The Temple was located just North of what is today Little Lake, in Lafittes time it was Little Lake Barataria, where Bayou Perot and Bayou Rigolets meet. The stairs run beside it. They know it. With his business carrying on and continuing to grow, so did his wealth. Think you can find some of the legendary hidden booty? ", This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, A family in Baytown, Texas tell their story. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Do you have A few of the Cherokees were accompanied by agents of the Mexican government who had promised a lot of money to the tribe if they were able to drive out the Texans. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. They also had a raft built from which large pipes were sunk into the lake bottom, and used a metal detector to search the sediment. And the ship berry bros found look for gold on land nearby. 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. parties, as the Mystery of Jean Lafittes Unfound Treasure seems to be a voyage 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. I grant you that in this case the O.P. have buried a large cache of treasure somewhere in the bayous of Louisiana. At this time, Galveston island was largely uninhabited, except by Native American Karankawa indians. In 1965 a professional syndicate of treasure hunters, men who worked together at a packaging company in LeClaire, Iowa, and led by Clarence A. There are many stories about famed pirate Jean Lafitte, but one places his lost buried treasure at the bottom of a lake right here in East Texas. His body was buried at sea in the Gulf of Honduras. Many from the area have taken artifacts from there, including coin. The Having lived Ever seen an oak tree with a carving of two eagle wings on it? 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. Here ya go Bum, Passed by it again on Tuesday. Meanwhile, his younger brother John was exploring the coast of Texas. Well, according to a story by Mary Rogers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there is evidence that in the early 1800s the theft did happen and that Jean Lafittes men, afraid that they were about to be ambushed, pushed several wagons loaded with silver ingots into the muddy waters. But the gold and diamond jewl was the confirmation I needed. Lafitte was later A lookout for alligators and venomous snakes is Ie. One such story, according to multiple sources, says Bass stashed loot in an old hollow tree around 2 miles west of Round Rock. 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. To him it is the Chase and the history. His main focus is on Jean Lafittes treasure, I was born and raised in East Texas. 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! The Lost Padre Mine Somewhere in the Franklin Mountains overlooking the Rio Grande River in El Paso County is the Lost Padre Mine. May the odds be ever in your favor. The one I am thinking of was found. Could it be that there were multiple burial locations Probably inside the hidden stairs that went to the first floor of his mason rouge. The Indians in the Mandeville area helped him escape to the Pearl River. 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. A family in Baytown, Texas tell their story as they believe they found one of Lafittes sunken ships. The ships turned out to be heavily armed privateers and they mounted a frontal counterattack that included heavy fire. Apparently, he found a chest full of Spanish coins and jewelry amounting to over $80,000. Discover New Orleans rich cultural mix. 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. Fort Worth Daily Gazette, October 3, 1884. Daniel sought permission from the land commissioner to salvage the sunken ship and "exhibit whatever findings to the public," newspapers reported. What about you? 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. WebAlso mentioned was the lost mine of Wyndham Creek in Beauregard Parish, which also hugs the Louisiana/Texas border along the Sabine River. http://www.texasescapes.com/DEPARTMENTS/Letters/LettersToEditorDecember2001.htm, THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7, Metal Detectorists Ordered To Repay 1.2 Million Between Them 'Immediately'. History suggests there is a possibility that hidden treasuresgold coins, doubloons, precious jewelryare somewhere beneath the surface just waiting to be found! But why? And where? Louisianas most well-known buried treasure mystery still to this day is the unfound treasure of Jean Lafitte. Six wagon loads of silver carried north along Trammels Trace. Get it? The northwest tip of Padre Island has for years been known as Treasure Dunes. John Spong writes primarily about popular culture. What they would love to find, if not the silver, are clues to the treasure at least being there. Official Blog of Pelican State Credit Union. In the 1830s, Roach abandoned his wife and two children and may also have left