Most People Don’t Know These 6 Treasures Are Hiding In Nebraska
By Delana Lefevers|Published December 01, 2015
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Delana Lefevers
Author
As a lifelong Nebraskan, Delana loves discovering the many hidden treasures of her state. She has worked as a writer and editor since 2007. Delana's work has been featured on more than a dozen websites and in Nebraska Life Magazine.
Did you ever dream of treasure hunting when you were a kid? Growing up in Nebraska, we could always find cool things like arrowheads or fossils when out on a country walk. But imagine actually finding the hiding spots of one of these legendary hidden treasures…
Jesse James and other notorious outlaws were said to have taken shelter from the law in Robber's Cave in Lincoln. Legend has it that James' gang and perhaps others left some treasure behind in the twists and turns of the caves.
There is another story that says Jesse James took part of his ill-gotten wealth and buried some of it at Catron-Miyoshi Fruit Farm a few miles outside of Nebraska City.
David McCanles, known to most as "Cobb," was a shrewd businessman who made his fortune by building a bridge over Rock Creek. He then charged weary Oregon Trail travelers to use the bridge; pretty soon he had so much money he didn't know what to do with it. He is said to have buried anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 worth of gold coins in an iron kettle near Rock Creek Station. Wild Bill Hickok caught up with Cobb in 1861 and killed him before he could put all of that money to use.
Just a few miles from Fort Kearny, Dobytown sprang up in 1859. It was a major stopping point for travelers of all types headed west, and it grew to embrace the most popular types of entertainment at the time: liquor, prostitution, and gambling. Soldiers who couldn't take their winnings with them and other gamblers who were afraid of being robbed on the road are said to have buried countless caches of money around the town. Dobytown no longer exists, but some say there is still plenty of treasure where it once stood.
Near Sidney in 1867, a group of robbers held up a stagecoach and made off with 400 pounds of gold bars. A posse quickly surrounded the robbers, giving them few options. They optimistically buried their spoils along the banks of Lodgepole Creek. The legend goes that they never came back for it, and that pile of gold is still stashed away along the creek's banks.
Al Medley, a blacksmith who lived in Peru, set off on a supply run to Missouri in 1855. Before he left, he buried $2000 in gold coins for safe keeping. Some believe he buried the treasure on his own property while some say he buried it near a mill on nearby Camp Creek. No matter where the coins were buried, Medley never came back from his trip and the coins have never been found.
It's no secret that Buffalo Bill Cody made a lot of money running and performing in his Wild West shows. What you may not have heard, though, is the story that the legendary showman may have buried $17,000 in gold coins somewhere on the grounds of Scout's Rest Ranch. The reports have never been confirmed, and the treasure has obviously never been found, but it's a fun mystery for any Buffalo Bill fan.
There are dozens of other tales of random travelers, settlers, soldiers, and bootleggers burying money around the state. In a state with a whole lot of wide open space, those treasures (if they indeed exist) could very well be lost forever.
As a note to potential treasure hunters: always get permission before attempting to look for treasure on private or government-owned property. There’s a very good chance you’ll find yourself looking down the barrel of an angry rancher’s gun if you wander to where you shouldn’t be!
Have you ever gone hunting for buried treasure in Nebraska? If so, what did you find? Tell us all about it in the comments.
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