Published on: January 12, 2026, at 07:21h.
Updated on: December 13, 2025, at 07:14h.
The legend of the lost Mormon wagon train treasure circulates widely in treasure-hunting communities, appearing in blogs, forums, and various publications. Much like other iconic tales from the American West, this story intertwines historical truths with embellishments.
The Utah War, fought from May 1857 to July 1858, also known as the Mormon War or Buchanan’s Blunder, was an armed clash involving 2,500 federal troops against 4,000 Mormon militia led by Brigham Young, then governor of Utah and president of the LDS Church.
This conflict arose from concerns voiced by President James Buchanan regarding Young’s theocratic governance in Utah, allegations of polygamy, and rumors of a potential Mormon uprising.
While those are the undeniable historical details, the narrative takes a fictional turn…
Mysterious Hidden Mines
“In 1856, with tensions escalating, Brigham Young instructed the church to convert much of its assets into liquid form and find a secure place for these valuables,” suggests an article from TreasureNet.com.
Allegedly, Mormon militia utilized a cave between Pioche and Ely, Nevada, to stash roughly $1.5 million in gold and silver—equivalent to $55 million today. However, as Young’s anxieties intensified, he ordered the treasure to be relocated.
“The objective was to transport the riches to San Bernardino, California, for future transfer to a safer destination,” TreasureNet.com reports.
However, there are no primary sources that support the claims of a $1.5 million asset liquidation or a secret cave—no correspondence from Young, LDS Church archives, federal documents, or stories in the Deseret News.
The Mormon Reformation (1856-57) did see Young advocate for stockpiling grains and defending against invasions, and while church leadership did discuss protecting their assets, nothing more substantiates the treasure claims.
Tales of Vanished Loot
In an effort to remain undetected, a convoy of 22 Mormon wagons accompanied by armed escorts purportedly set out. They avoided roads typically used by travelers, which ultimately led to their downfall.
Unaccustomed to the area, the convoy eventually dehydrated in what is now known as the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, a site that lies 20 miles west of modern-day Las Vegas and was part of the Old Spanish Trail, though it was no longer a common path by 1857.
According to legend, the group split, with soldiers making the trek back to the last known water source.
At this moment, the Mormons left vulnerable in Red Rock were attacked by the native Paiute tribe.
“It took the soldiers several days to return with water, and by that time, all but one man had been killed,” asserts TreasureNet.com. “Despite extensive searches, no trace of the wagons was ever found, including subsequent attempts by the Mormon Church.”
The treasure is often believed to lie hidden around Red Rock, prompting ongoing searches by treasure seekers with metal detectors, although it’s illegal to remove cultural or historical artifacts from the site.
A forum post from June 2022 on TreasureNet.com echoed these sentiments:
“I discovered charred wagons in the desert just west of the canyon,” shared a user named Bill from Cocoa Beach, Florida. “I scoured the area but found nothing else. However, when I mentioned the story to a neighbor, he informed me that a female friend of his had discovered a gold Mormon coin nearby.”
The Reality Lurking Beneath the Myth
While the bulk of the story may be fictitious, the tragic events surrounding the massacre—and the attribution of blame to the Paiutes—echo themes found in Mormon history…
On September 11, 1857, during the Utah War, roughly 120 men, women, and children were massacred while traveling to California.
However, in reality, Mormons were the aggressors in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, not the victims.
The Baker-Fancher party, Protestant families from Arkansas, were camped about 35 miles northwest of what is now St. George, Utah, when they were attacked.
Attacking forces numbered between 50 and 60 members of the Iron County Militia (Nauvoo Legion)—local Mormons stirred up by war-induced paranoia, religious extremism, and the false belief that the travelers were poisoning their water supply.
Several attackers even disguised themselves as Paiutes.
Following a five-day siege, the militia presented a phony truce. Once the emigrants surrendered their arms, they were brutally executed—this remains the largest act of civilian violence by Americans on U.S. soil until Oklahoma City.
Only 17 children under the age of seven were spared. They were renamed by their captors and raised within the Mormon faith.
Brigham Young attempted to cover up the slaughter, attributing the blame entirely to the Paiute tribe in a report to Indian Affairs in 1858.
Nevertheless, federal inquiries in the following year unveiled the reality. Under Command from Congress and President James Buchanan, the 17 surviving youth were removed from their Mormon homes and sent back to relatives in Arkansas.
On March 23, 1877, John D. Lee was convicted for orchestrating the attack. He was brought back to the scene of the massacre, positioned atop what would be his own coffin, and executed by firing squad.
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