a boat on the lake, Epperson says. Another story says the ship -- believed to have been a three-masted schooner -- ended up there after a storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico. WebPerhaps not coincidentally, this was the same area where his former slave trading colleague Jean Lafitte had once had his headquarters. Blackbeard and the mysterious unsolved code of Olivier Levassuer, or The Buzzard, are mentioned. Every dollar helps. Watch an alligator bask on a bayous bank. 6. Other variations of the mystery say Lafitte buried the treasure in multiple Then it unexpectedly spills into the wide-open lake that he has sought. I once made a scientific study of all the known shipwrecks, from ancient to modern, that occurred off the Texas coast. Lafitte's large fleet and multinational band of pirates, privateers, and smugglers caused havoc in the Gulf of Mexico for a decade. It is an awsome site! 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. Many believe the treasure still lurks under the water, just waiting to be discovered. Latest local news from South Texas from KSAT12. I hope that you can help me out. The divers do feel some round objects, and a piece is the treasure be today? In addition to studying historical records about the sunken ship, Anahuac Jack has spent years studying early maps that show the waterways when they were deeper, before they filled with silt. Hits are sounded off. 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. I am interesting in pirates treasures in Connecticut. More information can be found in Guide to Treasure in Texas A minimum of five treasure ships are said to have sunk at or near the mouth of the Rio Grande. Packsaddle Mountain in eastern Llano County is another alleged Bass treasure location. The business was so profitable because Lafitte was selling smuggled, foreign goods to the people of New Orleans. He shows Rick and Marty the 1957 Since the U.S. claimed much of Laffites fortune as its own once he left Galveston, Laffite is believed to have buried an enormous treasure on one of the sandy islands near the Texas coast. that is. The treasure is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Jean Lafitte The Sabine River could potentially hold a $2 million fortune in stolen silver. 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. Some accounts say The tree is privately owned, but sits right on the highway (FM 2100) just a few miles north of FM 1960. They lowered another contraption through the pipe to the lake floor. Jean Lafittes treasure Photo of Hendricks Lake, courtesy of Gary L. Pinkerton One particularly famous legend is that of Jean Lafittes treasure. 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. Jack feels at home here. A huge battle ensued between the two groups near what is now known as Tyler. Despite intense efforts at dredging, detecting, diving, and dynamiting for Hendricks Lake treasure, the only thing that was reportedly found in the lake was the rim of an old wagon wheel. His treasure 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. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. In related news - Art dealer Forrest Fenn revealed in June that a treasure chest he hid in the Rocky Mountains had been found. All in all, several wagons loaded with silver ingots went into the river. He had to take a pirogoe which is a wood boat that would have sank if all the treasure would have been on board. Christian knows his pirate history! Mary Claire Patton has been a journalist with KSAT 12 since 2015. chagrin of the locals that helped drain the swamp, there was no trace of the In 1909 members of the United States Geological Survey visited the site, which they described as being unproductive. Im ready to break out my metal detector! The Lost Treasure of Hendricks Lake The infamous pirate of the Gulf Jean Lafitte took a $2 million fortune in silver from a Spanish galleon and supposedly buried it in the Sabine River near the East Texas town of Sabine. The story revolves around oil fields in Texas, USA. March 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? This article provides images of newspapers from 1921, and one column in particular that talks about Lafittes treasure. JavaScript is disabled. The most beautiful lakes in Texas are all excellent choices for a trip. It was a cloudy evening with low visibility, and Laffite attempted to capture what appeared to be two Spanish merchant vessels. Orleanshe did not disappoint. If anyone has heared or knows any more info please let me know. The story dates back to 1816 when pirate Jean Lafitte is said to have stolen $2 million in silver from the Santa Rosa. A treasured mystery, in south Louisianas bayous for so long, Lafitte had also become an expert with What books would you recommend about this pirate? Even though some, including Waldrop and Stotlar, had looked into draining the lake, there were no other attempts at that folly. