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The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine (also known by similar names) is, according to legend, a rich gold mine hidden in the Southwestern United States.

There have been many stories about how to find the mine, and each year people search for the mine. The mine is named after German immigrant Jacob Waltz (c. The Lost Dutchman's is perhaps the most famous lost mine in American history. Arizona place-name expert Byrd Granger wrote, as of 1977, the Lost Dutchman's story had been printed or cited at least six times more often than two other fairly well-known tales; the story of Captain Kidd's lost treasure, and the story of the Lost Pegleg mine in California. People have been seeking the Lost Dutchman's mine since at least 1892, while according to one estimate, 9,000 people annually made some effort to locate the Lost Dutchman's mine.

Robert Blair wrote "here have been at least four legendary Lost Dutchman's gold mines in the American West, including the famed Superstition mine of Jacob Waltz". One Lost Dutchman's mine is said to be in Colorado, another in California; two are said to be located in Arizona. The earliest Lost Dutchman's mine in Arizona was said to have been near Wickenburg, about 180 km (110 mi) north-west of the Superstition Mountains: a "Dutchman" was allegedly discovered dead in the desert near Wickenburg in the 1870s alongside saddlebags filled with gold.

Thorne's mine; second, tales about the Lost Dutchman's; and, third, stories of the soldiers' lost gold vein ... he most complete version of the Lost Dutchman's story incorporates all three legends".

Blair argued that this Peralta story (well known to Arizona residents) was eventually incorporated in the Lost Dutchman's story, in a severely distorted version, following the renewed interest in the Lost Dutchman's mine in the 1930s.

In most versions of the tale, Jacob Waltz locates a rich gold mine in the Superstition Mountains (in many versions of the story, they rescue or help a member of the Peralta family and are rewarded by being told the location of the mine). Wilburn in his book Dutchman's Lost Ledge of Gold (1990), wrote that the Bulldog Gold Mine near Goldfield, Arizona, fits very well the description Jacob Waltz gave as the location of his 'lost mine'.

An alternate view which better fits the lost mine legend is that he periodically appeared with large amounts of gold, The Sterling Legend by Estee Conatser reports that a Jacob Walzer sold $250,000 in gold to the U.S.

Were it not for the death of amateur explorer and treasure hunter Adolph Ruth, the story of the Lost Dutchman's mine would probably have been little more than a footnote in Arizona history as one of hundreds of "lost mines" rumored to be in the American West.

One fact against the existence of "Lost Dutchman Mine" is that Waltz was a "placer miner"; while the gold pieces he had were in quartz, the Superstition Mountains are in fact volcanic.

In his 1945 book about the Lost Dutchman's mine, Thunder God's Gold, Barry Storm (pen name of John Griffith Climenson) claimed to have narrowly escaped from a mysterious sniper he dubbed "Mr. July 3, 1947, James A Cravey, age 62, a retired photographer, was reported missing after he had chartered a helicopter June 19, 1947, to drop him off in the Superstition Mountains, to look for the Lost Dutchman's Mine. In early December 2009, 35-year-old Jesse Capen, a Denver native, embarked on what would be his last trip to search for a lost gold mine in the Superstition Wilderness Area.

Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine is a 2006 adventure game based loosely around the myth of the Lost Dutchman's Gold; the protagonist, Al Emmo, sets out to locate the mine and recover its riches for Rita Peralto.

Quick Facts

• People have been seeking the Lost Dutchman's mine since at least 1892, while according to one estimate, 9,000 people annually made some effort to locate the Lost Dutchman's mine.
• Wilburn in his book Dutchman's Lost Ledge of Gold (1990), wrote that the Bulldog Gold Mine near Goldfield, Arizona, fits very well the description Jacob Waltz gave as the location of his 'lost mine'.
• Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine is a 2006 adventure game based loosely around the myth of the Lost Dutchman's Gold; the protagonist, Al Emmo, sets out to locate the mine and recover its riches for Rita Peralto.
• Thorne's mine; second, tales about the Lost Dutchman's; and, third, stories of the soldiers' lost gold vein ... he most complete version of the Lost Dutchman's story incorporates all three legends".
• The Lost Dutchman's is perhaps the most famous lost mine in American history.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.