A Geographical Inquiry On An Upstate New York Treasure Legend

Post-Apocalypse_Punk · Jan 27, 2012

Is anyone familiar with the story behind the Lake Colton treasure? From what I've read, a Revolutionary Era British pay master supposedly hid large sum of gold coins near the north tip of Lake Colton, in St. Lawrence county, New York.

I'm quite close to Colton, and I've considered taking a bus down to investigate for myself. Only one problem: where the hey is Lake Colton?! I've been trying to look it up online, but the closest I get is "Cranberry Lake," part of which juts into Colton. There's also Lows Lake, a reservoir spanning several towns, but that's definitely not it.

I'd rather not waste time if I do go to explore, so if anyone knows the area, or at least where Lake Colton is, this pipe-dreaming adventurer would appreciate it.

Post-Apocalypse_Punk · Feb 3, 2012

Still looking for help if anyone has some to offer. I've recently tried Google-Earth-like maps and satellite pictures that showed several small lakes east of Colton. However, there are no names given, so I have no idea if I'm close or not. To the south, there's several lakes and ponds - is it possible that one of them used to be Lake Colton but was renamed?

deputydawg16 · Feb 4, 2012

very interesting I live close to St. Lawrence County I will try to do some research

CanadianTrout · Feb 6, 2012

It is possible the name of the lake has changed over the years. Try looking up older maps or survey maps of the area. There is a name of these older maps and a lot of them are online. The name escapes me just now.... maybe someone will know what I'm talking about

Post-Apocalypse_Punk · Feb 25, 2012

Thanks. I've been trying to see if I could find any renamed lakes or ponds around Colton, but no luck. However, I did find one external reference to a "Lake Colton" - and it's way in the mountains, at least 85 miles farther away than I expected. However, I tried to look up a map, and I found it as Lake Colden. It's very obvious on maps with a little zoom-in. So far now, searches for "Colden" have been more fruitful. Perhaps that was my problem - a few incorrect letters in an original lead?