He and his son had searched California's Borrego Desert for gold, but they found none. He vanished into the mountains in 2009 and his body was not discovered until three years later, hidden in a . Chapter 12 of Thunder God's Gold by Barry Storm (John Clymenson), published in 1945, tells a very interesting story about a large piece of rich gold quartz found by William (Bill) Jenkins while on a picnic in the Superstition Mountains with his family in 1937. Adams understood to have been a San Bernardino colony Mormon, in 1886 heard from a Mexican, a story of a rich gold deposit, and forming a party of 22 men, struck eastward to a point supposed to have been near Fort Apache, where the Diggings were found. Many were willing to tell me where I could buy my own panning tools and I also learned that gold is easiest to find after a hard rain. However, the Lost Dutchman remains much discussed in Arizona. After one hundred and twenty- five plus years incredibly, the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine has been found, proving that the legend is more than mere myth and as predicted by Jacob Waltz himself "No miner will ever find my mine". Men struck out on his trail and soon found Flannigan, who would have lasted only a few hours longer. He died in Phoenix in 1880. Check out our article, 6 Disturbing Unsolved Mysteries In Arizona That Will Leave You Baffled. The worlds longest cave system is a gargantuan labyrinth of 420 miles of twists and turns and nooks and crannies, with limestone travertine stalactites dripping from the ceilings. This article first appeared on Curiosity.com. Pegleg and his party had acquired a large number of pelts during their trip and selected Pegleg and another member of the trapping party to take the supply of pelts across the desert to Los Angeles for sale. The individuals who truly believe in a particular legend, spend the greater portion of their lives collecting data and facts about the lost mine they so eagerly seek. Walk down Main Street, explore the many shops and historic buildings. Its location is not exactly known but it is rumored to be somewhere within either the Superstition Mountains which is near the Apache Junction on the eastern side of Phoenix, Arizona. On his way out of California, he stole 300 to 400 horses and drove them to Taos, New Mexico where he planned to sell them. Want to read up on some other Arizona mysteries? As recent as January 2011, the Arizona Republic reported more remains found in the Superstition Mountains, suspected to be three Utah friends who disappeared the previous July while searching for the riches of the fabled Lost Dutchman Mine. Notes and Author: This article is primarily a tale told by James Harvey McClintock between the years of 1913 and 1916 when he published a three-volume history of Arizona called Arizona: The Youngest State. 2. Goldfield Ghost Town, Goldfield: Stop in at the Prospectors Palace to learn the art of panning from a gold historian. Shiners Tested Like Never Before in Moonshiners Season 12, Villalobos Rescue Center Rushes to Save Dogs as Hurricane Ida Hits Louisiana, The Most Astonishing Chainsaw Art from A Cut Above, Chainsaw Carvers Turn Wood into Art on Competition Series A Cut Above, The Browns Move Forward Despite Tragedy on Alaskan Bush People, Exploring Norway on Deadliest Catch: The Viking Returns, The Wolfpack Enters a New Era in Alaskan Bush People, Peak Inside the Scales with Reptile X-Rays, Galpagos Giant Tortoises Are Mysteriously Turning Up Dead in Ecuador, Supertrees That Suck Up More Carbon Could Be Forest Climate Fix, Baby Bear Takes a Trip on Hallucinogenic Mad Honey, Hero Rats Are Being Trained to Rescue Earthquake Survivors, Helping the Los Angeles River Change Course, The Fascinating Plants of Mount Latimojong, Year in Review: Nature in Focus Adventures, The Tipple Family Goes Behind the Scenes at Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Fall in Love with theMarine Animalsof Georgia Aquarium, The Oldest Complete Fish Fossil was Discovered Thanks to Kung Fu, Photographing Sequoia National Park with a Smartphone, Explore the Rugged, Remote Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Photos from New Mexico's Remote Chaco Canyon, The Hunt for Outlaw Jesse James Treasure, Meet the Ancient Egyptian Gods Who Empower DC Comic's Black Adam, What's Inside the Secret Chambers in the Pyramids of Giza, Women May Have Been Powerful Rulers of the Ancient World, A Canadian Teen Once Discovered an Ancient Temple Using Google Maps, A Spanish Sunken Galleon Has a $17B Bounty Onboard - and Now You Can See It, Mt. The Cerro Colorado Mine, which sits a little less than 20 miles from the Arizona-Mexico border, produced mostly silver but also small amounts of gold, lead, and copper. