$30,000.00 Gold Payroll in DELAWARE WATER GAP

Kut2TheChase said:
Sure, I am out the door to my day job now, but I'll get back to you later.
We need a date on this story.
Have a good one

Kutthecheese....
Click to expand...
Try this...

The 1903 Vagabond Hurricane, as dubbed by the The Press of Atlantic City, is the most recent Atlantic hurricane to strike the state of New Jersey.[1] The fourth hurricane of the season, the cyclone was first observed on September 12 about 550 miles (885 km) northeast of Antigua. It moved quickly westward, then later turned to the north-northwest, steadily strengthening to reach a peak intensity of 100 mph (155 km/h). The hurricane weakened slightly before striking near Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 16 with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). It weakened over Pennsylvania and became an extratropical cyclone over western New York on September 17.

My question is: What kind of railroad work camp needs $30,000 in gold for the payroll? That's either alot of guys or alot of overtime.

DCMatt
 

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Good question, also, wasn't gold not used or prohibited in 1900?
That would make the hurricane at an earlier date.
 

Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 in 1933 and the Gold Reserve Act in 1934, which outlawed the circulation and private possession of United States gold coins for general circulation.

Warren county, New Jersey: 1. Ghost Town: Millbrook 6 miles due N Blairstown. 2. GT Pahaquarry on the Delaware River, 7 ½ miles W Blairstown. 3. According to the records of the Pennsylvania RR dating back to 1915, a strongbox containing $30,000 in gold payroll was lost at the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River after a flood caused a washout of the tracks. The treasure was never recovered. 4. GT Mount Hermon 5 miles due E Columbia. 5. GT Petersburg 2 miles NW Hackettstown. 6. GT Rockport 3 miles SW Hackettstown.

From wikipedia - August 4, 1915: A tropical depression crossed the northern portion of the state (New Jersey), though damage totals are unknown.
 

I called the Delaware National Recreation Center anonymously and asked about metal detecting in the area.
The lady gave me a firm, "no". Due to our historical heritage that needs to be preserved.
I think that is such a crock.
So any looking will have to be done by eye or some other means, maybe dowsing, though I don't really believe in that kinda thing.
My excalibur sure gives off a nice BUZZZ! when it gets a target, sheesh, whats a TH to do?
 

Wow!, thanks for the info. Now to try and get some names of the paymasters, records of the railroad, locate the construction site, etc...
Got work to do
 

kut2thechase,i am sorry about the miss spelling of your name it was very early in the morning for me when i posted it,we are getting some good info on this!!! this weekend i am having a sit down with a local historian and i am going to pick his brain on many subjects including this one and tomorrow morn im off to fort depue- shawnee on the delaware so i hope to have some luck there the fort is at least 200 years old and i do believe it to be the only one left intact in monroe county,so yes get back to me and lets see if we can solve this!!!
 

i should call the park service and ask the why is it that we cant hunt because they are saving our heritage then why were they going to flood the whole valley with the tocks island dam ,and have our heritage under the dam water just a bunch of bulls#@$ if they are so worried about it then they should go get it..the government forced all of those people out of there, torn down all properties for a dam that will never be built,
 

Im thinking of other methods to search, like magnometer along the river bed...
 

Sent an email to the NJ DEP stating I would like a permit to MD NJ state parks, specifically the NJ side of the Delaware water gap. That was last week, have not heard from anyone yet.
 

Hi, Y'all -

Couldn't help but take a look at this old topic. I wrote a book called "Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955." It was published in October 2005 and is the only documentary of this event, still the record-setting flood on the river. It contains a LOT of info about historic floods on the Delaware, so it may be of some use in your hunt, if you're still looking for the strongbox. You can get it online at http://www.55flood.com.

I researched this topic for three years and found a lot of info sources during that time. Thought I'd share with you that the Monroe County Historical Society in E. Stroudsburg and also their public library there have awesome map collections with LOTS of old historic maps, which I used in my research. The local collection in the library is especially good, and I believe I remember some good stuff as well at the ESU library, too. They've definitely got an excellent microfiche collection of the old newspapers of the day. And if you contact the Barrett County Historical Society, there are a few old timers there who are just bonkers about railroad history and could probably tell you exactly where they think that box was buried. They meet at the old Cresco train depot building.

Here's a site from the Del. Water Gap Rec Area itself, where they share lots of RR info: http://www.nps.gov/dewa/parknews/back-issues-2003.htm

Two other possibilities for info on this are the Canal and Railroad Museum in Easton (just one floor above the Crayola Factory in the same building on the square) -- TONS of RR history and photos there. And there's a good network of website devoted to the whole PA/NJ RR, track systems that got washed out in '55, including the whole Nay Aug tunnel, etc. I know there's a Garden State Central Club (don't be put off at name differences -- the '55 flood was the beginning of the end for many of the lines -- especially the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western -- and they later merged), and here's one I used myself: http://hurricane.shohola.org/

I have to say, I don't remember reading about any major flood on the river between 1903 and 1942. The latter isn't a famous flood because it happened during WWII when the US didn't publicize any even that may have indicated to enemy powers that we were at all vulnerable. And then the next one after that was 1955.

For what it's worth, my first book was about the first century of statehood in Wisconsin, which has a long history of logging and trapping. I spoke with a number of historians who told me that people think stuff that goes into a river always gets washed away in flood, but surprisingly, that's mostly only true of stuff that floats. Things that are heavy tend to go rapidly to the bottom and to stay there, often within inches of where they first hit bottom. This is especially true of rivers with rocky bottoms, and especially in areas with rapids and riffles, because the flow of water around these rocks tends to drive stuff already at the bottom even further into the mud, or jams it up between other rocks.

