A group of modern day treasure hunters search for the Lost Dutchman mine in the Superstition mountain range of Arizona. With cursed mountains said to drive men mad and a hidden fortune of gold worth killing for, the treasure hunters greatest danger may be the man at his side. As predicted by Waltz none are miners, they are in fact like most folks that are reading this post, just regular hard-working everyday folks with normal jobs, going to their kids ball games, playing a round of golf, and in the fall deer hunting and going to Blue Jackets NHL games. Adults $7.00 At the time he had ventured out into the Tonto National Forest in search of the legendary treasure, having looked for it on several occasions in the past and accumulating hundreds of books and hundreds of pages of research on the matter. The search, nevertheless, still continues. Going on a year now. Willing died in 1874 before there had been a thorough investigation of the documents or opportunity to cross examine him on the stand as was later done with Reavis. Yet the mountains and their cursed treasure would get their most well-known mystery with the arrival of a German immigrant named Jacob Walz, also often spelled Waltz, who was a gold prospector in the Phoenix valley in the late 1800s. He pursued mining and prospecting, but seems to have had little luck with either. In 1847-1848 during the time of the Hidalgo Treaty when Mexico sold the territory to the United Sates the Peraltas, knowing they would lose access to their mines made one last trip bringing hundreds of miners from Sonora to mine as much as they could, but were attacked by Apaches. This is their turf and only the highly experienced and prepared should venture forward. So, there, thats the skinny in case you want to pack a lunch and have a picnic. After moving to the area, Ruth lingered numerous days at the ranch of Tex Barkely to outfit his expedition. They are mysterious, they are cool as ice, and for all those Dark Tourism enthusiasts, they are full of legends and weird happenings. The newcomers, thus, became the Pennsylvania Dutch. In appreciation, Gonzales told Erwin about the Peralta mine in the Superstition Mountains and an antique map of the site. According to these legends, this treasure was almost never seen by mortal eyes, at least not by anyone who lived to tell about it, but there are some tales of outsiders stumbling across it. The Lost Dutchmans Mine is featured in Season 1, Episode 21 of the television series Unsolved Mysteries. The episode first aired on April 12, 1989. Most recently, in 2009 there was a would-be treasure hunter by the name of Jesse Capen, a 35-year old bellhop from Denver who was in his free time by all accounts fascinated and obsessed with the legend of the Lost Dutchmans mine. To underline his great find, he had also written Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, and I conquered) in his diary. Finally The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine Is Found! We had a 7-hour drive ahead of us and we wanted to start early. An alternate view which better fits the lost mine legend is that he periodically appeared with large amounts of gold, The Sterling Legend by Estee Conatser reports that a Jacob Walzer sold $250,000 in gold to the U.S. Mint during the 1880s and had $1500 when he died in 1891. If you need rescued, they will land two miles away and hike in to get you. Some places have long been thought to be simply no good. According to the story, in about 1912 Erwin C. Ruth gave some legal aid to Gonzales, saving him from almost certain imprisonment. VISIT For the price, this is well worth the visit. Thorne is said to be either unwilling or unable to relocate the mine. Tack a map onto a wall, toss a dart and chances are youd hit an outskirt of nowhere with a small Fort Knox in its hills. It is truly magnificent at twilight., The Apacheland barn figured prominently in dozens of western films and TV western episodes shot at the original Gold Canyon movie ranch. The promise of a $200 million mother . German? Up on the mountain, if someone breaks a leg; it will take at least two on the team to get you down; it is dangerous for three healthy climbers, much less one with broken body parts. July 3, 1947 James A Cravey, age 62, a retired photographer, was reported missing after he had chartered a helicopter June 19, 1947 to drop him off in the Superstition Mountains to look for the Lost Dutchmans Mine. Ruth ended his note with the phrase "Veni, vidi, vici. In 1952 there was a man named Joseph Kelley, who went out into the mountains to find the treasure and proceeded to vanish from the face of the earth. Choice of of building material I like Ironwood +, There is a typo that should be alpha mine not alfa mine. Also in that year was the disappearance of two young boys, Ross Bley and Charles Harshbarger, whose bodies were never found. In January 1932, human remains were discovered about three-quarters of a mile (1.21km) from where the skull had been found. "The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine." Their bodies were never found. There have been countless such deaths and disappearances in the region over the years, many of them with missing heads or gunshot wounds to the head. In an act of kindness, Throne treats an ailing Apache chieftain. Youve come to the ideal place. The story differs but heres the most common take, mind you there are over 100 different versions of the Story. Lights, screams, and shadows of Apache armies have been reported. Come on down! TheSuperstition Mountains, furthermore, are the abode of the Thunder God, and he causes the frequent regional thunderstorms. Over the next few weeks I will share some images that are safe for us to show. The museum with its indoor and outdoor