Why Texas (or any other state) Still Has Buried Caches Waiting to be Found

An explanation of the historical patterns of hiding caches: danger, distrust, and “household banks”

Note:  This is not meant to be a be all end all article. It is meant to get you to thinking about why there are many caches of treasure such as gold and silver and it will also lead you to some leads to find one if you are persistent.

If you are interested in finding virgin sites to look for, consider looking at what WYNSAR has to offer on our two flashdrives, and consider keeping an eye out for the rewritten 2700 Historical Sites Across Texas, which will now be a 4 volume set of books.

Between about 1840 and 1900, three forces repeatedly taught Texans to keep portable wealth close and hidden:

  1. Frontier violence—especially Indian depredations (1840s–1870s). Contemporary tallies are imperfect, but the best quantified work counts 399 Texas civilian deaths in the 1860s alone from Indian attacks (Gregory Michno’s decade-by-decade compilation). That’s Texas-only and civilian-only, and it excludes many skirmishes that never made a formal return.
  2. Sustained raiding in the immediate postwar years. A U.S. Army digest that sampled Texas counties found 163 settlers killed between mid-1865 and mid-1867, which—remember—is only a 24-month slice and not a statewide canvas. The report also details the evacuation of frontier posts and the resulting exposure of homesteads. Refusing to Forget
  3. Sudden, mass-casualty disasters (especially the 1900 storm). The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 killed 6,000–8,000 people on the island alone, with additional losses on the mainland—America’s deadliest natural disaster. People died at home; whole neighborhoods were swept clean; property records, heirs, and memories vanished overnight—classic circumstances for unrecovered caches. TSHA OnlineGalveston & Texas History Center

Add to that the continual churn of outlaw violence, feuds, lightning epidemics, bank panics, and the pre-FDIC culture of cash. Texans often stashed coin and hard money at home for speed and safety. We have plenty of period evidence for the habit itself: for example, a Texas Supreme Court case centers on money found buried under the floor of a Texas home, an excellent (if later-dated) legal snapshot of the custom. The Portal to Texas History

A cautious, evidence-based count

No single ledger will give us a statewide death toll from “Indian depredations” 1840–1875, but the documented minimums already prove scale:

  • 399 Texas civilian fatalities in the 1860s (Michno).
  • 163 settlers killed in just two years (1865–1867) across selected Texas counties (U.S. Army summary). Refusing to Forget
  • Named attacks confirm additional losses—for example, the Elm Creek Raid (Young County, Oct. 13, 1864), with ~12 settlers killed and multiple captives, and earlier, the Great Raid of 1840 on the coast with ~20 civilian deaths. Texas Beyond HistoryTSHA OnlineWikipedia

Put conservatively, Texas Indian-raid civilian deaths run to many hundreds—likely over a thousand—between the 1840s and 1870s when you extrapolate the quantified decade plus the named large events and the Army’s 24-month sample. That’s only one channel feeding unrecovered caches; the 1900 storm’s 6,000–8,000 island deaths stands alone as a generator of lost household wealth. Refusing to Forget TSHA Online

The takeaway for detectorists, cache hunters and researchers isn’t the exact number; it’s the pattern: frequent, sudden loss of life + a strong habit of home-hiding valuables = a long tail of unrecovered caches.

12 documented Texas cases showing valuables were hidden or cached and have been found

Below are factual, sourced occurrences (some “finds,” some “hides,” and one or two archaeology/legal proofs of the practice). They demonstrate that Texans did bury money and that caches do turn up. The reason I share this is because you should ALWAYS think in terms of “Where there is one cache, there could be others”. Indeed, I have first hand knowledge of several sites where multiple caches have been found.

