It's one thing for a legend to claim a treasure is buried somewhere. However, I've found one place in Illinois where legend says 2 different treasures reside and they're both near the banks of the Mississippi River.

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I found stories of these tales of buried loot in Illinois on the Treasure Seeker website. Of the 11 lost treasures they document, I noticed that 2 are in more or less the same place - Randolph County near Chester, Illinois. Yes, that's also the town known as Popeye's hometown. Chester was also one of the towns Mark Twain mentioned in Life on the Mississippi where he stayed during his steamboat years.

But, what about the treasures buried near Chester, Illinois?

There are the legends that say treasure is buried near Chester, Illinois. Here they are in chronological order:

1. An officer with the George Rogers Clark expedition of 1778 is said to have buried over $3,500 in silver coins on the banks of the Mississippi River near Chester, Illinois. In 2022 value, that would easily be worth over $100,000.

2. In 1809, a stagecoach was robbed of $44,000 in gold coins near Chester, Illinois. That would be worth likely millions in 2022.

The reason I put more credence to these legends than the typical tall tale is these are both actual historical events. The George Rogers Clark expedition really did happen in that part of Illinois in 1778 and a stagecoach really was robbed in 1809 of $44,000 in gold coins. The only question is where are these treasures now? To date, neither has been located.

It might be worth a road trip to Randolph County, Illinois with a metal detector to do some investigating. The fact that there are at least 2 historical treasures said to be buried there doubles your chances at the find of a lifetime.

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