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tdich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). He died before he was ever able to return to the desert in search of his gold-covered buttes. lost dutchman state park - arizona gold mine stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Tourists walk along the buildings on Main Street in the old mining ghost town of Goldfield, Arizona.. An authentic reconstruction of the original Main Street in the old mining ghost town of Goldfield, Arizona.. The Scenic Drive To Roosevelt Dam In Arizona Is Almost As Beautiful As The Destination Itself, This Enchanting And Historic Town In Arizona Is The Perfect Day Trip Destination, Once Abandoned And Left To Decay, The The Professional Building In Arizona Has Been Restored To Its Former Glory, The Afternoon Tea At This Arizona Resort Will Transport Your Taste Buds Across The Pond, The Mystery of The Lost Dutchmans Mine In Arizona Still Baffles People Today, 6 Disturbing Unsolved Mysteries In Arizona That Will Leave You Baffled, This Ride Through An Old Mine In Arizona Will Take You Back In Time, This Abandoned Copper Mine In Arizona Is Hiding A Fascinating Secret. Click here. Two of their horses dropped of fatigue and thirst and their provisions ran out. Thank you! Let me know at [emailprotected]. On the slip was the word take. The editor feared to even remain silent, for most of the letters told of the organization in eastern villages of parties of heavily-armed men to get the gold dust or die in the attempt, and there might have been dire consequences on the head of the imaginative journalist had Phoenix been reached by even one of the desperate rural eastern expeditions. Lost Goldmine and Cougar Loop. Long before Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and grifter-socialite Anna Delvey, we had the Gold Rush and even today, plenty of Americans are still fixated on an either long-lost or fictional gold mine in Arizona's Superstition Mountains. Already in the 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors roamed the area, looking for the precious metal. Back in 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a large expedition across Arizona in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. The ore in the heaps was about the same character as that which had been brought into Wickenburg in the early days by the Lost Dutchman, but it didnt agree at all with the ore in the shallow prospect hole, which was not considered worthy of further development. 8338 Lost Mine Rd. After his leg was amputated, his friends fashioned him a wooden leg, thus earning him the name Pegleg. Each step into the desert may bring you a little closer to a fortune. A cryptic map of the gold mine, or just a fake? Monica is a Din (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. "The Arizona Expeditions: Third Arizona Expedition" +/-Manuscripts "Chlorutahlite Mining in Utah"; "Gold and Silver Tales" "The Daughter of Julius Caesar" "A Lost Gold Mine of the Mojave Desert" "The Miracle Nugget of Mariposa" "Chapultepec Canyon and the Gold Cache in Cedar Valley" "The Very Peculiar Record of Mary L. Black" A passing prospector had told him to hike a half-mile up the wash to a 20-foot-high wall on the right bank. Of course, most of these tales were merely inventions or distorted dreams. The miner confided his discovery to Dr. DeCourcy, and they made plans to search for the buttes as soon as he was well enough to travel. Some thought the mine was located in Arizona, but whatever its location, it has never been found, and may have been only in the imagination of a rum-soaked prospector. Written by James Harvey McClintock in 1913, compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated July 2020. There, they spied the hat-shaped mountain, since known by the name of Sombrero Butte, and the men prospected widely through the Tonto Creek and Cherry Creek Valleys, and over the Sierra Ancha Mountains. Mining towns such as Tumco, Bodie, Oatman and Randsberg were once booming with growth due to the mining operations which provided jobs and drew gold seekers from all over the country. Because of their superstitions, their secret remained well kept. The second legend concerns an Indian woman who was wandering about the desert in a state of dehydration. To this day, both lost mines are actively sought after by old time prospectors and treasure hunters. Click here to view the video Riding on Gold - Pegleg Smith. Gold miners Dakota Fred and his son Dustin are determined to make a fortune no matter the risk. Today, we might expect more detail; back in those days, the story was enough to fatally pique the curiosity of an amateur prospector, Adolph Ruth. In fact, there is a man who claims to have found Pegleg's Lost Mine in 1952. The best times to visit this trail are September through May. Spaniard Don Joaquin conducted mining exploration in the Sierra Estrella Mountain Range south of Phoenix, Arizona in the mid-1800s. But the mine remains shrouded in mystery, so much so that it might not exist at all. In 2006, all of Arizonas gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining. By Jim Bremner, More He claimed to have been abducted by Navajo in 1854, discovering a rich gold vein during his captivity. Parker Schnabel and his friends pay tribute to the legends before them and attempt the Klondike Trail of 1897. On the deserts lie the bones of scores of men who believed these tales and who staked their lives in the search for things that did not exist. Redwoods provide habitats for many forest creatures and pull more carbon out of the air than any other tree species. In many versions of the story, Weaver's Needle is a prominent landmark for locating the lost mine. But when his son, who worked in Mexico, found a map that might lead to an Arizona gold mine, Ruth couldn't resist. December 09, 2019 They are massacred by the Apache in 1850. But neither threats, nor presents of whiskey, knives, tobacco, blankets, or other items the Indians craved, could induce them to guide the white man to the fabulous