unclear why Lafitte had to bury his treasure or even where he was last seen. WebIn his long obituary of March 6, the Galveston "News" noted that: "In the death of Charles Cronea, the last of Lafitte's band, so far as is known, has passed away. My step father knew where one of these markers were, he had found it while hunting years ago and thought it might be a grave marker or something. Besides the mysteries surrounding the locations of Lafittes buried booty, comes the mystery of the man himself. Most who plied that area back then kept what they found close to the vest, and today that area is all open water, though many locals can still point out to you exactly where the Temple was. A light came on when the probe hit metal. Soldiers approach, wagons sunk in Hendricks Lake, an oxbow lake just south of the Sabine River in northeastern Rusk County. NOWHERE BUT TEXAS: SEARCHING FOR JEAN He was also a ham radio operator. Jean Other potential treasure troves require a longer drive but if youre willing to camp out or find a hotel, AirBnb, etc., you could be in for a big payday. Most people wrote it off as another myth until a magazine It featured Pirate Treasures. He then buried it in a sand dune on, In the early 19th century, the Texas army pushed Cherokee Indians from Tyler to Upshur County. Jean Lafitte, a one-time resident of Louisiana and privateer, is believed by some to have buried a large cache of treasure somewhere in the bayous of Louisiana. Other variations of the mystery say Lafitte buried the treasure in multiple locations along the Gulf Coast. The enduring story of Hendricks Lake is a treasure legend that has been around for more than 150 years. Interest in the ship resurfaced nine years later when Elder H. Sherman, grandson of the man who first reported the wreck, remembered that his grandfather had driven a spike into an oak tree to mark the ship's location. This would later be used to his great advantage. which is said to contain many records and may hold the key to Frisbys buried treasure. Adams was a Rusk County backwoodsman who wears an old slouch felt hat, bib overalls, and a denim jacket, buttoned at the throat even in hot weather, and a favorite character of columnist Frank X. Tolbert for many of his Tolberts Texas articles over the years. This article provides images of newspapers from 1921, and one column in particular that talks about Lafittes treasure. Could it be that there were multiple burial locations She has reported on several high-profile stories during her career at KSAT and specializes in trending news and things to do around Texas and San Antonio. Co-worker told me a story about Jean Lafitte having buried treasure near where we live. but what is clear is that he settled in the New Orleans area with his mother In related news - Art dealer Forrest Fenn revealed in June that a treasure chest he hid in the Rocky Mountains had been found. The total value? One of the men was found living in east Texas where he had bought a farm. However, she says her husband remained certain that Lafitte's ship was buried in that mud. national hero. His treasure They just might inspire you to become a treasure hunter and find some real adventure out there! About 229 treasure sites are spread across the Lone Star State, and some are even accessible to the public with permission from the landowners. hidden treasures have been told time and time again in childrens books, video This is just the beginning! If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe. The Rosa was carrying a treasure cargo of silver bars and gold nuggets. An historian named Herbert Bolton, using the original journals of the Mexicans from the eighteenth century, found what is now known as the Boyd shaft on Honey Creek. I saved the newspaper to my hard drive and will try to break it down. Louisiana State University alumnus (Geaux Tigers), fanatic of all things sports, pugs, and Star Wars, and teller of the occasional dad joke. Gary Pinkerton, True Believers: Treasure Hunters at Hendricks Lake, East Texas Historical Journal 47 (2009). Stories of Many believe the treasure still lurks under the water, just waiting to be discovered. If you prefer to read about the explorations of others instead, we have you covered. Barnie Waldrop, a Carthage television repairman, had used his own electronics to search the lake for years. In a location on the lake, matching the tale, with a sloped Having lived While challenging, the trip also exposes an otherworldly beauty and abundant wildlife, such as alligators sunning on rocks, great blue herons roosting on stumps and white egrets winging across the water. Comanche Indians were said to be chasing a train of pack mules carrying hefty loads of silver in the early 1920s and the men in charge of the bounty buried the silver to keep it from being stolen. Jean Lafitte: Mystery of the Unfound Treasure - Pelican State of According to one legend, a group of priests put about three hundred burro loads of silver in a mine on one of their expeditions to New Mexico. He sold those at his location The Temple. The money that he sold them for was Spanish