  1. Youngsport (Bell County), 1885 – A.C. Urvin’s stone-jar hoard.
    A farmer uncovered a stone jar filled with U.S. gold and silver coins near the Lampasas River—face value $11,300 (enormous for the time). The find was reported contemporaneously and retold with documentation by the state electric cooperative magazine. Texas Co-op Power
  2. San Diego (Duval County), 1933 – Dr. García’s Gold (buried) → recovered 2022.
    After a 1933 robbery, Dr. Eusebio García reportedly buried 95+ U.S. gold coins behind his home; a century later, workmen dug up the cache, now exhibited by the Museum of South Texas History, with serially documented coin provenances. The Washington Postmosthistory.org
  3. Downtown San Antonio (Bexar County), 1852–1880 coins → discovered 2007.
    During construction at 310 W. Commerce, a backhoe exposed ~200 silver coins (quarters, halves, dollars) plus a gold coin, dated 1852–1880—a classic urban hoard deposited near 1880. The City’s archaeology correspondence notes the property and timing; numismatic outlets recorded the hoard. San Antonio GovernmentNewman Numismatic Portal
  4. Devine (Medina County), c. 1910s hide → reported 1943 discovery.
    Texas papers reported a “pot of gold” unearthed by workmen at a private home in Devine—$380 in gold pieces the owner’s father “had hidden more than 30 years before.” (The report was syndicated and reprinted; it’s precisely the sort of small, family cache we keep stumbling into today.) Texas Hill Country
  5. Brazoria County (Levi Jordan Plantation), antebellum – coin intentionally set into a house pier.
    Archaeologists lifted the 1840s-era structure and found a gold coin deliberately embedded in the pier pad—not a “spend” loss but a placed deposit in the building fabric, part ritual, part security. Texas Beyond History
  6. Legal proof of practice – money buried under a Texas floor (Schley v. Couch).
    In this 1955 Texas Supreme Court case, the dispute centered on cash buried beneath a home’s floor—a strong, courtroom-tested confirmation that Texans turned houses and yards into vaults. (Texas courts rejected “treasure-trove” in favor of landowner/possessor rights—also crucial for modern recovery.) The Portal to Texas History
  7. San Antonio missions & plazas – recurrent coin and valuables finds in downtown archaeology.
    City-commissioned archaeological investigations of Main Plaza / Military Plaza (Plaza de Armas) document continuous historic occupation with artifact concentrations expected of an urban core—including recurrent coinage finds consistent with concealment and loss around dwellings and shops. San Antonio Government
  8. Postwar frontier diaries corroborate “hide and hold” behavior.
    Institutional histories around Fort Griffin & Elm Creek preserve settler diary notes about intense raiding and sudden flight (e.g., Susan E. Newcomb, Stephens County, 1865). That living context explains why so many small caches remained on site after an attack. Texas Beyond History
  9. Round Rock / Williamson-Travis corridor (Sam Bass) – outlaw proceeds reputedly cached.
    While details of recoveries are murky, the Handbook of Texas summarizes the Sam Bass tradition of buried loot around Round Rock—useful not as legend-chasing, but as a reminder that post-raid deaths and arrests often interrupted retrieval. Treat as background leads, not promises. Texas State Library
  10. Castle Gap / Pecos frontier – long-running, documented searches for cached valuables.
    From 19th-century reports forward, West Texas has generated archival trails of organized searches for cached bullion and coin, indicating deep, local belief (and periodic small finds) around long-rumored deposits. (A modern overview by Texas Highways collates sources and interviews.) Texas Highways
  11. Spanish & Mexican-period caches surfacing inland.
    A famous example is the 1817 San Antonio-minted jola discovered near Eagle Pass (auctioned 2012). Single coins aren’t caches—but they document the streams of high-value specie that later households routinely hid in bulk. MySA
  12. “Finders Weepers” – contemporary Texas press remembered jars in the ground.
    A state-level feature recounts multiple Texas jar-money recoveries (including the Urvin hoard) using period newspapers and local memory—good corroboration that rural Texans standardized on stone and glass containers as their “bank.” Texas Co-op Power

Note: I’ve kept outright folklore (e.g., Hendricks Lake “Lafitte silver”) to the margins off of this article, but the Texas State Historical Association still catalogs it because documented recovery campaigns have occurred there since the 19th century—useful as a research trail, albeit not a “proven cache.” TSHA OnlineSFA ScholarWorks