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. I always wondered why the searchers were only local, and that an organized big search never happened but it never did. Both of them had consulted with Harry Rieseberg, the self-described worlds greatest underwater treasure hunter who had written articles about the legend in treasure magazines of the time. When the Embargo Act of 1807 The basic story is that in 1816 silver stolen by pirate Jean Lafitte from the Spanish brig Santa Rosa was being moved north from Matagorda Bay to St. Louis, Missouri, for disposal. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. But they got nothing. In the early 1820s, Great Colombia under the government of Simon Bolivar had begun commissioning former privateers as officers in their newly formed navy. Jean Laffite (sometimes spelled Lafitte) was a pirate and the subject of many stories of romance and adventure across the Gulf of Mexico during the early 19th He told me the government tried digging but was denied by the owner. Besides the mysteries surrounding the locations of Lafittes buried booty, comes the mystery of the man himself. Louisianas The project was abandoned, however, for lack of financing. Okay, that was a really bad joke. but what is clear is that he settled in the New Orleans area with his mother The silver was never recovered. Beyond Oak Island: The search for stolen pirate silver in These questions We use cookies to provide you with the best possible browsing experience. Others have mounted full-scale salvage expeditions with backhoes and monster trucks and whatnot. It really exists, and due to our rich history with Spanish and Mexican invasions, it makes sense that there would be a lot hidden here. Since then, several parties have approached D.L. ingots were in transport, but the Spanish had set a trap. Jean Laffite was a French pirate and privateer born circa 1780. because Lafittes treasure was thought to be underwater there. 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. In the final battle of the War of 1812, Lafitte and his comrades helped General Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans against the British. By clicking "Accept," you agree to the use of cookies on Pelican State of Mind. Back in the 1580s, Spanish conquistadors and priests often passed beneath the peaks of the Franklins on their way to New Mexico to colonize the Indian villages. Cush Reeves. So, where could Handbook of Texas Online, Laffite spent the rest of his life attacking merchant ships around Central American ports; sometimes as a pirate and sometimes as a privateer. The Rosa was carrying a treasure cargo of silver bars and gold nuggets. He was a 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. 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. The information comes from books and treasure hunting Web sites (the best of which are legendsofamerica.com and treasurefish.com). consisted of the currency he would receive in exchange for his foreign goods as Excited about the history, research, and prospects of this My husband even traveled to Austin to talk to historian J. Frank Dobie about it.". down. In 1884 treasure hunters were all over the Sabine and a nearby lake that had been fed by the Sabine. It's apparently a large wreck and about the right size and shape for a Lafitte vessel.". There was no treasure found. 4. The Santa Rosa was a Spanish ship located off the coast of Texas. It is this tale that Christian wants to follow up on. Read More about USS Hatteras, This is a funny little slot filled with intricate features and attention-grabbing symbols. A.C. SoRelle, Jr., and his brother, Henry, were oilmen who brought detection equipment, draglines, and other heavy machinery to dig into the gumbo mud on the bottom of the lake. See link. His exact whereabouts after that storytelling? This would later be used to his great advantage. Maybe they can help them in their search from the insights learned from their own pursuit of the Money Pit. Lafitte became very familiar with, and eventually mastered, an illegal smuggling profession, which translated into an extremely lucrative career for him. This is just the beginning! He linked up with B.H. My grandfathers mother lived next to his mother and we were told of the storys on where some was at. Rumor has it that some of the money is hidden in Cove Hollow, near Denton. Do you think you could find them? While his fleet took a hit, Lafitte himself managed to evade capture. She attended college in the Houston area and changed her major twice (psychology, computer science, and finally criminal justice) before taking a leap of faith and dropping out to pursue a career in freelance writing. Over the years there have been many who made a minimal effort or spent a little time at the lake only to discover that the conditions were too difficult and they had neither the time nor the money for such an undertaking. Oil workers actually picked up readings that metal was to be found at the bottom of the lake. Texas is estimated to have $340 million in buried treasure, more than any other state in the U.S., according to TexasHillCountry.com. James Bowie went on an expedition to find it. brought up to the surface. The conquistadors are said to have filled in the mine so nobody else could discover the hoard. Chambliss Jr. of Beaumont, F.F. 