Dent's Run News: Geophysical Survey Released After Lawsuit

[starsplitter]

2D: Nothing to be sorry about. I am definitely interested in the origin story - Genisus, if you will. When did it all begin?

"A Mad Hunt for Civil War Treasure" by Chris Heath (Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2022) is an excellent article on this topic. Mr. Heath asks the same question I have: "After leaving Dents Run, I found myself puzzling over the gold’s origin story, so I went searching for written accounts." That is the logical place to start.

The money shot appears to be the 29-page affidavit. I ploughed through parts of the FBI Dent's Run documentation available on the web and I didn't find it. But there are some thousand pages and photos here, so I easily could have missed it.

I don't want to steal from this excellent writer. The article makes it clear - there is no documentary evidence. The origin story is from circa 1861-1965. People can believe in the Dent's Run Gold, just as they can believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. "Belief" is the operative word here.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo

Back in the day, I did a LOT of research and spent time on site with this treasure. I even dug into the National Archives (as well as the PA archives and other primary sources such as the CA and WV archives). Of course I also explored contemporary accounts and associated persons. Basically, the most I found was tangential evidence - nothing direct or concrete. The most credible was a link to one of the "guides", but that is about it. To me the smoking gun would be the Pinkerton records. However, 90% plus of them went up in the Chicago fire. Nothing Pinkerton at the National Archives ties to the Dent's Run legend. So... great legend (obviously), but sadly no cigar.

 

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