Massanutten, Appalachian Buried Silver and Gold

Gypsy Heart

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Nov 29, 2005
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In 1740 the mountain was called Peaked Mountain, and later it was known as Buffalo Mountain. The name Massanutten was then confined to the large open space between the mountain and the river below Thornton Gap.
In 1746 the colony was petitioned to build a road "from Smith's Creek over the Buffalo Mountain to the mouth of Massanutten and thence over the Blue Ridge to Mr. Thornton's Mill." This was known as Massanutten Road and is the present route of the Lee Highway.

The Massanutten field and Fort Valley were held by the Indians as common hunting grounds. While no permanent towns were located there, many Indian relics have been found on several temporary village sites. Opposite Mill Creek, in Fort Valley, and above Luray, Indian mounds, some thirty feet high, have been opened.

The first settler on the Massanutten field was Adam Miller, who located there in 1726. A few years later Adam Strickler and other German families from Pennsylvania came in, and by 1732 there were fifty-one people on that tract. Meanwhile, one Powell, who is reputed to have had trouble with the authorities, took refuge in the gem of a valley lying in the northern end of the mountain, later known as "The Fort." This is not an artificial stronghold, but was a natural one for Powell, and here he lived in peace. For him the mountain to the west was called Powell's Fort mountain and the valley Powell's Fort valley, and later "The Fort." Now they are known as Powell's Mountain and Fort Valley. Powell is supposed to have found again the silver mines mentioned by Baron De Graffenreid as having been discovered by Michelle in 1707, and to have made counterfeit money, which did not endear him to the authorities.

According to popular report, he buried a quantity of gold and silver on Signal Knob overlooking Strasburg, and while several generations of treasure seekers have hunted for it, it has never been found. But every native still claims "Thar's gold in them thar hills," or at least silver! About 1733 a group of hunters, Tebo, Klizer, and Crick, settled in The Fort. Within a short time others followed. Soon it was too thickly settled for Tebo and his friends, so they sold out to John Bushong and Henry Cullers who had recently arrived in the Shenandoah from Maryland, and followed the game further west.

more at.....http://www.patc.net/history/archive/massntn.html
 

Rebel - KGC

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Jun 15, 2007
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Yo! ;D 8) (sunny out...). THANKS, Gypsyheart... GREAT "post" & "link"; born & raised in the Shenandaoh Valley of Virginia, I have been to ALL the places mentioned; one thing NOT mentioned is there is a legend of a treasure buried at the base of Massanutten Mountain off of Rt. 33 (AKA Lee Highway...), near Keezletown, Va. near Melrose Cavern or Massenuten Cavern; LOTS of caves/caverns in the Great Valley of Virginia and... civil war battlefields... buried families/caches... etc. etc. Now, I am "homesick"!!! (live in Lynchburg, Va. now... :'(
 

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Gypsy Heart

Gypsy Heart

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Nov 29, 2005
12,686
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Ozarks
Rebel - KGC said:
Yo! ;D 8) (sunny out...). THANKS, Gypsyheart... GREAT "post" & "link"; born & raised in the Shenandaoh Valley of Virginia, I have been to ALL the places mentioned; one thing NOT mentioned is there is a legend of a treasure buried at the base of Massanutten Mountain off of Rt. 33 (AKA Lee Highway...), near Keezletown, Va. near Melrose Cavern or Massenuten Cavern; LOTS of caves/caverns in the Great Valley of Virginia and... civil war battlefields... buried families/caches... etc. etc. Now, I am "homesick"!!! (live in Lynchburg, Va. now... :'(
Thanks rebel...Do you have any of your own pics you could share of the area? Did you find anything there?
 

Rebel - KGC

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Jun 15, 2007
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Yo! ;D 8) Naw, no "pics"... found several minnie balls; pistol bullet - three rings, I think (ie. the "rings" tell you if "yank" or "reb"); cannon ball; LOTS of "Indian" arrowheads; two tomahawk heads, one spear heads (heads were all of stone/quartz...); one rebel button "AMA" for Augusta Military Academy, I think; MANY legends of cannons buried on the banks of the Shenandoah River; family caches buried in "dose hills" (before Gen. Sherman burned the Valley), all the way down to Roanoke Valley... SOME, not found... :(; I was just a kid, then, kept MOST of it, lost some of it. The Shenandoah Valley is FULL of history & RELICS... MAY have to "retire" back up there. dunno ;)
 

Rebel - KGC

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Jun 15, 2007
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:icon_sunny: 8) HA! SUNNY out! Gonna HAVE to go back to the GREAT VALLEY in April... The A. Miller House on "The Field" is about 1/3 mile NORTH of Elkton, Va. "limits", on the WEST side of Rt. 33 NORTH.
Gonna HAVE to walk the Shenandoah River SOUTH from Kite's Island... to the OLD Rt. 33 bridge, where Gov. Spotwood & his Knights MAY have buried the wine bottles, claiming the GREAT VALLEY, for the Brit. King... I am CERTAIN, the native people (aka Indians...), were NOT amused. However, da gov. was "busy" with the pirates like Blackbeard, at da time, I think... AHOY MATIES! :D :wink:
 

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