Massive diamond buried in Jackson County, Florida?

A dream of buried treasure!

by Dale Cox

Site of the treasure dig.

Jackson County is the only Florida county to touch two other states. Perhaps its location - where Florida borders both Alabama and Georgia - makes it a focal point for legends. Whatever the reason the county has more than its share of buried treasure stories.

The tale of the Money Pond is perhaps the most famous. Legend holds that Native American warriors dumped a fabulous treasure of gold and silver into a swamp in the northeastern part of the county to save it from Andrew Jackson's soldiers. Other alleged treasures include one near Little Zion Road north of Sneads and a rumored cache of Confederate gold.

One of the strangest stories, however, emerged from a dream:

Your correspondent has been favored with the facts of a most wonderful dream. The dreamer, Mr. Hardy Lewis of Decatur county, Ga., has for the past seven years dreamed of finding gold and a large diamond buried on the bank of the Chattahoochee river. - Letter dated "Neal's Landing, Fla., May 3," Columbus Enquirer, May 6, 1881.

Chattahoochee River at Neals Landing, Florida.

Mr. Lewis was described as a "highly respected citizen of Decatur county" and regularly told neighbors about his repetitive dream. They still must have been surprised, however, when he announced that his dreams had finally revealed the date on which he would find the treasure: May 5, 1881.

The man was absolutely convinced that his dreams were directing him to the fortune of a lifetime. He prepared supplies, tools, and helpers for a dig and headed for the banks of the Chattahoochee River on May 1, 1881:

...Being so much impressed by such an innocent dream he resolved to go to the spot and try the virtue of his visionary wondering. He came to the river opposite Neal's landing and recognized instantly the place where his treasure was buried, although this was his first visit. He has been digging two days, but states he will not find the object of his search until May 5th. - Ibid.

Lewis's dream was particular as to the value of the treasure. It consisted, he said, of a diamond "valued at $24,000" as well as a large quantity of gold. Taking inflation into account, a diamond worth $24,000 in 1881 would be worth $603,696.47 today.

Fine quality rough or uncut diamonds are difficult to price but currently sell for around $2,600 per carat. Assuming the diamond is of fine quality - and surely a dream diamond would be - then it would weigh 232 carats.

Another view of the Chattahoochee River at Neal's Landing.
The fallen tree was toppled by Hurricane Michael.

The dig took place in the riverbank between Neal's Landing and the mouth of Irwin's Mill Creek on the Jackson County side of the Chattahoochee River. The work was followed with great interest by residents of the area:

...At the time of this writing the digging is still going on, Mr. Lewis is an old and highly respected citizen of Decatur county, and the result of his excavation is awaited, by a large number, with much anxiety. - Ibid.

May 5 came and went, however, with no trace of the diamond or its accompanying gold. The search ended in failure, and all that survives as a reminder that it ever happened is a shallow depression in the riverbank.

In this era, when dreams no longer hold the significance that they did in the late 1800s, it is easy to smile and disregard the treasure hunt as foolishness. Doing so might be foolish as well.

The interpretive sign at Neals Landing survived Hurricane
Michael, while trees all around it were toppled.

The very spot selected by Lewis for his dig is within feet of the point where the paddlewheel steamboat Eagle caught fire and ran aground in 1854. The boat was carrying a season's worth of cotton money from Columbus, Georgia, down to Apalachicola, Florida, so it could be sent by ocean-going vessel to banks in New York. 

The value of the gold shipment in modern terms? $3,048,714.29.

Some of the money was recovered shortly after the wreck of the Eagle, but much of it remains buried beneath a 165-year accumulation of mud and silt. There is no mention of a lost diamond in the available accounts of the steamboat Eagle disaster but aboard the steamer were some of the wealthiest residents from along the Chattahoochee River. The wreck most certainly could contain a lost diamond and other pieces of jewelry.

Before you grab a shovel and head out, however, keep in mind that the site is now the property of the people of the United States. Digging is a federal offense that could send you to a U.S. penitentiary for years to come.

Please click here to read more about the wreck of the steamboat Eagle.