Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story????

[Potter Poker]

Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

Don't know what to make of this info, it just leads to a LOT of questions...maybe some of you out there "KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS".
I was relating some info about the Austin flood to my nephew (he's not a MDer or treasure hunter, has no interest in it) and after I finished he related an incident that happened to him this past summer. He was landing a plane after a flying lesson in Saint Mary's, Pa. and when going into the airport building office he noticed that one of the rental cars that was ALWAYS there whenever he was at the airport, was not present. It was a black Lincoln ( the airport acquired a few cheap cars, second or third hand, to keep to rent out to people who landed and needed transportation around the area.) My Nephew (Kenny) asked the manager at the airport "where's the big black limo you always have on your lot?" The manager replied that 3 days ago four guys landed and wanted to rent a car to go to Coudersport, they needed a big car because they had quite a bit of equipment. The manager said that they took the car three days ago and he hadn't heard back from them and kind of felt like they might have "stolen" it. Kenny said he was going back home to Coudersport and would keep his eye open for it.
That evening, he and his wife went to the Crittended Hotel on main street in Coudersport, and lo and behold, there was that black Lincoln parked outside the Hotel and four guys were loading up their baggage into it, apparently they had stayed at the Crittenden for a couple of days. Kenny noticed they were loading metal detectors into the trunk, and had what appeared to be a box-like object covered with a canvas cover which took two of them to lift into the car.
Being the courious man that he is, Kenny ask them "what are you guys doing, a little metal detecting?" According to Kenny, this is what they told him: They had been sent to the area by their "employer" (identity not revealed) to search around just below the old Austin Dam to try to find the large safe that "supposedly" came from the Bayless Paper Company Mill that got washed away back in 1911. Kenny then asked (of course) "did you find it?" Their reply was yes, they were "pretty certain" that they had found it but they would have to tell their boss that they wouldn't be able to get it because it was buried down underneath the large cement slab on which now stands some very large electrical transformers, and a host of other wires and poles etc. etc.
They also mentioned that part of the equipment they were loading back into the Lincoln was a "sounding machine" (my Nephew Kenny's words) that displayed on a computer screen what was under the ground.
That's Kennys story...and this is all of my tale. I have done my best in relating the facts as Kenny has told it...tried to get the words right as he told me the story.
I have many questions about, primarily, I wonder WHO would have enough funds to hire these four guys and their equipment to look just for that particular large safe As I understand it, the Bayless paper compane went out of business a few years after the flood. Could it be some relative of the owner?? OR...maybe four of you guys out there in internet land made a trip to Austin and didn't intend on telling any of ushuh huh
Anybody know about this

 

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[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

I would Be curious how they know Which Safe they Found.
There are Jewelry Store Safes Etc. Missing, & if all they used was Sounding machines, All they could realy know at Best is they got
a Square Block.

Definately Intresting though.

 

[Rich in Central PA]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

No, first time I heard about this story, very interesting though. Of course everybody in Pennsylvania knows about the 1911 dam break in Austin, and all that was lost.

Secondly, no deep seeking detector, no matter how advanced the electronics are, will tell you that there is a safe under that concrete slab and all that debris. One thing for sure it is some type of huge metal(could be anything), but not absolutely with any certainty............ it is THEEEEE safe. That is purely guesswork and speculation. Only one way to verify that is to dig it up.

In my opinion, it wouldn't take much money to put together this kind of activity. All it would take is a deep seeking metal detector, and the 4 guys would split the car, motel, and other misc. expenses. Heck, it could be just a bunch of dedicated and persistant guys like us, who have decided to get together and do some searching.

Hypothetically........If it was me and 3 of my buddies that found that safe, we would have to agree in advance it would not become public knowledge. We would be foolish to open our mouths.

Look what happened to those guys that found that stash of cash not too long ago. In the end, nobody got anything, except the lawyers. The finders could have been rich if they would have kept their mouth shut.............Rich

 

[lumbercamp]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

Now doesn't that stink, having them find that safe in your back yard. You've got to do some detective work. Go to the Crittenden or the St Marys airport and find out who those guys were and where they came from. Seems like they gave out an awfull lot of information to your nephew. If I was sending someone to look for a safe I would tell them to keep very quiet about it. I thought the Bayless mill was rebuilt after the flood and ran until the early 40's

 

[Potter Poker]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

Lumbercamp, you are correct, the mill did rebuild, but it eventually went bankrupt (according to the history that I read.) My only point being, that it couldn't officially be the "Bayless Paper Company" representatives that were searching last summer. but you are right, maybe it was some dedicated treasure hunters like us who got some special equipment to do the job. However, if they were persistantly poking around all those electrical transformers, there are several houses near there, the residents would be able to see them poking around. Also, the cement slab can also be easily seen from the road going into Austin. Someone surely would have noticed four guys and all their equipment. I think that will be one of my intentions, to ask around among the Austin inhabitents if anyone saw four guys poking around down by the transformers last summer. (Of course all they would have to do is wear yellow safety helmets and they would look like electric company employees...)

