Oklahoma is not well-known for being the land of lost treasures and buried gold, but don’t let that fool you. The state has had its share of gold rushes and ruthless outlaws stashing treasures in our mountains, caverns and rivers.
As one old-timer summed it up aptly: “There’s more treasure buried right here in Oklahoma than in the rest of the whole Southwest.” So if you’re ready to discover some of Oklahoma’s hidden mysteries.
Here are 9 buried treasures waiting to be discovered in Oklahoma.
1. During the Civil War, four barrels of gold coins were captured from two Federal wagons by Confederates during a battle in Kansas. The rebels were attacked by outlaws in Oklahoma and the gold coins were hidden in a cave close to the Blue River (about 5 miles NE of Brown)The Confederates were murdered by the outlaws and the coins remain hidden.
2. In a cave near Mill Creek, in the Arbuckle Mountains, is a treasure of Army stolen payroll, in gold and silver coins.Outlaws attacked an Army supply train and hid the coins in the cave.
3. At Old Fort Sill Trading Post, an outlaw tossed four bags of gold and silver coins into a well that is now covered. The approximate worth at that time, in 1892, was $100,000.The coins were stolen from a stagecoach.
4. The ghost town of Standing Rock was in existence before the 1964 dam was completed at Lake Eufaula. Standing Rock and a few other towns were flooded as a result. A silver bar was found near the base of a rock which was an area used as a campsite by westward travelers.It has been said that many more silver bars are in the area. Standing Rock and the other towns were on the north bank of Piney Creek.
5. In 1933, Samuel Stewart buried $5,000 in $20 gold coins in the Gyp Hills on his farm near Butler. He concealed the coins in a metal box, in a cave-like niche in the hills.But in 1935, a flood altered the terrain and he was never able to locate the cache again.
6. In the 1870s, outlaws accumulated $500,000 worth of stolen gold coins and metal bars in Colorado and were being pursued by a posse in Oklahoma. In the area of Kite, the gang buried the gold in several different places on the side of a small creek that ran from east to west, no more than 5 feet from the running water.The location of this treasure is placed on the 1920 property of Jim Barnett near Clarita, Oklahoma in Coal County.
7. Near the town of Geronimo and the Cache River, in the Wichita Mountains, is a treasure of gold bullion worth approximately 1 million dollars. The hoard was buried by the famous outlaw Jesse James.In 1872, Jessie and his gang raided a Mexican caravan of gold bullion that belonged to a Mexican general. While the posse was hot on his trail, Jesse buried the treasure.
8. There is a legend that a huge cache of treasure is buried near Sugar Loaf Mountain.The plate, bullion and coins were buried during the Civil War by Confederates.
9. In the early 1900s, three outlaws made off with $40,000 in gold coins during a Wichita bank robbery and headed off for the Wichita Mountains.In a fight with some Indians, one of the bandits was killed and their horses were stolen. After burying the gold, one of the outlaws killed the other to keep the gold himself, only to be captured in Marlow shortly afterward. In his attempt to escape, he was badly wounded and before he died, he confessed that the gold was cached in the rocks SW of Mount Scott.
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