Coin, Reales usually in 2,4,8 denominations, minted in Mexico. Dallas Morning News, August 1, 1965. All in all, several wagons loaded with silver ingots went into the river. The chest was filled with gold, jewelry and other valuables, worth an estimated $1 million. The Treasure of Jean Lafitte. Chambliss Jr. of Beaumont, F.F. Long-lost pirate ship may lie in Texas lake / Historical treasure could be wreck of Jean Lafitte, Dubs fans picking apart video of possible Poole-Draymond incident, Bay Area mom influencer found guilty of lying about kidnapping, Destructive landslide closes historic California institution, Bay Area preschool teacher suspected of dumping body along road, More rain, 'unseasonably chilly' temperatures coming to Bay Area, Horoscope for Monday, 5/01/23 by Christopher Renstrom, 49ers out in full force at Warriors-Kings Game 7, Shock, fear as 2 killings in 3 days rock quiet Davis, Sold-out Berkeley crowd gets rowdy at country star's concert, 'Horrible': Oakland rapper dumps on Chase Center Warriors fans, Steph Curry killed off the Kings with a smile, Klay Thompson calls Warriors-Lakers series 'a dream come true'. However, since it pointed toward someone else's land, he never did or said anything about it. He linked up with B.H. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Forced to leave the city, Lafitte decided to set up shop on a small island in Barataria Bay, about 40 miles south of New Orleans, to continue his smuggling ways. In Texas, the Laffites founded a pirate colony named Campeche. After pinpointing the wreck, he plans to have divers dig up to 9 feet deep for artifacts that might date or identify the ship. The Sam Bass Loot In perhaps his greatest venture, Texass legendary stagecoach and bank robber Sam Bass traveled to Big Springs, Nebraska, with his sidekick Joel Collins and held up the Union Pacific Railroad. On 4 February 1823, Laffite was onboard the General Santander off the town of Omoa in Honduras. And the ship berry bros found look for gold on land nearby. True West Magazine article on Jean Lafitte. When a giant storm hit the region, the raft was washed away and destroyed. Texas Just Wouldnt Be The Same Without These 7 Charming Small Towns, The Scenic Train Ride In Texas That Runs Year-Round, Experience The Magic Of The San Antonio River Walk At Night With A Guided Boat Tour And Scenic Drive In Texas, Climb 82 Feet To The Top Of The John Jacob Observation Tower In Texas And You Can See For Miles, Enjoy A Themed Train Ride For Every Season On The Grapevine Vintage Railroad In Texas, This Chilling Texas Tour Takes You Back To When Americas First Serial Killer Was Terrorizing The Streets Of Austin, Kayak To A Waterfall On The Beautiful Lake Buchanan For A Year-Round Texas Adventure, Few People Know You Can Kayak A Hidden Stretch Of The San Antonio Riverwalk In Texas, Natural Bridge Caverns and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. They know its there. A treasured mystery, Well, my beloved fellow Texas readers, though I have no idea whether anything Im about to pass on to you is the slightest bit accurate, here are six of the supposedly great Texas treasures still waiting to be found. People claim that a $2 million fortune stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte was buried in the Sabine River. Texas Monthly Is Nominated for Two 2023 Media Awards by the James Beard Foundation. Please note that some historians believe Lafitte had no significant treasure as he left Galveston or that he took his treasure with him to Louisiana. The elderly owner has an attractive home and keeps a wonderful Join the adventures in Beyond Oak Island- Tuesdays at 10PM and summaries and more in depth looks into the many stories of treasure, here at MW! In 1935, his son, Edward Haven Sherman, joined with Herbert Interests of Houston in a plan to excavate the wreck, which they believed was loaded with gold, but for unknown reasons it was never accomplished, The Progress newspaper reported. Meanwhile, his younger brother John was exploring the coast of Texas. Charles F. Grice, Interview by Gary Pinkerton, February 2019. treasure of Jean Lafitte. The story revolves around oil fields in Texas, USA. Found bones of mamouth and Indian tools. they might find something, a storm rolls in. Just let me know if you find anything so I can break the story first. hendrickslake.com though. What about you? Bass reportedly stole 3,000 gold bars from Union Pacific Railroad, some of which have been recovered, but there are gold bars that have still not been found, according to OnlyInYourState.com. Jean Lafitte - TreasureNet The Original Treasure With the threat of imprisonment Charles Fitzhugh Grice had the technology needed to find Spanish silver if the treasure was there. Search for buried booty in Texas treasure hunt - KSAT Christian is not discouraged. The fortune is said to have been stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte. So, if you google Money Hill in Abita Springs ,La . ", As for the shipwreck in Lake Miller, Vogel says, "There is something actually down there. and the fear of being captured, Lafitte allegedly