exhibits is a pleasant surprise and definitely worth your time if youre going on the Apache Trail or to the nearby Lost Dutchman State Park. People have been seeking the Lost Dutchman's mine since at least 1892,[2] while according to one estimate, 9,000 people annually made some effort to locate the Lost Dutchman's mine. See production, box office & company info, The Investigation: A Haunting in Sherwood, The Harrisville Haunting: The Real Conjuring House. And importantly I have hard facts that the Stones are linked to other historical information. According to their folklore, the mountain guards an ancient storehouse of precious metals and treasures, and anyone who ventures forth to get the treasure is likely to die. Find a wide array of distinctive and unique items including books, apparel, local Native American arts and crafts and seasonal gift selections. Long before Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and grifter-socialite Anna Delvey, we had the Gold Rush and even today, plenty of Americans are still fixated on an either long-lost or fictional gold mine in Arizona's Superstition Mountains.For more than a century, adventurous souls have sought the Lost Dutchman Mine, and since 1891 . Arizona. Famed Apache warrior, Most stories go like this, the family of a man called Miguel Peralta struck gold by accident they were just passing by and started drilling the mine. Jacob, meanwhile, the lone survivor, is near catatonic. The Top Ten Most Haunted Places in Arizona. According to some storytellers, in September 1848, a band of Apaches slaughtered the entire Peralta Family, except one (someone had to live to tell the tale). Capens corpse was found three years later in November 2012 by a local search and rescue organization, stuffed into a crevice. To begin with, there was never any real Dutchman involved with the lost gold mine. Others that it was the ghost of the Peraltas. In March of 2011 three filmmakers set out to find the mine and document their entire process. What is important is the informational content recorded on the stones. January 7, 2023 12:00 pm - April 29, 2023 3:00 pm, Desert Safety and Survival (March Sold Out), Weaving Class with Nanabah Aragon (March Sold Out). Starring Sage Howard, Andrew Simpson, and Shelby. One of the most prominent such tales is that of an affluent mining family from Mexico, the Peraltas, although some versions of the story say they were ranchers. Front View of the Peralta Stones. His body has never been found. As early as September 1, 1892, The Arizona Enterprise was reporting on the efforts of Thomas and several others to locate the lost mine whose location was told to her by Waltz. Superstition Mountain at night. Everyplace had a lost mine. There is a $7 day use fee to enter the park, which is waived if you're camping ($15/night). Wasnt it Dutch? The legend of the lost gold continued to attract people, and, in 1932, a veterinarian in the Park Service, Adolph Ruth, decided to go treasure hunting. In yet another version of the tale, two (or more) U.S. Army soldiers are said to have discovered a vein of almost pure gold in or near the Superstition Mountains. The earliest documentation of him in the U.S. is an 1848 affidavit in which Waltz declared himself to be "about 38 years old". The Supers are east - northeast of Phoenix. Ruths response? People from the town below certain that only death and demons travel across Superstition Mountain at night. While it is small, it is packed with information and visual stimulation if you enjoy history. [12] Thorne related his claims to three U.S. soldiers in about 1858. According to the story, the Apaches quickly descended upon the family to ruthlessly slaughter all of them but one, left alive solely to tell the tale not to mess with the lost mine to anyone who would listen. There are a few walking trails that are great for beginners and still enjoyable for more experienced walkers as well. January 1933 a Mining electrican named J.A. The Museum Gallery offers a detailed exploration of the history of this region with artifacts, multi-media, testimonials and docent-led tours. Out in the remote badlands of the U.S. state of Arizona, just to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area lies a sun scorched, dried up, arid moonscape of twisted peaks and sprawling expanse of badlands called the Superstition Mountains, at one time called the Sierra de la Espuma . In later years there is the story of the adventurous Spanish born Doctor Abraham Thorne, who was at the time living among the Natives of the region and studying their medical practices. Later I will give more details and then begin providing information on how things fit together. After one hundred and twenty- five plus years incredibly, the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine has been found, proving that the legend is more than mere myth and as predicted by Jacob Waltz himself No miner will ever find my mine. And, amazingly, a few of these people were also found in the same headless state as Adolph Ruth. Admission In the 1800's, a german goldhunter named Jacob Waitz discovered a huge goldmine within the mountains that has since been named the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine (German <- > The Netherlands; let . The Peralta Stones are a set of engraved stone tableted works that are approximately 18 inches long and weigh about 25 lbs. However, the Peralta Mine eventually became unprofitable and after the money was gone Miguel Peralta turned to fraud. Since James Reavis, "the Baron of Arizona", was convicted of fraud when the Peralta family genealogy and other documents to support the land grant (and a barony associated with that land) were determined to be forgeries it also raises questions about the