What the numbers imply for modern cache/treasure hunting

  • Documented fatalities from Indian depredations run in the high hundreds for Texas even on a conservative reading of just the quantified decade (1860s) plus named large raids. Those happened at homes and outbuildings where people kept coin, jewelry, and small silver. TSHA OnlineWikipedia
  • The 1900 storm alone removed thousands of owners and heirs in a weekend; households that distrusted banks (common before FDIC and during panics) left orphaned caches under floors, in fence-row jars, and beneath steps. TSHA Online
  • Texas law confirms the behavior (buried cash under floors), and archaeology confirms the setting (coins intentionally placed in buildings or turning up in historic house lots). Translation: caches weren’t rare; they were routine risk management. The Portal to Texas History Texas Beyond History

Practical research leads (how to turn history into finds)

  1. Map known 1860s–1870s raid corridors and named incidents (Elm Creek, Salt Creek country, upper Brazos). Prioritize homestead footprints recorded in county deed books and GLO township plats within those corridors. TSHA Online
  2. Overlay 1900 storm surge maps on Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for Galveston and mainland rail towns; then trace lot ownership through probate. Heirless or fragmented estates are prime candidates. Galveston & Texas History Center
  3. Work some of the old towns such as in Bexar County city lots with deep history (Main Plaza/Military Plaza per city archaeology). Old commercial sites often had live-in proprietors who cached after hours. San Antonio Government
  4. Look for pier-and-beam houses and outbuildings (privies, smokehouses, milk stands). Texas archaeology repeatedly pulls coins and small hides from these micro-contexts. Texas Beyond History
  5. Check legal files and 20th-century newspapers for “money found,” “jar of coins,” “mason jar” + county name; many small, factual recoveries were reported like the Devine case. Texas Hill Country

Sources you can rely on (sample, not exhaustive)

Bottom line

From frontier raids through the 1900 storm, Texas saw thousands of sudden deaths. We can conservatively demonstrate hundreds of civilian deaths from Indian depredations in just one decade (1860s), and a mass-casualty coastal catastrophe that erased whole family lines in a day. Combine that with a hard-cash culture and Texas-specific proof of buried household money, and you get a simple truth:

There are still caches in Texas soil—especially where danger came fast and families had reasons to hide first and count later.

P.S.  Here is just a sampling of deaths from 1840’s to 1900, mainly from Indian Depredations, AND represent some prime research work for chasing one or two caches of treasure:


countydatefatalitiescategoryincident_notedate_original
Victoria1840-08-0715Indian raidGreat Raid of 1840 – killings in/near Victoria; Texas Beyond History.1840-08-07
Calhoun1840-08-085Indian raidLinnville Raid – 3 whites & 2 Blacks killed; Texas Beyond History.1840-08-08
Young1864-10-1312Indian raidElm Creek Raid; TSHA.1864-10-13
Young1871-05-187Indian raidWarren Wagon Train / Salt Creek Massacre; TSHA.1871-05-18
Young1867-07-153Indian raidMid-July 1867 raid – three young men killed; Adjutant-General of Texas, 1884.1867-07-15
Parker1867-07-102Indian raidBriscoe couple killed; children carried off; Adjutant-General of Texas, 1884.1867-07-10
Hamilton1867-07-192Indian raidHamilton killings noted in Exhibit 1 narrative; Adjutant-General of Texas, 1884.1867-07-19
Palo Pinto1870-11-183Indian raidThree settlers killed; UTA ‘Texas in Turmoil’.1870-11-18
Jack1871-01-203Indian raidTurtle Hole killings (Britton Johnson & 2 others); TSHA.1871-01-20
Kinney1866-06-015Indian raidKickapoo depredations; Adjutant-General of Texas, 1884.1866-06-01
Maverick1866-06-013Indian raidKickapoo depredations; Adjutant-General of Texas, 1884.1866-06-01
Webb1866-06-014Indian raidKickapoo depredations; Adjutant-General of Texas, 1884.1866-06-01
Lampasas1873-03-194FeudGunfight at Jerry Scott’s Saloon – 4 state policemen killed (Horrell gang); HMDB/plaques.1873-03-19
Lampasas1877-01-221FeudPink Higgins kills Merritt Horrell in Gem Saloon; TSHA/HMDB.1877-01-22
Lampasas1877-06-073FeudTown square shootout kills Frank Mitchell (Higgins side), plus Buck Waltrup & Carson Graham (Horrell side); summary per secondary accounts.1877-06-07
Mason1875-02-183FeudMason courthouse mob kills 3 prisoners; Mason County War; TSHA/HistoryNet summaries.1875-02-18
Mason1875-08-192FeudKillings of John Wohrle & Carl Bader during Hoodoo War; HistoryNet.1875-08-19
Fort Bend1889-08-167Feud/politicalJaybird–Woodpecker War, ‘Battle of Richmond’ and related killings; Wikipedia/BlackPast (7–8 reported).1889-08-16
DeWitt1875-12-273FeudJim Taylor and 2 companions killed by posse at Clinton; TSHA.1875-12-27
Calhoun1874-03-112FeudWilliam Sutton & Gabriel Slaughter killed at Indianola; Wikipedia/secondary accounts.1874-03-11
Wilson1873-05-171FeudJack Helm killed at Albuquerque, Wilson Co.; TSHA/Wikipedia.1873-05-17
Williamson1878-07-192RobberyRound Rock shootout: Deputy A.W. ‘Caige’ Grimes and Seaborn Barnes killed; ODMP/City of Round Rock/TSHA day-by-day.1878-07-19
Williamson1878-07-211Robbery/banditrySam Bass dies of wounds from Round Rock affair; TSHA day-by-day.1878-07-21
Wichita1896-02-251Bank robberyCity National Bank, Wichita Falls – cashier Frank Dorsey killed; county historical commission.1896-02-25
El Paso1893-06-301Bandit conflictTexas Ranger Capt. Frank Jones killed near San Elizario/Tres Jacales; ODMP/THC Atlas.1893-06-30
Comanche1874-05-261Outlaw killingDeputy Charles Webb (Brown Co.) killed by John Wesley Hardin in Comanche; TSHA/HMDB.1874-05-26
Brown1883-10-012Fence-cutting violenceRanger ambush of fence cutters near Brownwood – two killed; UNT Press book/RefusingToForget summary.1883-10-01
Coleman1871-06-012Indian raidColeman Co.: Indians killed Williams and Lemons. (Adjutant-General 1884, narrative after Exhibit 2)
Coleman1873-07-073Indian raidColeman/Brown line: Mrs. Williams and two children killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1866-08-011Indian raidMenard Co.: Wm. McDougal killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1866-09-011Indian raidMenard Co.: F. Conway killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1867-06-012Indian raidMenard Co.: B. Smith and Ruff killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1868-12-011Indian raidMenard Co.: ‘Antonio’ killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1870-12-011Indian raidMenard Co.: Samuel Harris killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1871-01-121Indian raidMenard Co.: Tallus Smith killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1871-03-201Indian raidMenard Co.: George Gentry killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1871-06-012Indian raidMenard Co.: Two herdsmen killed during theft of Perry herd. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1872-05-013Indian raidMenard Co.: James Scull, Mr. Bradbury, and ‘Neighbors’ killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Menard1874-08-011Indian raidMenard Co.: Shelton killed at Gooch’s ranch. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Kimble1875-06-152Indian raidKimble Co.: Man and boy killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Kimble1875-07-151Indian raidKimble Co.: Woman killed a month later. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Kerr1873-02-013Indian raidKerr Co.: Terry and two children killed near Centre Point. (Adjutant-General 1884)
San Saba1873-08-031Indian raidSan Saba Co.: Newton Phillips killed on Cherokee Creek. (Adjutant-General 1884)
