atomicbrh
Elite Member
The Dent's Run topic reminded me of Boler's Inn.
This is the local Civil War gold myth/hoax in the town where I grew up.
I walked by this Inn multiple times per day on the way to school, my grandparent's house and to local activities like youth baseball. Drove by it more than I walked. Lived within sight of it during Middle School. My Aunt married into the builder's family in 1957. The article does not specify that the treasure is Gold but the locals think it is Gold. Here is the gist of it:
Holding an important place in the history of Union, MS is the former stagecoach inn first owned by Neshoba/Newton County pioneer Wesley Boler. Mr. Boler hired his son-in-law, Norfleet Staton, to build a new two story house in 1856. The construction can be dated by a letter Norfleet Staton wrote to his father Ennis in North Carolina on August 10, 1856. A transcript of that letter was sent to me by the late Polly Staton Barrick, who was also in possession of the tools her g-grandfather used to build the house. Staton wrote, "I am bilding a house for my old father law 46 by 38, 2 story high. I think I will make 150 or 200 dollars by crismas father."
The Civil War came to Boler's Inn in the form of General Sherman, who quartered his men around the building. According to local legend, Sherman didn't burn the town of Union because of it's name. Little did Sherman know that Wesley Boler's sons and son-in-law were away fighting for the Confederacy. Boler's third son James was killed in the Siege of Vicksburg. Another long told local story indicates a wounded pay master spent the night in the inn. Before morning he died, having buried his payroll during the night. Treasure hunters have searched in vain for that long hidden payroll during the many years that have now passed.
Here are the myths:
1. At that time in the war Sherman and Grant never burned anything out of spite. They burned for two reasons. If it had significance to the Confederate War effort and they did not have enough troops to leave an army of occupation there to prevent it from being used for Confederate purposes. Thus, the city "Union" was not burned because of its name. Sherman could care less for a small insignificant town.
2. A Union paymaster died in the house and before he died, he hid gold in the house or buried it in the yard. Well, if he was on his deathbed and near death, how was he fit enough to physically hide or bury the gold and then immediately die. Also, Sherman had over 25,000 troops and many paymasters and assistant paymasters. There was not one paymaster for all the troops.
3. The Official Records of the Army of the Grand Republic are well documented and published. There are no records, letters or diaries from soldiers mentioning a paymaster died in the Inn. There are no documents detailing missing payroll which is a crime and would have been investigated even back then.
4. Both Confederate and Federal troops were paid in paper money. There is no documentation that any civil war soldier was ever paid in gold or silver. A Federal Army paymaster would never have gold or silver.
5. Sherman could care less if Boler's sons were in the Confederate army. Every house in the South that he came to had sons that were in the Confederate Army.
http://www.carolshouse.com/bolersinn/
https://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/is...erriding,5,000 attached cavalry and artillery.
What is your local gold myth?
This is the local Civil War gold myth/hoax in the town where I grew up.
I walked by this Inn multiple times per day on the way to school, my grandparent's house and to local activities like youth baseball. Drove by it more than I walked. Lived within sight of it during Middle School. My Aunt married into the builder's family in 1957. The article does not specify that the treasure is Gold but the locals think it is Gold. Here is the gist of it:
Holding an important place in the history of Union, MS is the former stagecoach inn first owned by Neshoba/Newton County pioneer Wesley Boler. Mr. Boler hired his son-in-law, Norfleet Staton, to build a new two story house in 1856. The construction can be dated by a letter Norfleet Staton wrote to his father Ennis in North Carolina on August 10, 1856. A transcript of that letter was sent to me by the late Polly Staton Barrick, who was also in possession of the tools her g-grandfather used to build the house. Staton wrote, "I am bilding a house for my old father law 46 by 38, 2 story high. I think I will make 150 or 200 dollars by crismas father."
The Civil War came to Boler's Inn in the form of General Sherman, who quartered his men around the building. According to local legend, Sherman didn't burn the town of Union because of it's name. Little did Sherman know that Wesley Boler's sons and son-in-law were away fighting for the Confederacy. Boler's third son James was killed in the Siege of Vicksburg. Another long told local story indicates a wounded pay master spent the night in the inn. Before morning he died, having buried his payroll during the night. Treasure hunters have searched in vain for that long hidden payroll during the many years that have now passed.
Here are the myths:
1. At that time in the war Sherman and Grant never burned anything out of spite. They burned for two reasons. If it had significance to the Confederate War effort and they did not have enough troops to leave an army of occupation there to prevent it from being used for Confederate purposes. Thus, the city "Union" was not burned because of its name. Sherman could care less for a small insignificant town.
2. A Union paymaster died in the house and before he died, he hid gold in the house or buried it in the yard. Well, if he was on his deathbed and near death, how was he fit enough to physically hide or bury the gold and then immediately die. Also, Sherman had over 25,000 troops and many paymasters and assistant paymasters. There was not one paymaster for all the troops.
3. The Official Records of the Army of the Grand Republic are well documented and published. There are no records, letters or diaries from soldiers mentioning a paymaster died in the Inn. There are no documents detailing missing payroll which is a crime and would have been investigated even back then.
4. Both Confederate and Federal troops were paid in paper money. There is no documentation that any civil war soldier was ever paid in gold or silver. A Federal Army paymaster would never have gold or silver.
5. Sherman could care less if Boler's sons were in the Confederate army. Every house in the South that he came to had sons that were in the Confederate Army.
http://www.carolshouse.com/bolersinn/
https://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/is...erriding,5,000 attached cavalry and artillery.
What is your local gold myth?