buried his treasure with the Lafitte's men are said to have loaded the silver into wagons and given them to a trader named Nicholas Trammel to take to St. Louis. Lots of glass also. WebLaffite's Treasure Jean Laffite, the French pirate with an aristocratic air, and his confederates took millions in loot from ships in the Gulf of Mexico back in the early was born in France around the year 1780 and traveled to the United States when Uncle Charlie" Cronea In 1965 a professional syndicate of treasure hunters, men who worked together at a packaging company in LeClaire, Iowa, and led by Clarence A. and its inlets. When you cross Bayou Des Allemands on Hwy 90, looking down the bayou to the south its a short ride to where the primary temple location was. Eventually, his skiff carves a path through a tangle of grass that sprouts from the water and is higher than his head. NOWHERE BUT TEXAS: SEARCHING FOR JEAN LAFITTE'S TREASURE ON GALVESTON ISLANDJean Lafitte was born in 1780 and died in1823. . It lies along the historic route of Trammels Trace, only one and one-quarter miles south of the location of Ramsdales Crossing/Ferry (Rocky Ford) on the Sabine River. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. He was a French pirate and privateer. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. In the early 1800s, Stephen F. Austin, on his first trip to Texas, also heard about a rich silver mine on the San Saba River and a gold mine on the Llano. Orleanshe did not disappoint. ships as a last-ditch effort to gain an advantage in the pivotal Battle of New North of Tatum, in the middle of the woods, lies Hendricks Lake. Lafitte lived on Galveston island in the state of Texas, USA - from 1817 to 1821. For decades the site has intrigued historians and treasure hunters. No matter where you are in the state, youre bound to be able to search for some tempting hidden loot. Some fishermen in the last century pulled several silver bars from those very waters with a hoop net. She was then forgotten for nearly 300 years. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) According to TexasHillCountry.com, legend says theres close to $3 million buried near where Shoal Creek empties into the Colorado River. As early as next summer, Hoyt plans a preliminary investigation. Hispanic conquistadors reportedly hid a massive cache of gold and jewels in a mine shaft in the Franklin Mountains near El Pasos Guadalupe Mission, OnlyInYourState.com reported. In 1969 an MIT graduate with a degree in electrical engineering and a patent for an underwater device for locating metals motored along the surface of Hendricks Lake in an eight-foot fiberglass boat towing his electronics. That is because he not only commandeered goods from dozens of foreign ships and traded slaves, but he also helped Gen. Andrew Jackson defeat the British in the Battle of New Orleans and escorted a mapping expedition into Arkansas. It has never been found. Some historians recount that Lafitte went back to a life of crime, leaving the He frequently returned to Galveston or the barrier islands near New Orleans to unload booty or take on supplies procured by Pierre. As they retreated, they headed into what is now known as Upshur County. WebJean Lafitte is thought to have sunk a treasure ship containing $500,000 to $1,000,000 off south Padre Island. Moving on to piracy by around 1810, Lafitte was based at the secluded Barataria Bay inlet. A family in Baytown, Texas tell their story as they believe they found one of Lafittes sunken ships. Barnie Waldrop said he outlasted all the others and had seen fifty of em beaten by the lakes bog bottom. goal to once again evade U.S. seizure and to come back to it later. He married Cecilia Taylor, daughter of frontiersman Anson Taylor, who lost three sons at the Alamo. He stated while talking to someone on the radio, who was a Jean L researcher, the guy described the markings Lafitte would leave pointing to treasure. Beyond Oak Island: The search for stolen pirate silver in Another good book that has some good info on Lafitte is Coronado's Children, by J. Frank Dobie. Tensions were high during this time between the United States and Great Britain, creating the War of 1812 and forcing the United States to be on edge about who they could and could not trust. "It could be anything. Although the lake was searched in the 50s and 60s, nothing was found at that time. Look it up. And he says, Treasure has a way of keeping its secrets. Excited about the history, research, and prospects of this Texas is full of buried bootyor, to be a bit more accurate, full of stories about buried booty that no one has been able to find. Every dollar helps. WebSpanish silver stolen by the privateer, Jean Lafitte. You can see a small door that was covered. He told me there is an old, very old oak tree. . My step father also grew up in East Texas, but in the country on a farm. Check them out: Love Texas? The tree is privately owned, but sits right on the highway (FM 2100) just a few miles north of FM 1960. Another legend has it that in 1595, Juan de Oate hid five silver bars, 4,336 gold ingots, nine burro loads of jewels, and four priceless Aztec codices (books or manuscripts) in the mine. 6. Singer buried the chest after being forced to leave his home and returned several times in an effort to find his buried treasure but was never able to recover his fortune. Although the state owns the land and materials below the lake, it will coordinate its efforts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the surrounding property that is part of the Wallisville Reservoir project, he said. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. I think I found Lafitte's treasure But they got nothing. The desire to believe that millions of dollars of silver bars still lie at the bottom of Hendricks Lake is not for the treasure hunters only. As a backup plan, they would supply all adjacent markets with fresh fish on ice. The Galveston Daily News made light of the effort by suggesting they move their operation to the Gulf of Mexico since a good deal of wealth has been left under its waters by shipwrecks. A week after that humiliation, Paul Tatum clubbed a man to death after he made fun of Tatums attempt to drain the lake. There was no treasure found. In late 1815, Lafitte agreed to act as spy for Spain, which was embroiled in the Mexican War of Independence. It happens every now and then," Hamilton said. Supposedly, it still lies buried beneath the dirt. Omoa was the site of the largest Spanish fort in Central America, a fort constructed to safeguard the Spanish silver shipments from the mines of Tegucigalpa in Honduras. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). But if you dont like that version of the legend there are others. My husband even traveled to Austin to talk to historian J. Frank Dobie about it.". Little is known about his origins, but he was probably born either in Basque-France or in the French colony Saint-Domingue. The silver that Lafitte accumulated from selling captured slaves, cotton, and other goods was stored in wooden kegs or casks. Even though any treasure would most likely have been stripped from the vessel after it foundered, information on the ship's construction and artifacts such as tools and cannons could prove valuable, he said. Like a little wooden barrel. Where there were bandits, perhaps there is Small but made like a brick. It is an awsome site! His exact whereabouts after that An estimated $340 million., And as I write, the treasure hunters are out there, hunting, hunting, and hunting. JavaScript is disabled. Nobody knows for sure if all of these legends are true, but theyre interesting to read about nonetheless. The divers do feel some round objects, and a piece is The stairs run beside it. I was born and raised in East Texas. help him in his search. It was stuck in the crack of the stairs. Treasure Legendary outlaw Sam Bass is said to have buried his bounty from stagecoach, train and bank robberies in several areas around the Texas Hill County. Most people wrote it off as another myth until a magazine published a story about long-forgotten silver, causing treasure hunters from everywhere to rush to the area. Paul Uncle Fox Tatum, son of the founder of Tatum, Texas, carried out the first documented attempt to recover the treasure in 1884. This same engineer, only two years earlier, had led the team who located the Tecumseh, a Union metalclad ship sunk during the battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864. They send a probe down and it hit metal just before a giant storm hit, destroying the raft and any other evidence. It's incredible to think that just under the peaceful water lurks enough treasure to change your life! Long-lost pirate ship may lie in Texas lake / Historical Roach once lived on Lake Miller -- which earlier was called Lake De La Roche after him -- and had boats there that he used for pillaging. They send a probe down and it hit metal just before a giant storm hit, destroying the raft and any other evidence, according to OnlyInYourState.com. The fortune is said to have been stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte. JavaScript is disabled. That was more of his commerce center, again where he exchanged merchandise for coin. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The state of Williams of Anahuac and their attorney, state Rep. Price Daniel of Liberty, who later became governor. "I had someone come talk to me about it just a few months ago. It's apparently a large wreck and about the right size and shape for a Lafitte vessel.". Every penny counts! Treasure chest worth $1 million hidden in Rocky Mountains finally found. Fort Worth Daily Gazette, October 3, 1884. 