Kegs of Gold in Bennington

In 1907, an aged Indian came to Bennington in southern Illinois and asked a local farmer for help in locating a cache of three kegs of gold his ancestors had buried. This gold was located on a small stream called Sugar Creek, three or four miles east of Bennington in 1907. The area had been an Indian campground until the whites drove the Indians away.

Before leaving, the Indians hurriedly buried their gold in kegs three or four feet deep. They marked the locations, hoping to return for the gold later. According to some crude drawings the Indian possessed, so many paces north of the bridge and so many paces east of Sugar Creek was a large oak tree which had been marked.

The Indian was certain he could find the treasure site again. Agreeing to help the Indian, the farmer went with him to the stream. When they reached the creek, the Indian stopped suddenly. He looked at his drawings with great concern. “This is the place we start,” he said, motioning with his hand toward a big oak in the distance. They paced off the steps to the tree many times and dug many holes, but found no trace of the gold.

The old Indian soon left and was never heard from again, but those buried kegs of Indian gold are almost certainly still there.