Unique article from a 1960's treasure hunters magazine... Buckchitawa is the native american name for Sunfish Creek... Our new park on Sunfish will highlight the historical significance of Sunfish Creek

Not too far from Cameron, a small southern Ohio town on the

banks of Sunfish Creek, is the Lost Lead Mine of Buckchitawa.

I was raised in Cameron, and as a young boy I heard countless stories of the Indians that once lived in the area. It was common for farmers to plow up hundreds of Indian artifacts when they worked their fields. The one story I heard as a youngster and learned more of as an adult concerned the lost lead mine located on Sunfish Creek, which the Indians called Buckchitawa. The existance of the mine first became known during the Indian wars in Ohio around 1795. During the war, a settler named Martin Whetzel was captured by a band of Indians. Whetzel was hunting when captured. It was common for caрtives to be tortured and killed, but

for some reason Whetzel was taken along by the band. He was tied and led to the mouth of the Buckchitawa, where the Indians had a canoe hidden. The group started upstream. Асcording to Whetzel, they had traveled about 10 miles when the Indians beached the canoe and several disappeared into the rocks. A short time later they returned and had with them a large amount of lead.

One of the Indians brought out a large wooden ladle which had

been hidden in the rocks. They started a fire and by using the hot coals they managed to melt the lead and mould an ample supply of bullets. The ladle was again hidden in the

rocks and the Indians continued upstream with their prisoner.

They stopped again a few miles upstream and made camp. The

campsite was not too far from where the town of Woodsfield is now located. While the Indians slept, Whetzel managed to escape.

When the Indian wars were finally resolved some years later, Whetzel returned to the Buckchitawa to search for the lead mine. He spent several months trying to locate it, but was never successful. He said he was never really sure if he had found the right ledge of rocks where the Indians had stopped to mould their bullets.

Silas Jackson, a tavern owner in Reading, Ohio, claimed that an old

Indian told him many times that his tribe had used lead from the Buckchitawa, Eagle (O'Possum, as it is known today) and Captina creeks to mould bullets. He would never give the exact location, however. Living in Cameron today is an

old man by the name of Sam Pfalzgraf. He has lived around Cameron all of his life, and has served as

postmaster, schoolteacher, and presently owns and operates a small country store. He is 92 years old. I recently talked to him about the lost lead mine and asked what he

thought of the legend. He said he had heard of it many times, but

doesn't believe that it is a real "mine." He feels the mine is really

a series of small veins. He mentioned that lead is usually foundaround limestone deposits. Monroe County is filled with limestone. He said that he also believes that

the lead is located in a wild area that only a few people

have ever seen. It is still one of the wildest areas in all Ohio. Pfalzgraf feels the Indians mined the lead and then stored it by Sunfish Creek for convenience. This would account for Martin Whetzel's failure to find the mine. Several people have tried to find the Lost Lead Mine of Buckchitawa, but none have had any luck. I am sure that some day someone with the proper equipment will unearth thismine. No one knows how large it is or really too much about it, and only a few long dead Indians knew exactly where it is.

​

Poem based off of key works using AI to generate an unique poem and set the stage for the poems that will lead to the treasure...

​

​

Up the great Buckchitawa, treasure gleams,
Travel west where the twin falls stream.
In the gorge where echoes softly play,
Hidden waits the prize, tucked away.

Grand hemlocks stand with watchful grace,
Over the vein where secrets embrace.
Silver and galena side by side,
Behind the boulder, where riches abide.

​

​

​

Buckchitawa calls, a treasure sleeps,
Westward path, the twin falls weeps.

Gorge ascends, where secrets hide,
Hemlocks tall, where shadows ride.

Lead's dark vein, the silver gleams,
Boulder's guard, fulfilling dreams.

​

​

​

Up the great Buckchitawa, a treasure lies,
Travel west where the twin falls rise,
In the gorge where whispers sing,
The secret waits, the joy it brings.

Grand hemlocks stand, their shadows wide,
Over veins of lead, where fortunes hide,
Silver glimmers side by side,
With galena's sheen, a treasure guide.

Behind the boulder, nature’s grace,
Awaits the brave in this hidden place,
So heed the call, and take your quest,
For up the great Buckchitawa, treasure rests.

​

 

The treasure will be hidden in Piatt Park in random locations that are findable by solving the poem for each treasure.  There will be 4 poems to start with... those 4 treasure finds will have a corresponding and slightly harder poem at those locations that lead to the next 4 treasures... after those treasures are found there will be the same final poem at those locations... that final poem will lead to the final treasure chest.

​

​