Lost Opata Mine — Tumacacori

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Lost Opata Mine — Tumacacori

Lost Treasure AZ • Santa Cruz County County
Description
Legendary silver mine near Tumacacori Mission where Opata Indians sealed a princess and an entire room of silver after pagan rites in the 1700s. Missionaries walled the entrance; treasure allegedly remains.
Historical Notes
Tumacacori Mission (San José de Tumacácori), about 45 miles south of Tucson on I-19, was established by Spanish missionaries who put Opata and Papago workers in area silver mines after 1766. Legend: Opata used the silver storeroom for pagan ceremonies. When they kidnapped a Mayo Indian princess and sacrificed her on the silver pile, missionaries sealed the mine with her skeleton and all the silver inside. Spanish records place the Opata Mine between the Guadalupe and Purísima Concepción mines. Tumacácori is now Tumacácori National Historical Park. DesertUSA also documents separate Tumacacori lost-gold tales from an 1891 Spanish priest's map.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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