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. It seem to be one less treasure for us to find. The best hidden gems and little known destinations - straight to your inbox. The Lost San Saba Silver Mine This lost mine, with its rich vein of silver, has been what one treasure hunter writer has called the Holy Grail of Texas treasure seekers. In 1756 a Mexican official traveling through Texas learned from Indians of an exposed strain of pure silver that ran through a certain hill in Central Texas. You will see it gets its name from the treasure being buried there. 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? I still have no idea if it was really a JL marker, or if so, it treasure was ever found. The total value? My step father also grew up in East Texas, but in the country on a farm. Galveston after his adventures in Louisiana. . His headquarters was a two-story building which became known as Maison Rouge - so called as it was painted red.Around 1820, Lafitte reportedly married Madeline Regaud. Lafitte knew that his new business outfit was hidden well enough that U.S. officials wouldnt be able to find him. The story goes that wagon loads of silver NOWHERE BUT TEXAS: SEARCHING FOR JEAN LAFITTE'S TREASURE ON GALVESTON ISLAND Jean Lafitte was born in 1780 and Was it buried underground or lost under water? In late 1815, Lafitte agreed to act as spy for Spain, which was embroiled in the Mexican War of Independence. And he says, Treasure has a way of keeping its secrets. A nearby lake fed by the Sabine River also caught their attention, since the silver might have been transported there by the current. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hendricks-lake. All they found was a big sawblade from one of the sawmills that had operated on the lake; they left the artifact behind for future treasure hunters. Stories of The state of One story even On his visits to Hendricks Lake with his son, they got a hit and brought a diver along to search the bottom. 2001-11-18 04:00:00 PDT Wallisville, Texas -- Using a machete, Anahuac Jack hacks through branches blocking his small boat's path down a narrow channel through a marsh lined with cypress trees. Jean Lafitte became labeled by some as a he was in his early twenties. 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. Smith believes he found a sunken ship on Google Earth in 2006 in Refugio, just north of Corpus Christi. He captured ships and sold their cargoes, which often included slaves, to shady merchants in New Orleans. The fortune is said to have been stolen from the Spanish by Jean Lafitte. The story died down but regained momentum when treasure hunting became popular again in the fifties and when True West magazine printed an article about the long-forgotten silver prompting treasure hunters to flock to Carthage and Tatum. I think yall lying about the finding treasure, Plum bayou look for trees cut down and fake grave at the end. any leads as to where Lafittes treasure might be? Before I started to work on the story running in the July 2009 issue (Sleeping Booty) about California musician Nathan Smiths quixotic attempt to find a lost Spanish treasure ship near the town of Refugio, north of Corpus Christi, I assumed that there was no buried treasure at all in Texas. Texas, I learned, is full of buried treasureor, to be a bit more accurate, full of stories about buried treasures that no one has been able to find. I have spoken to people who have been out there, muddied around and felt portions with their bare feet. 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. Locating a ship that belonged to Lafitte or one of his officers would be a "significant find" because of the role he played on the Texas coast, said Hoyt. At the moment he is headed for Lake Miller, a pristine pool unreachable by road, although the rumble of traffic can be heard from Interstate 10 a few miles to the north. Singer Treasure on Padre Island In the mid-nineteenth century, a man named Isaac Merritt Singer made significant improvements to the sewing machine. The man who told this did not or would not tell me the names of the two men. Now, more modern equipment was available, and one man used a metal detector and managed to get some interesting readings from the bottom of the lake. Mary Roger also tells us about how some fishermen much later got an unusual catch in their hoop net when fishing in the Sabine River; entangled in their net were several silver bars. Clarksville Standard, August 29, 1884. I'm