original purchase of the land grant by Dr. George M. Willing Jr. (the transaction had supposedly occurred at a primitive campsite to the southeast of Prescott without the benefit of the typical documentation; instead of a notarized deed, the conveyance was recorded on a piece of greasy camp paper bearing signature of several witnesses). Arcadia Publishing. We arrived at Shaun's house at 7:30 am in St. George Utah. Near Apache Junction, Arizona there is a place called the Supersition Mountains where legends and superstitions come alive to tell their ghostly tales. These steep, jagged volcanic mountains were formed over 29 million years ago and they cover an area of 160,000 acres. They removed his blindfold and let him take away as much as he could carry. Adolph Ruth is really the amateur explorer and treasure hunter that made the mines into a national phenomenon. As with most of the terrain encompassing the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the Superstition Mountains, have a desert environment, with scorching summer temperatures and sparse sources of water. A found footage thriller inspired on actual events, DARK MOUNTAIN is directed by Tara Anase and written by Tamara Blaich and Tara Anase. July 3, 1947 James A Cravey, age 62, a retired photographer, was reported missing after he had chartered a helicopter June 19, 1947 to drop him off in the Superstition Mountains to look for the Lost Dutchmans Mine. Several trails lead from the park into the Superstition Mountain Wilderness and surrounding Tonto National Forest. He had acquired maps that he was sure would lead him straight to the gold. This account is usually dated to about 1870. This is your spot. The Apaches told him he could grab as much of the gold as he could carry on his person, which he did before being led back out, never knowing the precise location, although he did mention a sharp peak of rock, which is thought to have perhaps been Weavers Needle, a popular landmark in the area. These include Barry Storms book Thunder Gods Gold, published in 1945, detailing his own efforts to find the gold, and the Glen Ford and Ida Lupino movie, Lust for Gold, from 1949. Superstition Mountains and the Lost Dutchman Mine The lost Dutchman Gold mine is generally believed to be somewhere near or in the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. Yet it is also a place of fabled mysteries, talk of dark curses, strange disappearances and deaths, high strangeness, and a secret treasure that it allegedly holds close to it, reluctant to ever give it up. 1: Recorded description of the museum. In March of 2011, three filmmakers disappeared in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona while documenting their search for the Lost Dutchman Mine. Monday Sunday The early Spanish the Peraltas the Jesuits and many others all came to the Superstition Mountains looking for legendary gold. A doctor from Illinois, Doctor Abraham Thorne, provided his service to treat the indigenous people of the Southwest. It is believed that all were killed except for two Peralta family members who were severely wounded but managed to escape. The Superstition Mountains, with a name like that you might as well give away fancy proton-backs, of the Ghostbuster variety, at the visitors center, is a series of jagger tooth mountains in Arizona just the east of Phoenix. Indeed, in the decades since Waltz made his mysterious proclamation of the mine public, there have been numerous earnest attempts to try and track it down, and these have the sinister habit of meeting rather gruesome ends. They are encircled by U.S Route 60 on the south Arizona State 88 on the northwest, and Arizona 188 on the northeast. STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. It is rumoured that if the stones are put together in the right way, they are a map to the Peralta Familys gold deposits. [26], Blair wrote that "the national wire services picked up the story [of Ruth's death] and ran it for more than it was worth", possibly seeing the mysterious story as a welcome reprieve from the bleak news that was otherwise typical of the Great Depression. The closest approximate was a German miner of the PennsylvaniaGerman community. This is trails end; this is the domain of the Dutch Hunters. The park offers 134 campsites, each with a picnic table, barbeque grill, and fire pit, and 68 equipped with electric hook-ups and water. Named after the fabled lost gold mine, Lost Dutchman State Park is located in the Sonoran Desert, at the base of the Superstition Mountains, only 40 miles east of Phoenix. They believed that the entrance to the underworld itself lay somewhere in among these peaks, and that powerful spirits roamed the withered landscape. The family is later attacked and butchered in the so-calledPeralta massacre. but their camera was. About Lost Dutchman State Park. The man is barely alive. The soldiers have stalked back to town, fistfuls of gold but their sanity shot, only to die a day later or in one case, murdered while rambling on and on about the albinos in their hospital room. Join MU Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions & much more! Fun, family friendly historical site with a lot to see including replicas of old buildings, plenty of hiking, a gift shop and free lectures by locals describing how life was like. It is generally accepted that the Peraltas and roughly 400 peon miners were massacred by the Apaches sometime around 1848. [7] A man named Miguel Peralta and his family did operate a successful mine in the 1860s but near Valencia, California, not in Arizona. We at Arcana Exploration believe we can show that this was later worked by Jacob Waltz, and after his death came to be known as the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.