Legend Says the French Hid a Billion Dollar Treasure in Missouri

Claims of hidden treasure in Missouri are a dime a dozen (no money pun intended) so when I see a story about a supposed amount of loot hidden for centuries, I tend to roll my eyes. However, in this case there are multitudes of researchers that claim the French really did hide a treasure now worth a billion dollars in Missouri. Get your shovel out.

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The list of sites I've seen claiming there's a French treasure in Missouri are legion. Treasure.net, Only In Your State and even a Johnson County, Missouri class reunion page are just a few.

In the case of a supposed buried French treasure, there are some historical facts we can begin with. There really was a story published by a Helena, Montana newspaper on August 14, 1891 that documented $60,000 buried by the French in Missouri in 1783. By the way, Official Data says that $60,000 in 1783 now equals more than $1.7 billion dollars. Now you have my undivided attention, treasure seekers.

Let's dig deeper. The real Montana newspaper story mentions a farm south of Warrensburg, Missouri owned by "T.N. Williams". The maps shared show his farm was located about 5 miles south of the city. There is a problem though. If you read the entire story, you'll see that the farmer himself lost a fortune digging for the gold on his own farm. Two takeaways. #1 - in 1891, he really believed there was a French treasure buried there. #2 - He didn't find it.

There's another issue with searching that area for French treasure now. Treasure.net mentions that what used to be the farm is now part of a state park where no digging is allowed.

I'll add another wrinkle to this. Many believe that the US government purposely buys up land where treasure is believed to be. NPR shared an interesting story about how this allegedly happened involving lost Civil War gold, so there is precedent.

Is there really a fortune in French gold in Missouri and is it possible the government knows about it (and is hiding it)? Perhaps there is someone (or more than one someone) who knows the answer to this centuries-old Missouri/French question.