Spanish Treasure Locations in Maury County, and more

During the battles around Columbia during the Civil War, a Confederate payroll was supposed to be hidden in a cave on Duck River, at Buzzard Roost. The soldiers that hid it were killed and it has never been reported found.

Symbols are carved on the bluffs overlooking Duck River that are believed to be Spanish. The inscriptions are thought to tell of treasure hidden in the area by a group of Spanish soldiers in the 1500s. It is known that DeSoto came through the area in 1541.

Legend has it that Frank and Jesse James hid stolen money in the Duck River Bluffs. Frank was asked about this in 1915, by a newspaper reporter. He admitted spending the night at the Nelson House in Columbia, after the gang had robbed a Muscle Shoals payroll near Florence, Alabama, in 1881. Frank said he didn’t know what the other members of the gang did with their share, but that he was never in Maury County again.

An old lady in downtown Columbia, hid some gold coins on the McGraw stable lot and died soon after. Newspapers of the 1870s report people searching for this cache but no report was made of it being found.

During the Civil War, an ammunition wagon overturned on Rutherford Creek. The cannon balls went into a deep crevice where they could still be seen, but no one could figure a way to retrieve them. A small treasure hunter might be able to figure out how to get them out.

A two gallon bucket full of coins and currency is supposed to be buried on the bank of a small stream near Spring Hill. This was hidden by a hermit in a brushy thicket, a few hundred yards from the shack the man lived in. He later went insane and was never able to recover the money.