Lost Civil War gold in Pennsylvania woods?
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 03/22/2008 05:27:18 PM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa.—A treasure hunter wants permission to dig in a state forest in northern Pennsylvania for a cache of gold he believes was lost by a Union convoy transporting it to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia during the Civil War.
The legend has circulated for decades about the half-ton of lost gold—worth $20 million or more at today's prices.
Dennis Parada believes he has found the site of the missing treasure in an Elk County state forest and is fighting to get state permission to dig it up.
The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said Parada needs to provide more proof before he starts tearing up state land. The department will not decide whether Parada can dig until he provides more information, spokeswoman Chris Novak said.
"There's a lot of people that will say this story is not true, and you'll have your share of people swearing that it is true," said Parada, of Clearfield, who runs a treasure-hunting business called Finders Keepers. "You'll get that with any treasure."
According to the legend, a Union officer received orders in the summer of 1863 to lead a wagon train from Wheeling, W.Va., to Philadelphia through Harrisburg by way of northern Pennsylvania. The story claims that the route was chosen to avoid Confederate soldiers advancing into southern Pennsylvania for what would become the battle of Gettysburg.
As the story goes, the convoy—with two wagons, eight soldiers and 26 50-pound
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bars of gold—got lost in the wilderness, and the gold vanished.
Parada, who won't reveal details of the location, said he and his partners made some initial digs in 2005 and found bones, a shattered bottle, a pocket knife, tin cans and two bullets. The state halted that effort, saying it's a crime to remove historical artifacts from state lands.
Officials later examined the items and said they were newer than the Civil War era and of little value.
"The circumstances arouse my suspicions that this is some very old wives' tale," said Allen Guelzo, a Gettysburg College history professor who specializes in the Civil War.
He doubts that Union troops hauled gold through northern Pennsylvania, and believes it more likely would have been transported by rail through Altoona to Harrisburg. Even in summer 1863 the train would have been safe, he said.
Parada, 55, first heard the legend more than 30 years ago. In 1975, he and some friends obtained a map he thought would lead to the gold but the search was unsuccessful.
He resumed the quest in 2004, taking his case to state officials.
"They shot everything down. Everything," Parada said.
Parada said he and his three partners hope for at least a 10 percent finders' fee if they find the gold—which would be more than they'd get on the black market if they took it without permission.
"We stand to make as much or better and sleep at night instead of going to jail," he said.
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A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.
Yogi Berra |