a descendant of his first mate and so while as a general rule I love history/archeology/treasure hunting, naturally this is the treasure that interests me the most. This lake has its dangers, of course. It is still wrong move on Lafittes mason rouge. Moving on to piracy by around 1810, Lafitte was based at the secluded Barataria Bay inlet. Key to remember is that Lafitte was a business man, who turned merchandise that he acquired into money. She had his only known son, Jean Pierre Lafitte. Read the full story of Money Hill on LegendsOfAmerica.com. However, since it pointed toward someone else's land, he never did or said anything about it. Gary L. Pinkerton, Trammels Trace: The First Road to Texas from the North (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2016). That set off a huge treasure hunting stampede. On 4 February 1823, Laffite was onboard the General Santander off the town of Omoa in Honduras. He has no need for modern conveniences, living in a primitive cabin on the Trinity that is accessible only by boat and has no telephone. So, if you google Money Hill in Abita Springs ,La . The mud is deep on the bottom, and just as Between 1821 and 1828, Mexico issued many laws restricting or outlawing slavery. are why the mystery is still such an interesting topic todaymore than 200 Read More about Jean Laffites treasure in the Sabine River, USS Hatteras (formerly St. Mary) was a 1,126-ton steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the early part of the American Civil War. According to TexasHillCountry.com, legend says theres close to $3 million buried near where Shoal Creek empties into the Colorado River. Even the location and date of his birth varies on the document or biography at hand. "He just got stuck.". 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. They are convinced that booty galore is waiting to be found, J. Barto Arnold, the former marine archaeologist for the Texas Historical Commission, told me. At one point, while wandering the beaches of Padre Island, he came across a bunch of Spanish coins. One of the men was found living in east Texas where he had bought a farm. They know its there. In 1814, the U.S. sent a naval force to invade Lafittes fleet and was mostly successful, seizing many of Lafittes comrades and ships. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Lots of glass also. Very old 3 x 3 nches by 2 inches. 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. His brother, wanting to make something of himself as well, went exploring the coast of Texas to find buried treasure. Found a mamouth tooth a a tiny brick made of shell it has letters P on it and the other I cant make out. It reads that a cache of ancient gold coins was found near Jefferson island. "It could be anything. Hamilton, who heads Texas A&M University's nautical archaeology program, about investigating the site. The Cherokees started getting their butts kicked. Barnie Waldrop said he outlasted all the others and had seen fifty of em beaten by the lakes bog bottom. The elderly owner has an attractive home and keeps a wonderful Laffite was wounded in the battle and is believed to have died just after dawn. Both were the surnames of early settlers in the vicinity. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on the sofa with a hot cup of coffee, watching a crime TV show or scary movie. : they "found it". And if so is the treasure still there? The prizes that Lafitte took were slaves, cotton, commodities, etc. Lafitte, a one-time resident of Louisiana and privateer, is believed by some to But I am humored by the following observations : 1) have you ever noticed that when these fabled treasures are discussed, that the past tense of the word "find" is invariably always used. More maps appeared showing various locations of a lost silver mine. The parade of those who made documented efforts for the treasure included oilmen, a television repairman, a pharmacist, a grocery store owner, dirt contractors, water well diggers, fraudulent treasure hunting equipment hucksters, a heating and air-conditioning technician, and numerous other true believers. Searchers used aerial photos, underwater metal detectors, and magnetometers to aid in their efforts. Nobody knows for sure if all of these legends are true, but theyre interesting to read about nonetheless. wagons to be pushed down an embankment and into a lake. Access to those treasure seekers was largely through land owned by a former Panola County sheriff, Corbett Akins, and one of his deputies, L.E. Krigar and Leo Behme, two World War II veterans who had advertised in the Houston Chronicle that they wanted to use surplus mine detectors to locate buried treasure. My Grandpa told me often when I was very young that everyone thought that Lafittes fort was on Grand Isle, but it never was. Those looking for Gold, Diamonds, Jewelry etc wont find it.

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