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

This sentence says it all

wouldn't be able to get it because it was buried down underneath the large cement slab on which now stands some very large electrical transformers, and a host of other wires and poles etc. etc.

That will stand for another 500 or more years.

and don't even Think about tuneling under it without a
Felony Charge against them :P

=================================




My belief on this one is the safes are in Basements at depths
beyond any detectors ability in most cases.

The water Burst through the Dam & rushed downhill into the town.

Take a Car at 100 Miles an hour & a Wooden Wall in the middle of the road. When the car hits the wood wall, Most of the Wall Would fly to
the sides I believe.

A safe is Very Heavy, but the power of the water would move them.
Just not as fast as it would move Wood Structures & floors.
Safes may Tumble until they find something to drop in.
and the water would wash Mud etc. Straight in on top.

A concentrated Dig of Basements would Turn up Many Treasures.
as would areas under Large Boulders & areas to the sides where water never hit.

Another Problem :

9 Miles of Treasure. Where do you Start ?

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

AUSTIN BEFORE the Flood

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

.

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

.

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

..

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

.

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

.

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

SORRY FOR ANY DUPLICATE PICS

 

[Potter Poker]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

Jeff, outstanding post with pictures, some of them I don't have in my files, although I will now. Once again, I must say I have a lot of further research to do. Thank you...pp

 

[lumbercamp]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

I have added pictures of the Austin flood from my collection. The first shows the paper mill before the dam broke and the second shows the ruins.

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

MORE PICS AUSTIN & COSTELLO

http://www.austinsd.com/pic_gallery.html


More Pics AUSTIN

http://www.austinsd.com/community/pic__gallery.html

 

[Potter Poker]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

I THINK ONE OF THE GREATEST RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO US AS TREASURE HUNTERS AND MD'ERS IS ALL YOU GUYS OUT THERE WHO HAVE THESE HUGE COLLECTIONS OF PICS AND INFO...HATS OFF TO ALL YOU GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN DOING THIS STUFF FOR YEARS AND YEARS...THANK YOU...POTTER POKER

 

[Treasure Seeker]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

Besides the safe -- I think it would make for some very interesting detecting in the general area where there *were* buildings, etc.

 

[Potter Poker]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

Hey Treasure Seeker, you are right about that. I have found out that there are a number of cellar holes up on the hill sides in Austin (now all forested over) where homes were that never got hit by the flood waters. Might be interesting pp

 

[1liquigirl]

Re: Possible "large safe" found from Austin, Pa. dam break...Strange Story?

You never know what those people may have found. I have two stories linked to that area, but they may be one and the same story. They may have found the traces of one of them. 1) A Jesuit of the 'True Knights of the Cross' who were early missionaries in the area and two French traders received a shipment of silver off of the Indians at the Tiadaghton trading post to be transported to the French government in Canada. The expedition was to travel with the shipment of silver back up the Genessee. During the excursion, the crew was tracked down and waylaid by bandits. They buried the silver before they were waylaid in the Black Diamond Territory of Inez, PA (which is close to this area). 2) In the late 1690's, a party of French Canadian voyageurs and priests, led by Louis Frontenac began the transport of several kegs of gold coins from New Orleans towards Montreal. They sailed up the Mississippi River to the Ohio River turn-off. They then went up the Ohio to the location of present day Pittsburgh and took the left fork up the Allegheny River. On their rafts were kegs filled with gold coins destined for the Royal Governor of the Canada's treasury. Upon reaching present day Potter County, they started over land, but the heavy kegs of coins made the going slow. The Seneca Indians at some point became too much of a threat to their expedition and the crew was said to have resorted to burying the gold just north of the location of present day Coudersport. The voyageurs had buried the stash near a large rock. Supposedly, the Frenchman marked the spot by chiseling a cross onto the stone. The cross on the rock was once a familiar landmark in the Borie area. Seneca Indians are said to have seen the cross on the rock, but left it alone because they feared the site had special mystical significance. In time the marker wore off the stone and the Indians were unable to remember where it was located. Has anyone ever found any evidence in the form of coins from this time period around this location?