Nickajack Cave Outlaw Plunder

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Nickajack Cave Outlaw Plunder

Lost Treasure TN • Marion County County
Description
Tennessee River legend of outlaw caches in vast Nickajack Cave — once harbor for pirates, counterfeiters, and Civil War smugglers before TVA flooded the entrance in 1967.
Historical Notes
Nickajack Cave on the Tennessee River was a legendary outlaw den. Samuel Mason and the Harpe brothers reportedly used caves along the river for refuge and plunder storage in the late 1700s. Tennessee Magazine notes centuries of river piracy, saltpeter mining, and war-time smuggling centered on the cave system. Cherokee and Chickamauga history adds older layers of conflict. TVA's Nickajack Dam raised the lake in 1967, submerging the main entrance. Folklore holds that unrecovered loot remains in upper galleries or shoreline crevices.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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