Consequently, if you're brave and have a high tolerance for cold and a really good wetsuit, you can, to this day, still dive most of the rivers in Wisconsin and find items from the fur trade (circa 1700s right through about 1830-50, depending where you are). Most of these things lie among the rocks in higher-class rapids or directly below them, where canoes most often overturned. They're still bringing up old long rifles, strongboxes (with the wood still intact where the water stays cold), chains, traps, fire steels, trade beads, you name it.

I bring this up because A) I don't think there was a big enough flood between 1903 and 1955 to have washed that strongbox away, and B) even if the '55 flood DID chew it out of a bank, it wouldn't have gone that far before heading to the bottom. And I doubt it would have opened up unless something massive banged into it with a very sharp blow. And since everything else would have been moving along in the current with it, I don't think that's a likely scenario.

Oh, and BTW: I gave a talk just this past summer up at the Dingman's Ferry landing on this very subject, and the group arrived late. So, being a newb and having no idea I was doing anything wrong, I took out my Garrett Ace 100 and swung it around on a campsite while I waited. No one said anything to me, and I saw a ranger car, a park workman and the host ranger, and not one person said boo to me about it. I didn't realize until I was just reading here that I did a no-no. But just to say how I don't think anyone would say anything to you if you were to just nose around a bit... (and BTW, I only found pulltabs and a ball of foil - LOL. At least I had the common sense to fill my holes).

Good luck!

Mary in Bucks County
 

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I like how the national park system claims about preserving the history, as an indian artifact collector at one time, I know whats in those fields being smashed by the farming machinery, bunch of bull if you ask me. >:(
 

thanks for the new info,I do have one correction that is small, monroe county historical society is in stroudsburg and so is the library..ESU is in east stroudsburg just want everyone to go to the right place.. as the story goes from what I have found out was the box was carried up the banks above the tracks along the river and hidden,for 3 days the R.R. company paid many to search for the box with no results how true this story is,your guess is as good as mine,I can not find a date to confirm that this did happen or any papers or news print my though on this is if it did happen is why where there only 2 people on the train with a box with that kind of value and since one of them died walking in to the company camp what happened to the other guy???? 30,000 in gold coins has to weigh alot let alone what a copper box must weigh + how far could 2 guys possible carry it especially up hill!!! I have walked alot along the river on both sides, so many loose rocks very hard to keep your balance with out carrying anything...mike
 

Noone in their right mind is going to say they found it anyway---so you never know where it is.
 

This story has got to be one of the most peculiar I have ever heard of.
First of all the man seems to be in perfect health one minute then
he paddles up stream 100 yards with the gold and all of a sudden
becomes deathly ill and dies?
Don't you wonder what could have possibly happened to him?
 

Didnt the assistant paymaster go alone with the box of gold? If he only paddled up the river a hundred yards, why not go back and let the other guy try it? He didnt feel well enough to paddle, but was well enough to haul the box up the steep bank. Seems that if he did hid the box, he would have just hid it near the bank, and covered it with rocks or brush, since it was only a temporary hidding place.
Not saying something happend here, but maybe the facts are not quite accurate, including the amount of gold.
 

I didn't read the previous article, it seems the man had a pre existing heart problem and carrying the 100lbs of gold was too much for him. I agree with you he couldn't have carried it far and more than likely a shallow hide. I think he was actually traveling downstream since he was coming from NJ and the tracks are on the PA side. It is believed that the cliff he referring to is a rocky grade with trees, but an account has him coming up the bank then crossing the tracks and then hiding it nearby.
 

That is just it. It sounds fishy.
So he probably was murdered and/or he and his partner were trying to steal the gold.

Would be interesting if you could find their trail on land and see if any loose coins were dropped--to heck with the chest.
Everyone and their Uncle would have been looking for that thing.
 

It is kind of a strange story. First off I think the canoe could have easily handled
two people and 100lbs of gold.
There seem to be a lot of conflicting information in this story too about where he was and where he
was going? He said that he was 'paddling upstream' so that seems to locate the train on the south
side of the Gap on the PA side heading North.
I'm assuming the camp is somewhere near the Gap? The story says the tracks were washed out
and that he only had a few miles more to go?
If he was at the lower end of the gap, a few miles puts him just before the bridge.
Then he says that he beached the canoe on the right hand bank of the river, which is the NJ side right?
But the story initially says the left bank? Which is it?
It seems as though he couldn't reach his intended point of two miles due to his feeling faint so he
beached the canoe somewhere before the bridge.
The Delaware River is calm in some areas but I'm not sure what the current is like near the Gap?
Being that there was a storm there probably was some higher than usual currents?
Perhaps he made it to a point around the bend where he could just see the bridge a mile away then
decided to beach the canoe?
I don't know what a PA RR construction crew would be doing on the NJ side of the River? So I am
assuming the PA side where the RR tracks are is where he hid the gold.
He probably followed the tracks to the camp?
 

Lots of conflicting facts, but still could be partly true. Whatever happened to the payroll shortfall, must be some records in the RR archives.

Trouble is, many of these Stories of lost or stolen payroll just end there, as if no one even cared that the money was missing, just go and get some more! I really doubt that $30,000 was small change in those days, or even today, so there should have been a lot of write ups about it.
 

$30K in gold is sure not pocket change in 1915.
I really feel sorry for this guy, he was the assistant paymaster
and I see him doing everything on his own? He seemed like
a real good employee in going above and beyond the call of duty,
and his fate could have been prevented if his boss had an inkling of responsibility
in charge of the money and over the welfare of his asst.

Anyway, the guy is exhausted and faint already and then he has to haul
the money and hide it somewhere. Someone here mentioned that the story
goes that he hauled it over the other side of the tracks and buried it.
The only landmark unfortunately is a cliff, but I think he was smart enough
to bury it near a tree or big rock possibly?
 

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