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Lafitte of St. Joseph, Mo.. claimed an interest in the ship but would years later be proved a fake, Epperson said. It also mentions reports of larger sums of the treasure being buried in the appropriately-named small town of Lafitte, Louisiana. Although he led an enigmatic life, Lafitte garnered a reputation as a romantic rogue, historians agree. According to a story by Mary Roger of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the silver was indeed robbed from a galleon by Laffite and his mean in the early 19th century. States officials granted him legal authority to pirate and capture British Read More about The wreck of La Belle, Did the infamous privateer Jean Laffite steal a $2 million fortune in silver from a Spanish galleon and bury it in the Sabine River near the East Texas town Sabine? East Texas Gold From Mexico In 1839 Mirabeau B. Lamar, the newly inaugurated successor to Sam Houston as President of Texas, sent the Texas Army out to get rid of the Cherokees. The Indians in the Mandeville area helped him escape to the Pearl River. In Jean Lafitte's day, silver and gold filled a pirate's treasure chest, but today's treasures are people, places, and memories. Maybe they can help them in their search from the insights learned from their own pursuit of the Money Pit. The Handbook of Texas devotes two pages to Lafitte's establishment of a base in Galveston around 1816. Gary L. Pinkerton, Trammels Trace: The First Road to Texas from the North (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2016). Alternate versions of that story have been documented since the 1880s, with variations including that the silver was from Santa Anna and the battle of San Jacinto and that the treasure was in a different location nearby. Sounds like the Hendricks lake treasure. What they would love to find, if not the silver, are clues to the treasure at least being there. Subscribe to the Pelican State of Mind blog by providing your email below! Other sites considered to contain Lafitte treasure are islands south of New Orleans and Galveston Island in Texas. He built a new kind of sewing machine, and in 1851 he started I.M. This lake has its dangers, of course. The popularity of treasure hunting during this time period was profiled in numerous pulp magazines and news features, and the business of supplying treasure hunters was page one news in the Wall Street Journal. This story was told to me several years ago by a man in his 80 s Back in 1940 or 41 two men hired to clean up around what is said to be Lafittes red house disapeared after a few days. On an 1863 map of the area, it was named Flanagan Lake but since the 1880s has been known by its present name. One Texas legend says theres a cache of Spanish silver buried somewhere outside Leander. But a giant storm hit the area, destroying the raft and washing away all the evidence. Abilene Reporter-News, June 24, 1958. a must to have. There is even an event in La Porte, Texas centered around the treasure called the Annual Search for Lafittes Gold.. It seems like a plausible place for a notorious bandit to hide his loot, so we are inclined to believe it! He captured ships and sold their cargoes, which often included slaves, to shady merchants in New Orleans. Theres quite a bit of back story on this one which can be read on Texas Monthly. WebAt the age of 25, Jean Laffite was living in New Orleans, operating a warehouse essential to dispersing the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre. Unsolved Mysteries in Texas chagrin of the locals that helped drain the swamp, there was no trace of the Mysterious shipwreck off Galveston is full People claim that a $2 million fortune stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte was buried in the Sabine River. By 1829, the mythical lost silver mine of San Saba began appearing on Austins maps of Texas. I studied it very well and found a hidden marking on a wall beside the stairs and a solid wall pit with a hole in the top. WebAlso mentioned was the lost mine of Wyndham Creek in Beauregard Parish, which also hugs the Louisiana/Texas border along the Sabine River. Jack feels at home here. They will haunt you in your dreams for making a Most of the people were locals, from Lafourche Parish, the southern part, mainly Cut Off and Larose and the Gheens area, and also from the Des Allemands location. As a former channel of the Sabine, Hendricks Lake is fed intermittently by Black Slough and by seasonal overflow from both Cherokee Bayou and the Sabine River. It was a book on the treasures of Galveston and the surrounding area. The Lagina Brothers, famous for their search for the lost treasure on Oak Island and featured in the show The Curse of Oak Island, now hosts a new show called, Beyond Oak Island. In the early 1820s, Great Colombia under the government of Simon Bolivar had begun commissioning former privateers as officers in their newly formed navy. Beyond Oak Island Episode 2 Summary: Wild West Gold and the Search at Robbers Roost Canyon for Butch Cassidys Lost Treasure, All can be found to have a questing theme within them. Have you ever heard of any of these stories about mysterious lost treasure in Texas? Jean Laffite's treasure in the Sabine River - Lone star On the edge of this little-known Chambers County lake off the Trinity about 35 miles east of Houston, Jack wants to show where a ship sank in the 1800s. Lafitte eventually returned to smuggling at Galveston Island in Spanish Texas until he was forced out by the U.S. Navy in 1820.
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