Gold Coins in Texas

[PatrickD]

Hi Everyone,

Can anyone substantiate this information or provide some advice on further research?

A close friend of the family is 80+ and dying. He shared a lot of his treasure hunting research materials with me. A very disorganized collection of papers, magazine articles, notes, 3x5 cards, etc. It is a pack rat's dream and might qualify for an episode of hoarders.

In the collection, there is a hand drawn map in the vicinity of Weatherford Texas. There is some basic information about an old man who distrusted banks and was known around the town to always be seen in dirty overalls and most people thought him to be nearly destitute. He had a piece of property and apparently kept his money in cans of gold coins buried around the property. The guy wasn't very popular and could probably be described as slightly agoraphobic and misanthropic. He died with no heirs and the house has been torn down (probably by the county.) The property is empty now and in the vicinity of Wanda's Restaurant on the Fort Worth highway. (Locals know where that is.)

My friend doesn't know much about it and did not remember where he got the map and the notes are not in his handwriting. I am not going to post the map or the guys name. The map isn't much to look at anyway, just a weird shaped rectangle which I assume is the property boundaries and four areas with Xs on them. The map indicates a building that I am assuming was the house that is now torn down.

Is there any way to validate the base information, legally gain access to the property behind a barbed wire fence, or to determine if the information is B.S. and a waste of time? The paper with the crude map looks old and is brownish and brittle. So, its old. That doesn't mean it is true.

I have driven past the property that sits on the highway and it is pretty overgrown with what looks like unfriendly Texas plants (cactus, mesquite, brush, stickers, briars, etc.)

Any thoughts?

Patrick

 

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[gunsil]

Well, for one thing if the guy had enough money to bury gold coins he must have been very wealthy. To get very wealthy one must have been a very successful merchant, rancher, banker or such. You can find the property on county or state plats and then you can do a title search that should name all owners of the property from the first time the land was owned. Then look up all the owners (historical society, town records, old newspaper, library) and see if anyone owned the property who was rich enough to bury such a stash of gold. Most likely you will find that only average folks owned the place since the first title and that would make the story pretty hard to believe. You don't say how long ago this occurred, but wealthy folks and influential folks often made the news in rural areas, and I'd suspect that you could find who had money and who didn't with some research.

 

[cactusrat]

First thing to do is talk with the land owner. That is the only chance you have to hunt the land.

Be straight up with the owner and hopefully he/she will let you have a look around.

 

[Corporate Investigations]

Hello Patrick D

It seems you have an interesting lead to chase up. Definitely do a bit of research on it and see what happens?

Corp

 

[PatrickD]

Thanks for the advice everyone. You are much appreciated.

From the research I have done, the guy had been known to pay for product in like-kind coins around town. I can't find much on his work or how the money would have been earned. I did find out he paid cash for the property that consists of a few acres. Anyone interested in chasing this one it is easy to find. It is the property just east of Wanda's Restaurant parking lot.

Good luck!

Patrick

 

[frankly]

Do you have the corrdinates to this location?

 

[jj12124]

Where was his House or cabin on the property? I would locate that and figure out where the front door was. I would venture he
had his cache in sight of the door....straight out....where he could sit on porch and watch it......it would not be where the house
was......might be where he had Outhouse if he could see it from the door way or a water well. That is where I would start.

 

[austin]

Try the Texas State Historical Society(Handbook of Texas online) and then try the UT library system in Austin(Texas History library). UT library is online, BUT not everything is there. TCU library might help too. Problem is that is a fairly popular legend and there are variations of it in print. If you do know the location, find the current owner as stated above and cut a deal. And forget about unfriendly Texas plants. You hunt in this state, they will always be there. Go for it and good luck...