Burying Their Stagecoach Thievery: Jesse and Frank James Hiding $32000 in Arkansas

Robbing many banks, stagecoaches, and trains are what Jesse and Frank James are well known for in the Wild West. The stories alone have allowed people to let their imaginations run wild and ruminate about possible buried treasure.

On January 15, 1874, the gang held up a stagecoach at the intersection of old Malvern Road and Gulpha creek south of Hot Springs, Arkansas. According to reports, the James gang made off with $32,000 in cash and jewelry from the passengers. That was worth $881,920 in today's money.

They buried the stolen goods and found a sandstone rock in which they carved their names and the amount of money that was to be buried. They also carved 3 figures of a cross, a bowie knife, and a 3-pronged fork. 

Frank said later that they never did return to find the stolen loot.

Jesse and Frank James.

For more about Jesse James, see Golden Legends: Tales of Buried Treasure: A Riveting Story of Jesse James and Buried Treasure in Ohio (goldlegendstalesofburiedtreasure.blogspot.com)