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Colorado Legends of Lost Treasure
Dutch Oven Gravestone Loot
East of Clifford, Colorado, two robbers dug three shallow trenches in a circular formation. They filled the trenches and packed the earth on top to make it look as if three people had been buried in shallow graves. A rock resembling a tombstone was placed on each mound. On two of the stones, they chiseled their names and the date “1847.” They carved the word “unknown” on the third stone, likely to appear as if they had all died in a shootout. Finally, at the center of the circle, they dug a large hole in which they buried their loot in three Dutch ovens. These details were revealed when a man from Chicago who was told the tale and given directions came looking for the treasure, but he couldn’t find it and passed the story on to a local before departing. Explore More
Hidden $50,000 in Stolen Golden Eagles
In 1893, $50,000 in golden eagles were stolen from an Express car and cached in bags in the hills along the rail line between Cripple Creek and Florence, Colorado. None of the robbers returned before their deaths, and the loot is still out there waiting to be found.
The Como Stagecoach Robbery
It is debated whether this robbery occurred in 1863 or 1864, but the newspaper article included here says 1863. Raymond McLaughlin was 14 years old when a gang of 12 bandits took over his family’s ranch, forced his mother to cook, stole their horses, and proceeded to rob the stagecoach about 8-10 miles northeast of Fairplay which later became Como, Colorado in 1879, getting away with $80,000 in gold and greenbacks which they buried while being hotly pursued. Como didn’t actually exist yet in the 1860s – the site was originally the Stubbs Ranch before being owned by Dan McLaughlin who operated an early stage station on the South Park pioneer wagon roads where the railroad was later built. The bandits were captured and executed without revealing the location of the loot, and some locals long believed that young McLaughlin knew where the valuables were buried, but he never showed any sign of increased wealth and hadn’t been with them when they fled, so likely did not, and that treasure may still be waiting out there to be found.
The Lost Gore Gold Ledge
Nearly 150 years ago, an old trapper by the name of Hill was camped near the head of Morrison creek and accidentally stumbled into an immense free gold ledge which cropped up for some distance from the surface of the ground. He took some specimens when he hiked out that fall, moved to the Blue River where he got sick, and died. He tried to describe the location from his deathbed, but his description was simply too vague for his friends, and they were unable to find it. Explore More
The Parrott Peak Gold Mine
Lone Wolf came to the La Plata country in 1874 and, while prospecting at Parrott Peak near Parrott City, made the strike of a lifetime. In a narrow, brush-filled ravine near the western base of the mountain, he discovered a rich vein of gold-bearing quartz. Lone Wolf worked the mine for some time, and then tried to sell it, but the deal fell through. So Lone Wolf concealed the vein and disappeared from the San Juans. Explore More
More info on the historic Parrott City can be found at: https://animasmuseum.org/online_exhibits/Timeline/parrott_city.html.
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