Shoal Creek Treasure — Austin

Multiple versions exist: (1) In 1836 a paymaster, general, and privates stole part of the Mexican payroll near Shoal Creek; conspirators murdered each other until one survivor fled to Mexico with a map showing gold five feet below an oak carved with two eagle wings. Values range from $80,000 to $3 million in retellings. (2) Confederate soldiers allegedly buried treasury funds near the creek during the Civil War. The Rising Star Record (May 12, 1927) reported workers dug a 40-foot tunnel along Shoal Creek banks for eight months, then vanished overnight — leaving traces of a large wooden box. The treasure was gone. Whether anything was ever there remains disputed.