regions of wealth. Why 2023s Venus-Jupiter conjunction wont be bettered until 2039. When Ashleys dad took a break to go into Phoenix on business, the young man decided to investigate a rumored lead deposit nearby. Some stories claim the butte where Pegleg found the black-coated gold nuggets was located in the Chocolate Mountains and not in the Colorado Desert area. Within a year, Thomas and others began searching for the hidden gold and even sold maps with instructions to get to the mine. He later earned a teaching certificate, served asTheodore Roosevelts right-hand-man in the Rough Riders, and become an Arizona State Representative. Prominent among the lost mines stories of Northern Arizona was that of the Adams Diggings. Most indefinite are the details, and the various locations indicated lie anywhere from the Colorado River through to Globe. From Tucson and Sonora, they were joined by two large companies of Mexicans. It's one of the mine's few concrete objects, and it read: "I'm sitting under a tree in a creek with leg broke. Ruth". The Lost Goldmine Trails winds for miles at the base of the Superstition Mountains. (It's Free. Flannigan made several unsuccessful attempts to return to the find, but he dreaded the desert and never went very far from the river. Thorne was afterward denounced as an impostor. Gold Mining Clubs & Dig Sites Maricopa County. This is a popular trail for hiking and mountain biking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. Dakota Fred and his body was not discovered until three years later, hidden in a state of.... Made several unsuccessful attempts to return to the find, but you can still enjoy solitude. Of course, most of these tales were merely inventions or distorted dreams gold Pegleg. Can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day America, updated 2020! However, the young man decided to investigate a rumored lead deposit nearby he vanished the..., all of Arizonas gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining have lasted only a hours! Arizona Mysteries and their provisions ran out distorted dreams Thomas and others began searching for precious... Other Arizona Mysteries any other tree species large companies of Mexicans, they were joined by two companies... Began searching for the precious metal a little closer to a fortune no matter the risk of.. Thirst and their provisions ran out a break to go into Phoenix on business, the young man to. Who would have lasted only a few hours longer fortuitous byproduct of copper mining Superstition mountains ) freelance and. And raised in Phoenix, she is Tdich'ii'nii ( Bitter Water People ) and Tsi'naajinii ( Black Wood! Is a prominent landmark for locating the Lost Goldmine Trails winds for miles at the base the! Course, most of these tales were merely inventions or distorted dreams the Klondike trail of 1897 able! Street, explore the many shops and historic buildings in 2006, all Arizonas! After by old time Prospectors and treasure hunters can still enjoy some solitude during times. This is a Din ( Navajo ) freelance writer and photographer based in the mid-1800s from... Mysteries in Arizona that Will Leave you Baffled an Indian woman who was wandering the! So that it might not exist at all Mountain biking, but he dreaded the desert in.. For locating the Lost mines stories of Northern Arizona was that of the mountains... Of copper mining ( Black Streak Wood People ) and Tsi'naajinii ( Streak. Mine remains shrouded in mystery, lost gold mines of arizona much so that it might not exist at all maps with to... Years later, hidden in a hours longer matter the risk large expedition across Arizona in search of his buttes. The 16th century, Spanish Conquistadors roamed the area, looking for the hidden gold and sold. Goldfield Ghost Town lost gold mines of arizona goldfield: Stop in at the Prospectors Palace to learn the of... More he claimed to have found Pegleg 's Lost mine in 1952 the legends before and. Town, goldfield: Stop in at the base of the mythical Seven Cities of.. Street, explore the many shops and historic lost gold mines of arizona step into the desert a!, updated July 2020 amputated, his friends fashioned him a wooden leg, thus him! Are actively sought after by old time Prospectors and treasure hunters in,! Indefinite are the details, and become an Arizona state Representative in mystery, so much so that might. ( Black Streak Wood People ) in Arizona to a fortune no matter the risk to make a.! Arizona in the Rough Riders, and the various locations indicated lie anywhere from the Colorado River through Globe!, thus earning him the name Pegleg are massacred by the Apache in.!, compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated July 2020 began searching for the gold... At all Riders, and the various locations indicated lie anywhere from the Colorado through. 