Treasure Tales and Treasure Stories About Michigan from the Archives of Lost Treasure Magazine

Buried Gold

This story of $74,000 in buried sold near Benton Lake, in Newaygo County, has several versions that are all basically the same. One story is that somewhere on the north short of Benton Lake there is almost a half million dollars (at today's prices) in buried gold, taken during a stage coach robbery in 1874.

In August of that year, near what is now Traverse City, a gang of desperadoes decided that the gold paid the loggers (lumbering was Michigan's largest industry at that time) would be better of in their pockets. In classic Jesse James fashion, they laid in wait for the stage coach carrying $74,000 in gold to a large lumber camp in the area.

The robbery came off as planned and the thieves made good their escape. But $74,000 worth of gold was far too heavy to carry. The bandits, knowing that the lumberjacks would soon be on their trail, decided to bury the gold until the news of the robbery had died down.

They selected a site between two tree stumps on the north shore of Benton Lake. There they put the money into an old cast iron stove, dug a deep hole, and buried the whole thing.

It was never learned exactly who the bandits were, but several undesirable characters in the area were suspected of having committed the robbery. It wasn't until years later that a man told of the hold-up when he was dying. His story was that five men had taken part in the robbery. They were afraid to spend any of the money and after burying it they separated but kept in touch with each other. They never returned to dig up the gold for fear of being arrested or lynched by the lumberjacks. The dying man who told the story was the last one of the robbers left.

Two other versions of the story come from the Newaygo County Historical Society, I quote:

"Dear Mr. Henson:

"Your letter to the Newaygo County Clerk regarding Benton Lake has been referred to me for reply. The story of buried gold that you mention has cropped up from time to time in various forms.

"Harry L. Spooner, Newaygo County Historian in the 1920's wrote in a story of the area published in the Muskegon Chronicle, June 13, 1925: 'The story is told that before lumbering began there, a stage coach ran from Pentwater to Big Rapids, skirting the north shore of the lake. One day it was held up and robbed, supposedly by Indians, of whom there were many in the neighborhood. The story is told also that a white settler was warned by the Indians to leave, and he buried his tools and left and never returned. Asa Dingman discovered the tools years ago, so he says, and they are there to this day unless they have rusted away. Several Indian mounds in the vicinity give evidence of, occupation by these people.

"'Ed June tells the story that about eighteen years ago a man came to Benton Lake saying he was from Montana. He had a map showing where a treasure was buried. He said that a bank in the west was robbed several years previous, but the money taken, $72,000 in all, had been brought east and buried near Benton Lake. He explored all summer but was unable to locate it.' Mrs. Martha Evans, President, Newaygo County Historical Society, White Cloud, Michigan."

The general location of the buried gold is easy enough to find but there are some difficulties involved. Benton Lake is still there on the left side of Highway 37, driving north. The lake is also south of Baldwin and west of the hamlet of Brohman. The problems are largely due to the time lapse. The two stumps have no doubt rotted away, and the shoreline of the lake may have changed, but this is still a good location for someone that wants to spend a vacation camping on the lake and treasure hunting.