im trying to find some place to go hunt thats not far away, well, this is a "little" far, but its on my way to my brothers house in Missouri...lol
I am waiting till i get a 2 box detector. my little ace does not nab stuff much beyond 3 inches(and picks up way to much small trash). I very much have plans on giving it a shot thou. I just don't have the $500 for the Treasure-Finder 900 detector. By the way thanks Gypsy Witch. I love reading post of old tales in Illinois to check out. keep em coming.
great job
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done with the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
I got my two box in and decided to go check out Azariah Sweetin's Haunted Gold Treasure. Unable to find a exact location on the old stone house on any maps or websites I decided to wing it and see if I could locate the house on my own. At 8am I packed up the car with all of my gear and headed out. My goal was to first locate the house and then go to the closest neighbors to ask who owned the property. Since this is a town of 150 the neighbor has a good chance of letting me know who owns it. With any luck he may be the owner himself. I was planning on giving the plea of my long hours of a drive and the reward of cash or beer for the right to hunt it that day. You would be supprised what the gesture of a case of beer can get you.
(Warning before you hunt: This town has thousands and thousands of no trespassing signs. They are on everything. If anyone goes on private land Get permission first!!! I warn you they have plenty of places to hide your body and no one is around to hear you scream. At the very least rock salt filled shotgun shells hurt bad and the sheriff is probably related to who ever finds you.)
The whole way down I had daydreams of me opening a box full of gold coins. I even divided it up between the people I was going to share it with. Sort of like an actor practices winning an award in the mirror.
Side Note: Added to my post at the bottom is another jpg of the house I found on the internet. I know it is still standing as it is a landmark in this area. Also from my info gathering today I am certain no one would take the time or effort to knock it fully down(see pics of the town).
The legend Say's that he may of buried it deep in the caves. I think this is B.S. No one but pirates and criminals bury treasure where they can not keep an eye on them. He didn't trust banks so why would he trust his loot out of his site where someone could walk up and take it without him knowing. If the treasure is still around.. it is in view of the old house as it stood at the time. With my two box if it was buried less than 8 feet deep I was sure to eventually find it. I planned on cranking up the sensitivity to full. I was going to draw a top view of the land and then walk the whole area. Every time i got a hit I would mark it on the map. I would also give it a signal strength indicator next to the drawn hit. I am betting from the surrounded area that I would be digging many big chunks of iron so I wanted to know how many locations I had to work with before I dug hole number one. Also if one hit stood out louder than the rest I would dig it first.
I start my drive thru the town with my eyes open. I spotted many old shacks an homes covered by the plants of the area. The woods are very thick in this area. In the image that I attached to this post you can see a tree growing in the middle of the house. You can also tell that the pick was taken in the winter. I drove around the town in a ten mile radius and could not locate the house. Then I saw my bad luck Nemesis eagles and hawks. Anytime in my life I see these great birds bad things happen to me that usually cost me money. I decided to head home and call it a day while I could. On the way back I was planning my next point of attack. I thought I would make some calls to the court house and get more info before the next trip down. And then it happened.......The spirit of Azariah Sweetin didn't take it to well that I was hunting him down. The car started chugging for a mile and then the transmission went out completely. My car only has around 100k on it. It is a 03 Neon and I had never had a problem or hint that the transmition was anything less than tip top shape. I had to get a tow that took several hours to get me home. That's going to cost me a couple of grand. Azariah Sweetin may have slowed me down for a while but I will be back.
Robert
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done with the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
Some of these pics of the woods have hidden houses in them that you can not tell from the pic. You gotta look real close to spot them when you drive by.
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done with the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
Thank You so very much for the awesome photos and for going there to check this out. You have so many pictures of places I would love to hunt. I truely hope when I post stories that someone from Tnet will find a huge cache and I hope you return to find something great. these pics were like taking us along with you....Sorry to hear about your car and I look forward to your return trip!!!
I go a great distance,while some are considering whether they will start today or tomorrow
Hey MaxMoney!! Have you been back there? Any more new pics for us? I read this story first about 20+ years ago in Michael Henson's treasure book. It is highly likely that there are at least a few of his caches remaining there , even after all these years. I always felt that he would have had many hiding places, not just one....fwiw. Keep us updated. Thanks for all the great pics you've put up here already, too!
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Originally Posted by Gypsy Heart
) Anybody go out to this place
