LOST TREASURES

Our area, including the Gulf Coast lacks precious metals and minerals, however, there are a multitude of stories about lost gold and pirate treasure.  Our sparsely inhabited coastline was an area of various well-known pirates.  Blackbeard, Jean LaFitte, who helped Andrew Jackson during a battle or two, Billy Bowlegs, and lots of others.  Old-timers still talk about secret finds and occasionally an old gold coin will be found along the beach afteer a particularly severe storm.

Billy Bowlegs supposedly buried three chests near an old palm tree on Bald Point.  He fixed the location by carving special marks into the tree.  Nearby was a small freshwater spring with marked stones encircling it.

Near the mouth of the Ocklockonee River are buried several chests of pirate gold.  Supposedly after you cross the bridge over the river, you;'ll find a large Indian mound, on the left-hand side that marks the treasure site.  State highway workers allegedly spent part of the 1920's digging up the area searching for the goods.  None  was found.  One of the more famous lost treasure stories involves the small town of St. Marks.  A Spanish gunboat loaded with $5 million in gold, had serious troubles off St. Marks.  The captain was fearful of pirates, so he buried the gold ashore.  Then he returned to his wrecked ship, and eventually he and his crew were rescued by a ship heading for Peru.

Over the years, several members of the gunboat's crew returned to the area, attempting to locate the treasure.  During the Civil War, a Mr. Smith came across a map of the treasure site.  The spot was indicated by three large trees, into one of which an iron spike had been driven.  Mr. Smith found the tree with the spike in it and commenced to dig.  He dug for days and months with only spades and shovels.  When the Civil War came to an end, he was financilly ruined, and lost most of his slaves and property.

After the war, other folks from St. Marks took up the search.  None found it.  Today, the treasure is somewhere, and hopefully the marshes near St. Marks will give up all their gold.