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Open Legend · Unsolved

Cave-in-Rock River Pirate Loot

Legend since 1790s, Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, IL
COLD TRAIL
Evidence status: Historical tradition. no documented source (historical tradition); legal status unknown (manual verification recommended). This account is presented as historical tradition, not verified fact. Manual verification recommended. Repository evidence: 0 sources · 0 timeline events · 0 media items · legal unknown · view on the Map Evidence on file: historical tradition

Cave-in-Rock River Pirate Loot: still unexplained.

Gold coins & silver bars

The subject
developing the photograph…
The manifest
Gold coins & silver bars
The account

From the 1790s this Ohio River bluff was the lair of river pirates and the murderous Harpe brothers, who hid stolen gold near the cave.

Leads, where the trail points now
  • Pin down the most specific last-known position in the record before going; the legend centers on Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, IL.
  • What you are chasing is Gold coins & silver bars. Work the documented record of Cave-in-Rock River Pirate Loot back to primary sources and separate what is attested from folklore before you commit time or money.
  • Confirm who owns and governs Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, IL and get written permission before any search; treat protected or archaeological ground as off limits.
What the record holds

What remains open

  • No period map of the site has surfaced.
  • No contemporary press coverage has been found.
What we know, and what we don't
Established

No documentary claim is yet established. The account rests on tradition.

Still open
  • No period map of the site has surfaced.
  • No contemporary press coverage has been found.
The evidence room

No documentary or visual exhibits have been located yet. The trail below and the open leads are where this dossier grows next — every exhibit that enters here carries a source.

Where the trail points now
  • Pin down the most specific last-known position in the record before going; the legend centers on Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, IL.
  • What you are chasing is Gold coins & silver bars. Work the documented record of Cave-in-Rock River Pirate Loot back to primary sources and separate what is attested from folklore before you commit time or money.
  • Confirm who owns and governs Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, IL and get written permission before any search; treat protected or archaeological ground as off limits.
  • Search Library of Congress + DPLA (IIIF) for period cartography of the site.
  • Run Chronicling America for dated newspaper mentions.
  • Query NARA for archival records tied to the site.

Have a source, a map, or a clipping? Add a lead and it enters the record with its citation.

Start the hunt here
The first leads, so no one walks in cold.
Sources and the record
Related case files

The full hunt kit

Starting brief, what's known and disputed, evidence timeline, source list, map card, coordinate-confidence and legal-access summaries, and a field checklist, free with a Fellowship account.

Latest Word From the Newswire

Context, not proof. The dossier's own sources remain the evidence record.

Checking the wire…

Chart position 37.471°, -88.159° (approx.) View on the Map