The Lost Dutchman of Connecticut - The Nutmeg State had a "Dutchy" too!

Somecaver

Greenie
Mar 18, 2015
12
8
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Legend has it A German railroad worker named also named Dutchy found gold in Western Connecticut!

THE GOLD STRIKE AT SPRUCE BROOK

TWISTED HISTORY: Dutchy's gold at Spruce Brook


I've been there twice, and have not found any gold yet, but who knows, maybe next time!
Who wants to join me?
I guess that makes me a dutchy hunter!
I also found this thread here on treasurenet.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/connecticut/100989-looking-placer-gold-connecticut.html

Has anyone else looked for Dutchys treasure on this forum? Have you found gold?

--Somecaver
 

leadfoot

Tenderfoot
Apr 12, 2015
5
1
in a van down by a river
Detector(s) used
tesoro pulse induction
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
ct gold rush seems to be on, seen guys down at leadmine, spruce.. naug river, and thomaston dam areas
a whole bunch in the last couple years.. (also internet listing "locations" on several sites lately too
have seen no reports of anything found..or at least nobody saying they did
you'd think someone would have found and said something since then..
either one of them pea size nuggets or a relic to brag about
..but them hills are tough hiking.. and most dont realize until they visit how difficult or far the terrain is..
i believe although there is some fine gold in these hills (i know some old timers who have told me where)..
and there have been "official" analysis's done in the past
(i think it was like 3 dump truck loads of dirt per gram in the report from wayy back) not very prosperous for return
my opinion is.. dutchys gold is a myth .. there is many other reasons back then why ol dutchy wanted to live in the woods..
gold may have just been a story made up as one explanation , he may have been hiding from someone, just liked being alone ,
maybe just liked the area.. it is pretty scenic and secluded ..there was great fishing in the river back then too ..
he was camp'd near plenty to survive on, near the rails, that gave him opportunity of transport north or south
anytime he wanted, i would say there would be a better chance of finding one of his stashes or remains there of him
or him being there other than a cave
(his fate hasnt been noted..he could still be out there !)
reminds me of newtown's gold mine.. ever seen that one on blackbridge road?
can see where diggers moved a brook two or three times trying to find it...
and it was nothing more than a gold salted hillside brook
some guy hooked a bunch of investors into it and split town..
investors not believing they could have been entirely taken.. went digging..and found nadda down there -
robbers cave in winsted was an interesting story...
some say there could be bank loot hidden in that hill too...
my own explaination after seeing the location and the bank they robbed..
they may have hid out there while they cracked the bank open
but its all up hill from the bank to where they were hiding out..
and unless they were seriously stupid.. ya dont run up hill with a few hundred lbs of gold and silver
you get the hell out o town as fast as ya can.. (and thats why they found a small stash of bank silver in a stone wall north of town
..that was intended for whoever left em a wagon or horses to leave with..._
my point is..everything has an explanation or another truth .. treasure would be nice.. and who knows..
spruce brook is a nice spot to get away for a day..or even camp out for a night or two
(i try an in-vision what it was like out there back then for ol dutchy) he must have been one tuff dude either way to live out there
(btw prior to 1955 there were over 100 houses in that neighborhood, all gone thanks to the army corp dozing the whole valley)
.. keep diggin!
 

au-artifax

Full Member
May 23, 2013
233
90
US
Detector(s) used
Various Seismic generators and magnetic anomoly detector equipment (MADs).
Primary Interest:
Cache Hunting
ct gold rush seems to be on, seen guys down at leadmine, spruce.. naug river, and thomaston dam areas
a whole bunch in the last couple years.. (also internet listing "locations" on several sites lately too
have seen no reports of anything found..or at least nobody saying they did
you'd think someone would have found and said something since then..
either one of them pea size nuggets or a relic to brag about
..but them hills are tough hiking.. and most dont realize until they visit how difficult or far the terrain is..
i believe although there is some fine gold in these hills (i know some old timers who have told me where)..
and there have been "official" analysis's done in the past
(i think it was like 3 dump truck loads of dirt per gram in the report from wayy back) not very prosperous for return
my opinion is.. dutchys gold is a myth .. there is many other reasons back then why ol dutchy wanted to live in the woods..
gold may have just been a story made up as one explanation , he may have been hiding from someone, just liked being alone ,
maybe just liked the area.. it is pretty scenic and secluded ..there was great fishing in the river back then too ..
he was camp'd near plenty to survive on, near the rails, that gave him opportunity of transport north or south
anytime he wanted, i would say there would be a better chance of finding one of his stashes or remains there of him
or him being there other than a cave
(his fate hasnt been noted..he could still be out there !)
reminds me of newtown's gold mine.. ever seen that one on blackbridge road?
can see where diggers moved a brook two or three times trying to find it...
and it was nothing more than a gold salted hillside brook
some guy hooked a bunch of investors into it and split town..
investors not believing they could have been entirely taken.. went digging..and found nadda down there -
robbers cave in winsted was an interesting story...
some say there could be bank loot hidden in that hill too...
my own explaination after seeing the location and the bank they robbed..
they may have hid out there while they cracked the bank open
but its all up hill from the bank to where they were hiding out..
and unless they were seriously stupid.. ya dont run up hill with a few hundred lbs of gold and silver
you get the hell out o town as fast as ya can.. (and thats why they found a small stash of bank silver in a stone wall north of town
..that was intended for whoever left em a wagon or horses to leave with..._
my point is..everything has an explanation or another truth .. treasure would be nice.. and who knows..
spruce brook is a nice spot to get away for a day..or even camp out for a night or two
(i try an in-vision what it was like out there back then for ol dutchy) he must have been one tuff dude either way to live out there
(btw prior to 1955 there were over 100 houses in that neighborhood, all gone thanks to the army corp dozing the whole valley)
.. keep diggin!