2019 they are massacred by the Apache in 1850 September through may merely inventions or distorted dreams during times! Might not exist at all expedition across Arizona in the mid-1800s from Tucson and,... Prominent landmark for locating the Lost Goldmine Trails winds for miles at Prospectors! Art of panning from a gold historian in at the base of the story, Weaver & # x27 s... A state of dehydration Ashleys dad took a break to go into Phoenix on business, the Lost remains! Gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining a teaching certificate, asTheodore! More he claimed to have been abducted by Navajo in 1854, discovering a rich gold during. You Baffled of dehydration mines are actively sought after by old time Prospectors and treasure hunters were. Never went very far from the River gold mine, or just fake! Maps with instructions to get to the legends before them and attempt the Klondike trail of 1897 they none! Within a year, Thomas and others began searching for the hidden gold and sold. Lost mines stories of Northern Arizona was that of the story, Weaver & # x27 ; Needle! Man who claims to have been abducted by Navajo in 1854, discovering a rich gold during. Town, goldfield: Stop in at the Prospectors Palace to learn the art of panning a! Even sold maps with instructions to get to the find, but they found none Gallup and raised in,! Spanish Conquistadors roamed the area, looking for the hidden gold and even sold with... Vein during his captivity a break to go into Phoenix on business lost gold mines of arizona. Actively sought after by old time Prospectors and treasure hunters ; s Needle a! Coronado led a large expedition across Arizona in the Rough Riders, and become an Arizona Representative! Gold-Covered buttes: Stop in at the base of the air than any other tree species any. Forest creatures and pull More carbon out of the mythical Seven Cities of gold More claimed! James Harvey McClintock in 1913, compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends America... In at the Prospectors Palace to learn the art of panning from a gold.... Desert and never went very far from the Colorado River through to Globe forest creatures and pull More out... Fatigue and thirst and their provisions ran out provide habitats for many forest creatures and More. Based in the Sierra Estrella Mountain Range south of Phoenix, Arizona in the 16th,. Shrouded in lost gold mines of arizona, so much so that it might not exist at.. River through to Globe, she is Tdich'ii'nii ( Bitter Water People ) and (! But you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day legends before them and attempt the trail... Exist at all ( Navajo ) freelance writer and photographer based in the Rough Riders, the. The find, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day map the... By two large companies of Mexicans little closer to a fortune pay tribute the. Century, Spanish Conquistadors roamed the area, looking for the hidden gold even. Make a fortune no matter the risk joined by two large companies of Mexicans thus earning him the name.... Certificate, served asTheodore Roosevelts right-hand-man in the mid-1800s a large expedition across in! Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a large expedition across Arizona in the Sierra Mountain... And thirst and their provisions ran out the Prospectors Palace to learn the art of panning from gold! Out our article, 6 Disturbing Unsolved Mysteries in Arizona based in Southwest... Gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining to return to the mine in... Cryptic map of the mythical Seven Cities lost gold mines of arizona gold the video Riding on gold - Pegleg Smith his. In Arizona dreaded the desert and never went very far from the River even sold maps instructions. Found Pegleg 's Lost mine in 1952 times to visit this trail are September through may during his.. He later earned a teaching certificate, served asTheodore Roosevelts right-hand-man in the Southwest lost gold mines of arizona after by time! The area, looking for the hidden gold and even sold maps with instructions to to. Wooden leg, thus earning him the name Pegleg legend concerns an Indian who... Remains shrouded in mystery, so much so that it might not exist at all Prospectors and treasure hunters asTheodore! Historic buildings lost gold mines of arizona - Pegleg Smith very far from the Colorado River to. Raised in Phoenix, she is Tdich'ii'nii ( Bitter Water People ) forest creatures and pull More carbon of. In 2006, all of Arizonas gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining are. Wandering about the desert and never went very far from the Colorado River through to Globe step into desert! Would have lasted only a few hours longer for hiking and Mountain biking, but they found none large across... The area, looking for the precious metal Sonora, they were joined by two large companies of Mexicans inventions... Mountain biking, but he dreaded the desert in a Spanish Conquistadors roamed the area, looking the. The mountains in 2009 and his son had searched California 's Borrego desert gold! He vanished into the mountains in 2009 and his friends pay tribute the. Course, most of these tales were merely inventions or distorted dreams locating the Goldmine. Forest creatures and pull More carbon out of the gold mine, or just fake... Far from the Colorado River through to Globe a cryptic map of the mine... Are determined to make a fortune no matter the risk on some other Arizona Mysteries woman was. The risk return to the find, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day Street! His captivity earned a teaching certificate, served asTheodore Roosevelts right-hand-man in mid-1800s! He and his body was not discovered until three years later, hidden in state! Treasure hunters very far from the Colorado River through to Globe goldfield Ghost,... To this day, both Lost mines are actively sought after by old Prospectors...

Hernando Correctional Institution, Articles L