Texas Lost Mines

Texas is one of the top states for stories about lost mines and buried treasures. The intent of this site is to cover as many lost mine stories as possible that relate to Texas or to the surrounding area. This site is not for tall tales but is meant to promote the serious study of such stories.

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The colonial Era Spaniards did prospect for silver and gold and did at least some silver mining, and maybe mined copper and lead as well. What they did or did not find tied into the expansion, or lack thereof, into Texas. The impact of that even today is profound. Even when searches for mines and treasure were unsuccessful in the Mexican or Anglo eras, the hunts themselves were historical events. Often events involving interesting characters. People like Jim Bowie. Treasure hunts are rich diggings for the folklorist as well, where some people played out the reality they wish existed, or stories developed that reflected the hopes and dreams of the commoner. It is no accident that the folklorist J. Frank Dobie wrote extensively on lost mine legends in classics like the 1930 classic Coronado's Children.

Authors contributing articles to this site all have books available, for ordering information click here

• Spider Rock Treasure
• San Saba Treasure / Lost Jim Bowie Mine
• Los Almagres Lost Mine
• The Rock Pens Treasure of McMullen County
• Ben Sublett Treasure
• Dry Pond Treasure

• Does Billy the Kid Deserve a Pardon?

Recent Articles and Updates

• The rock walls at Packsaddle Mountain are not tall enough to fence anything in, what were they for? Could they be markers for Spanish era claims?
• What may have caused a wealthy San Antonio attorney to spend his last decade in a tin shack looking for the San Saba treasure?
• Mysteries of the 1831 Jim Bowie expedition to find the lost mine.
• Old Man Mullins - San Saba Treasure Hunter
• The Edward's County Gold Rush of 1886 and 1887.
• The redisovery of the Mission San Saba and what historians should learn from that redisovery.
• Was the Ben Sublett gold natural? An early account.
• Review of Ray Carter's Texas Gold Rushes - Has new insight on Los Almagres.
• The Rock Pens Treasure of McMullen County
• Artifacts from Bowie's 1831 search for the mine?
• Jim Bowie's 1831 Route to search for the San Saba Mine
• Overview of the San Saba legend
• An article on the three spider rocks

• Resources for researchers -- maps, historical documents, smelting, mining, etc.
• Books -- how to find the books written by the authors contributing to this site.

To submit an article to this web site, and for all other correspondence, send a note to texas_treasure_llc@pm.me