San Saba1873-04-011Indian raidSan Saba Co.: W. R. Gregg killed at Rough Creek. (Adjutant-General 1884)
San Saba1873-12-011Indian raidSan Saba Co.: R. Spiller killed at Deep Creek. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Hamilton1866-04-152Indian raidHamilton Co.: Two Black residents killed (spring 1866). (Adjutant-General 1884)
Hamilton1866-12-251Indian raidHamilton Co.: Wm. Willis killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Hamilton1867-06-153Indian raidHamilton Co.: Miss Whitney, a moving man, and Geo. Fuynce killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Bandera1873-01-276Indian raidBandera Co.: Joseph Moore & wife; Philip Gertin; Bernstein; E. Flores; Fel. Montez killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Wichita1873-10-141Indian raidWichita Co.: Preston Allison killed on Big Wichita. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Kendall1860-07-161Indian raidKendall Co.: Henry Meier killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Kendall1866-11-241Indian raidKendall Co.: Theo. Gothardt killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
McMullen1870-01-013Indian raidMcMullen Co.: Since 1866 to 1870, 3 persons killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Burnet1869-02-151Indian raidBurnet Co.: Emma Jones killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Burnet1869-11-171Indian raidBurnet Co.: F. M. Smith killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Burnet1870-08-011Indian raidBurnet Co.: Captain Habey killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Burnet1871-02-082Indian raidBurnet Co.: Two Black girls killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Zavalla1873-09-011Indian raidZavalla Co.: Ben Pullim killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Live Oak1876-09-263Indian raidLive Oak Co.: Thomas Stringfield and wife killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Denton1867-01-011Indian raidDenton Co.: James Box killed; wife and four children carried off earlier. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Denton1868-01-058Indian raidDenton Co.: Jan 5, 1868 killings incl. Leatherwood, Long, Fitzpatrick, his wife & child, Parkhill, Menascoe & child. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Denton1868-08-159Indian raidDenton Co.: Aug–Sep 1868 widow woman & five children; S. Fortenbury; Sol Forrister; Coonis killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Clay1873-06-011Indian raidClay Co.: One man killed on Montague line. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Parker1873-08-091Indian raidParker Co.: J. M. Hemphill killed. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Bexar1871-03-012Indian raidBexar Co.: A lady killed ~15 miles from San Antonio; a Mexican killed ~17 miles out. (Adjutant-General 1884)
Jack1873-10-012Indian raidJack Co.: H. Walker and his son killed on Salt Fork of Keechi (Adjutant-General 1884).
Jack1873-11-011Indian raidJack Co.: Harris killed on Main Fork of Keechi (Adjutant-General 1884).
Jack1874-07-101Indian raidJack Co.: Jno. H. Heath killed; 200 stock stolen (Adjutant-General 1884).
El Paso1871-03-011Indian raidEl Paso Co.: J. E. Ford killed (Adjutant-General 1884).
McCulloch1873-04-291Indian raidMcCulloch Co.: Bill Goodman killed on Brady Creek (Adjutant-General 1884).
McCulloch1873-03-172Indian raidMcCulloch Co.: Wm. Denham and his son-in-law Cusick killed; 4 horses stolen (Adjutant-General 1884).
Gillespie1870-08-191Indian raidGillespie Co.: Louis Spardt killed (Adjutant-General 1884).
Gillespie1871-02-271Indian raidGillespie Co.: John McComit killed; Ed. McComit wounded (Adjutant-General 1884).
Erath1872-08-261Indian raidErath Co.: One citizen killed by Indians (Adjutant-General 1884).
Wise1866-09-011Indian raidIsabel Babb killed; others carried off. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Wise1866-11-011Indian raidJohn Bailey killed. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Wise1868-01-019Indian raidMary Russell, Martha Russell, Hawig Russell, boy Russell, Buck Green, William Bailey, Johnson Miller, Frank Cornes, Mrs. Vick killed. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Wise1870-07-121Indian raidH. A. Dawson killed. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Wise1871-02-011Indian raidStephen Hampton killed. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Palo Pinto1873-10-011Indian raidCitizen ‘Veal’ killed (fall 1873). (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Stephens1874-07-011Indian raidMarion Stockdale killed at Browning’s ranch, Clear Fork Brazos. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.39)
Young1875-02-191Indian raidHarmon killed; 75 horses stolen. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.36)
Gillespie1874-02-011Indian raidMr. Hazlewood killed on Spring Creek. (Adjutant-General 1884, p.38)