Submitted by Anthony
Bootleggers
In 1997 my grandfather passed away. However, before he died, he spoke to me of a buried treasure just north of Milford, Missouri. Only 16 at the time, I didn’t fully believe him, as my grandfather suffered from mental illness in his old age.
Soon, I told my mother of the story, which I thought to be outlandish. However, she looked at me with amazement, explaining to me that she had been told this very same story when she was a child. My grandfather lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma and if he had ever even been in Missouri, I was unaware of it, but Mom told me differently.
The story began in the 1930s when my grandfather was running a bootlegging operation out of Frontenac, Kansas. One evening, he and a couple of friends made the journey to Kansas City to deliver their illicit merchandise.
Along the way, the two friends held up a farmhouse near Arcadia, Kansas, taking guns, jewelry, gold and old photographs.
They then crossed the state line and buried their loot just north of Milford, Missouri about 30 miles west of Arcadia, Kansas.
When I asked my mother why they hadn’t taken the loot with them, she didn’t know. Well, then, how did they know of Milford, Missouri and why did they choose that place to hide their stolen cache? Evidently, another bootlegger who made moonshine for my grandfather ran his operations from Milford.
Though grandfather said there wasn’t much cash taken at the time, the guns, jewelry, and gold would be worth a significant amount today. According to grandpa, the loot continues to be hidden in a small cavern near Horse Creek northeast of Milford. The cave, utilized as a moonshine location long ago, bears the names of the bootleggers carved within its walls.
Today Milford, Missouri is all but a ghost town with only about 50 souls calling the small community home. Milford is located 27 miles southeast of Nevada, Missouri. From Nevada, travel south on US-71 for approximately 18 miles, turn left (east) on Missouri State Highway MO-C for 7.5 miles. Milford is just north of the intersection with Missouri State Highway CC.
Good luck to treasure hunters looking for this place and finding out who owns the land.
– Submitted by Anthony, March 2005, updated January 2024.
Reader Update January 2024:
The cave is not North of Milford. It’s on the backside of my grandpas farm. It’s more to the East and a little North. My grandpa died and sold the land. The main cave is filled in with settlement now. My grandpa made moonshine, and shared with me how to know if it’s safe to drink. I was around 12 years old at the time.
When we plowed our fields we would find civil war stuff, like cannon balls belt buckles and buttons, and one Bennett. – Dave, Missouri.
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