Here is some of my research . . .
5/4/2007
“Chased by the enemy, we buried our payroll at a point in the Everglades at a junction of two creeks, where the land rises like a camel’s back. The money is buried in the west hump of the rise.”
Appendix A
http://www.frankkryder.com/florida.htm
On or about May 15, 1865, a month following General Lee's surrender in Virginia,, a wagon train of high ranking government officials, the personal baggage of Jefferson Davis and the remains of the Confederate Treasury, in gold coin, rolled into Florida, attempting to elude federal agents, rendevous with Davis in Texas and perhaps start over in Cuba or the Bahamas. They stopped in at Senator David Levy Yulee's Cotton Wood Plantation near Archer, Florida where Yulee's wife, informed them Jefferson Davis had been captured. Camped on the embankment of the Florida railroad the group decided to split the money and scatter. It was rumored some of the money was buried in Archer and has never been found.
20070521 – Yulee Sugar Mill is a State Historic Site. Located at approximately 10466 W. Yulee Dr. Homosassa, FL. – But is this the real original site? Mention was made of Archer?
Appendix B
Florida's Fabulous Treasures
By Jeffrey Kramer
The Florida Everglades is the area of a well documented lost treasure. Near the end of the Civil War, a Confederate paymaster being pursued by Union troops buried a million-dollar payroll, $200,000 in gold coins and the remainder in paper currency. Records reveal he wrote, “Chased by the enemy, we buried our payroll at a point in the Everglades at a junction of two creeks, where the land rises like a camel’s back. The money is buried in the west hump of the rise.” The area is somewhere between Alligator Alley and State Road 41 in the Seminole Indian Reservation.
Appendix C
EVERGLADES....KGC .Captain John Riley trying to ship Confederate gold to Havana in the spring of 1865, was chased into the Everglades by Federal troops. Riley buried $500,000 in gold bullion in west central Broward County. A Confederate paymaster fleeing Federal troops buried $200,000 in gold coins in Hendry County and the area is supposedly between Alligator Alley and State Route 41.
Appendix D
http://www.floridahistory.org/floridians/civilw.htm
Jefferson Davis and Stephen Mallory was captured en route to Florida, but Secretary of the Confederate Treasury Judah Benjamin escaped Florida from a sailboat in Sarasota Bay. It was rumored the Confederate Treasury was buried near Newberry by an advance calvary unit sent by President Davis. Others questioned whether they was enough money to even count the cargo as a treasure.
Appendix E
http://www.flahistory.net/may_18611865.htm
May 22, 1865 Part of the baggage of Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrive at David Levy Yulee’s Cotton Wood plantation near Archer. Davis was attempting to flee the North American continent after the surrender of Confederate armies in Virginia and North Carolina. For years, rumors persisted that a considerable part of the Confederate treasury was buried on Yulee’s property. If so, it has never been found.
Appendix F
http://www.afn.org/~archer/links.htm
Historical Markers: Region 2 - Region 2 includes Alachua, Duval, Flagler, Levy, Marion, Nassau, and St. Johns counties Alachua David Levy Yulee and Cotton Wood Plantation David Levy Yulee and Cotton Wood Plantation (2nd marker) Josiah T. Walls Josiah T. Walls (2nd marker) The...
--http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/df/FL_MARK/reg2.html NG
YULEE (Nassau) - YULEE (Nassau County) The town of Yulee is located on US 17 twenty miles west of Fernandina Beach. Visitors remember the town as the last Florida city before leaving Florida on their trip along I-95 to Georgia. The town was named in 1852 for...
--http://www.floridahistory.org/floridians/arch1/civilwar/y...
Levy County - Levy County Name: for David Levy Yulee, the state's first U.S. senator Formed: March 10, 1845 Area: 1,137 square miles County Seat: Bronson Levy Population 1995 Est.1990 Census 1980 Census 1970 Census 29,843 25,923 19,870 12,756 Municipalities...
--http://www.clerk.co.brevard.fl.us/pages/levy.htm
Web Sites - HISTORY OF ARCHER In the early 1850s a town called Deer Hammock was established here, probably in anticipation of the construction of the Florida Railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key. In 1858 The Florida Town Improvement Company, owned by the...
--http://www.sbac.edu/~archer/history.html NG
Florida State Parks - YULEE SUGAR MILL RUINS STATE HISTORIC SITE - TD { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt} A.left:Hover {color:#800000;} A.left {color:#346699; text-decoration: none; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;} Contents Directory Help Search Whats New Topics...
--http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/YuleeSugarMill/yulee.html
Citrus County Courthouse - Although little citrus is now grown in the region, owing to changes in climate, Senator David Levy Yulee did operate a plantation in the vicinity of Homosassa, and a variety of sweet orange was once cultivated by that name. Citrus County, which was.
--http://jud10.flcourts.org/Courthouses/citrus.html
Appendix G
http://growth-management.alachua.fl.us/historic/historic_commission/historictowns/archer/archer.htm
11. David Levy Yulee/Cotton Wood Historical Marker
This historical marker has information about David Levy Yulee (1810-86), who played a significant role in Florida's early development, and about his plantation near Archer.
Appendix H
http://www.co.alachua.fl.us/government/history/?era=2507
Cottonwood Plantation This large cotton plantation in Archer was run by David Levy Yulee, Florida's
first U. S. senator. In 1865 it was the terminus for the Confederate Wagon train, carrying gold and
Jefferson Davis' personal papers. Now only a bronze plaque marks the spot.
Title: DAVID YULEE and COTTON WOOD PLANTATION
Location:S.R. 346 (High Street)
County: Alachua
City: Archer
Description: David Levy Yulee was born at St. Thomas, West Indies, in 1810. He attended school in Virginia from 1819 until 1827 when he went to Micanopy to work on one of the plantations of his father, Moses Elias Levy. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1836. His time was divided between the practice of law and agriculture. Yulee was elected to the Florida Constitutional Convention at St. Joseph in 1838. He was a delegate to Congress from the Territory of Florida from 1841-45 and spearheaded the drive for statehood. In 1845, he was chosen as the first U.S. Senator from Florida and was the first Jew, in the United States, to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Defeated for reelection in 1851, Yulee was again elected to the Senate in 1855. In the Senate he served as chairman of the committees on naval affairs and on post offices and post roads. Yulee served in the U.S. Senate until he resigned upon the secession of Florida in 1861. While serving as territorial delegate, Yulee obtained a railroad survey of Florida and was one of the first railroad promoters in the South. In 1853 he incorporated the Florida Railroad which, when completed in 1860, passed through Archer, connecting Fernandina and Cedar Key. Long an advocate of the Southern movement and secession, Yulee supported Florida's entry into the Confederacy. However, he chose not to pursue elective office and devoted time to his plantations and his railroad. He was at odds with Confederate authorities who wanted to use materials from his railroad for more vital lines. Cotton Wood Plantation, located about one mile northeast of this site, was the home of Yulee during the War Between the States. Upon the fall of the Confederacy, personal baggage of President Jefferson Davis and part of the Confederate treasury, reached Cotton Wood, under armed guard, on May 22, 1865. Following the war, Yulee was imprisoned at Ft. Pulaski, at Savannah, until Gen. U.S. Grant intervened for his release in March of 1866. Yulee sold his holdings in Florida and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1880. He died in 1886 and was buried at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. Originally known as David Levy, he had his name changed by an act of the Florida Legislature in 1845.
Sponsors: sponsored by the Alachua county historical commission in cooperation with the Florida department of state
But who knows?
