In the quiet town of Washburn, Maine, a mystery has lingered for over a century — a tale of buried treasure, eerie occurrences, and a man who vanished into the wilderness with a fortune that remains lost to this day. The story begins in the early 1800s, during a time when Aroostook County was still a rugged, untamed frontier.
Mathias Black was a peculiar man who made his fortune trading timber and salted salmon in New Brunswick, Canada. By 1838, Black had accumulated over $20,000 in gold, but as competition increased in the area, he decided to leave everything behind. Drawn to the wild beauty of northern Maine, Black traveled along the Aroostook River, enjoying the solitude of nature. He camped along its shores, fishing and living simply, until he came across a place that would become his home — a peaceful spot near Salmon Brook.
After settling in and clearing land, Black built a log cabin, but as the war with Great Britain loomed, he became disillusioned with the world. The Aroostook War, a border dispute between the U.S. and Canada, brought unwanted conflict to the otherwise serene wilderness. The state troops, in their haste to escape the advancing British forces, pillaged Black’s carefully stored hay and oats, causing him great distress.
With the war’s end in sight, Black, ever the solitary wanderer, prepared to leave for Canada. But when he passed through the town one last time, those who saw him noticed something strange — his leather saddle bags, once heavy with gold, were now gone. Mathias Black never returned to retrieve his fortune, and the $20,000 in gold coins was believed to be buried somewhere on his property.
Black’s disappearance and the lost treasure gave birth to a mystery that would haunt the town of Washburn for generations. Over the years, many attempted to find the buried gold, but all efforts were met with failure, often accompanied by strange, unsettling occurrences.
The tale of Black’s treasure became part of local folklore, with many claiming that the land was protected by “spooks” or supernatural forces. According to one of the earliest stories, a man named Bob Milikin tried to dig up the treasure in the dead of night. As he unearthed the soil, he was struck by a mysterious force. The air grew thick with sulfur, and Milikin’s face turned black as pitch. Terrified, he fled and never attempted to return.
Another man, a farmer from Salmon Brook, shared a chilling account in 1865. He recalled crossing the river and feeling a growing sense of unease as he approached the site. The moment he began to dig, a handful of stones struck him in the head, and he saw a mist form before him, with large spectral hands holding a rock. Terrified, he fled, convinced that no treasure was worth facing whatever forces guarded the spot.
Despite these eerie experiences, the town’s residents couldn’t resist the allure of the lost gold. Over the years, men would return, often in the dead of night, hoping to uncover the treasure. One such man, a local cartwright, found himself drawn to the site after hearing the legend in a dream. Armed with a crowbar and shovel, he set out with two Frenchmen to lift the rock believed to be covering the treasure. As they dug, the weather turned ominous, with the wind dying to an unnatural stillness. When the men attempted to move the rock, the ropes they used burned with an eerie, red-hot glow, and the ground seemed to collapse beneath them. Frightened, they abandoned the attempt, and the site was left undisturbed once more.
After several failed attempts, the town began to regard Black’s treasure as more of a curse than a blessing. Stories of strange happenings and ghostly apparitions grew, with some claiming the area was haunted by the spirits of those who had attempted to claim the gold.
The mystery of Washburn’s lost treasure remains unsolved, and the town continues to be haunted by the tale of Mathias Black. Despite numerous efforts, no one has ever succeeded in uncovering the gold, and it seems that the treasure is forever protected by forces beyond human understanding. To this day, the tale of Black’s lost fortune serves as a reminder that some mysteries may never be solved.