I've moved from Georgia to the Carson City area & drive by the prison mentioned in that article pretty often so when I saw this thread I thought I'd get some photos for you
It's really very smoky here as we are downwind from the fires in California, you may note that by the haze in the photos although I brightened them.
I stopped by the prison and asked if I could take some photos of the old part but they said I would have to ask the wardens office. I did get a picture of the marker out front though. Westernhunter doesn't need a tazin' for taking pictures where he ought not. I trust you understand.....
The old prison (it's been added to) sits on the western side of a small hill at the northwestern end of Prison hill and looking from the cells only a couple of areas of the hill proper are visible from the prison.
To be fair, I do not know where the fellows cell was but I have indicated a field of vision as well as the points visible from the prison.
I hear the guards go poking around on the hill in the hopes of a lucky find so I imagine they know where his cell was. 8)
Thanks again Jeff. I am finding gold at this location. I have to much on my plate but will do a quick check the next time I go by. It is at least 2 feet deep so take the right equipment….Art
I read in the local newspaper that this site was a scam. I went by there today. Coming from Highway 50 I got a strong signal just passed the Roundy bout. I don’t know for sure but this could have been from all the gold at the Nugget. At the other end of the prison my wife got a signal on the left side of the road. Good luck guy’s as I stay as far away from people as I can..Art
debunked: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080413/OPINION/151845604/
From the article: "Why then have no newspaper accounts documenting a robbery of this magnitude ever been found? Dr. Robert J. Chandler, Wells Fargo historian in San Francisco, told me the story is preposterous. According to Dr. Chandler, "papers nationwide would have carried the story; historians would know the exact time the robbery occurred and all specifics."
In addition, there is no record of a Manuel Gonzales, or any Hispanic male, being tried for a stagecoach robbery in Ormsby County and serving time in the state prison. Editor Myron Angel's groundbreaking "History of Nevada" (1881) contains nothing on the crime. The biography of the famed Wells Fargo detective, James B. Hume, and Howard Hickson's history of the Carson City mint are also mute on the subject.
The bogus tale will live on, of course; it is already gaining new life on Internet web pages like www.LostTreasureUSA.com. Treasure hunters will continue to haunt archives, historical societies, museums, and special collections for leads to something that never happened. After all, a confidence man, convicted of forgery, wrote the story. Such is the gullibility of mankind and the power of the myth."
I work 2 miles from the area, and figured I'd look into it a little more. Don't want to waste time chasing a wild goose.