As far as Dutchy goes, the official records say he paid with gold "money" meaning coins. Unless he was a counterfeiter as well, I suggest he paid for things with what he earned trapping in the winter. The summers were the times he used gold 'money'. It was illegal to trap in the summer, and furs did not store well in the summertime, but gold coin made from the sale of furs would store rather well. I don't think he ever did strike it rich, but kept trying until he was disappointed one to many times. Also, he never really bought enough black powder to do very much hard rock mining, if any at all. No blast or drill holes were found in the cave, and I suspect he used black powder for the same reasons any farmer of the time would (and often did) buy them. Those were standard needs of farmers at the time, and if they weren't the store wouldn't have carried them.
 

NEExplorers

Newbie
Jan 24, 2019
1
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Dutchy's Cave Report

As far as Dutchy goes, the official records say he paid with gold "money" meaning coins. Unless he was a counterfeiter as well, I suggest he paid for things with what he earned trapping in the winter. The summers were the times he used gold 'money'. It was illegal to trap in the summer, and furs did not store well in the summertime, but gold coin made from the sale of furs would store rather well. I don't think he ever did strike it rich, but kept trying until he was disappointed one to many times. Also, he never really bought enough black powder to do very much hard rock mining, if any at all. No blast or drill holes were found in the cave, and I suspect he used black powder for the same reasons any farmer of the time would (and often did) buy them. Those were standard needs of farmers at the time, and if they weren't the store wouldn't have carried them.

I've been to Dutchy's cave several times and can report that the are drill holes for blasting. To the right of the natural cave is a large area that looks like part of the cave but is actually a mined area of the bedrock. I scanned the walls of the mined area for metals and found several areas, close to where much of the blasting was done, that contain some metal. Could it be gold? Who knows!
 

Honest Samuel

Banned
Sep 23, 2015
8,814
4,969
Connecticut
Detector(s) used
Minelab
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
And Dutchy is not talking and I do not know except too many people had look for it.
 

Gold seeker 2019

Tenderfoot
May 15, 2019
6
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Dutchy's Cave Report



I've been to Dutchy's cave several times and can report that the are drill holes for blasting. To the right of the natural cave is a large area that looks like part of the cave but is actually a mined area of the bedrock. I scanned the walls of the mined area for metals and found several areas, close to where much of the blasting was done, that contain some metal. Could it be gold? Who knows!
Hi! Where about is the location of the Cave? Is it the spruce brook in litchfield?
 

Last edited:

Gold seeker 2019

Tenderfoot
May 15, 2019
6
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Dutchy's Cave Report



I've been to Dutchy's cave several times and can report that the are drill holes for blasting. To the right of the natural cave is a large area that looks like part of the cave but is actually a mined area of the bedrock. I scanned the walls of the mined area for metals and found several areas, close to where much of the blasting was done, that contain some metal. Could it be gold? Who knows!
Hi, I have been almost all over that area would some one know where the location of Dutchy’s cave is? Maybe by using google earth to locate the gps coordinates?
 

Gold seeker 2019

Tenderfoot
May 15, 2019
6
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Dutchy's Cave Report



I've been to Dutchy's cave several times and can report that the are drill holes for blasting. To the right of the natural cave is a large area that looks like part of the cave but is actually a mined area of the bedrock. I scanned the walls of the mined area for metals and found several areas, close to where much of the blasting was done, that contain some metal. Could it be gold? Who knows!
Hi I was wondering if you had coordinates or land mark where ditches cave is?
 

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