During the Great Depression, Los Angeles struggled with widespread economic downturn and rising poverty levels.
Local leaders were faced with the daunting challenge of supporting citizens while dealing with declining revenue.
In this desperate environment, some turned to unconventional means in a bid for wealth, including a fascinating treasure hunt proposed by George Warren Shufelt.
Shufelt, a mining engineer, was convinced that a hidden fortune lay beneath downtown Los Angeles, particularly under Fort Moore Hill, behind the Hall of Justice.
In 1933, he and his crew, comprising Rex McGreery and Ray Martin, claimed that the area was filled with ancient Spanish doubloons and gold bullion, supposedly left behind by early settlers.
Their confidence stemmed from Shufelt’s self-designed ‘doodlebug,’ an electric radio gadget for locating gold, along with an ancient map made of sheepskin highlighting supposed treasure sites.
Remarkably, they managed to persuade the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to grant them permission to dig in exchange for a share of any gold found.
Their contract stipulated that half of the treasure would belong to the three treasure hunters, while the government would retain the other half.
News of this ambitious treasure hunt created a buzz, with headlines like ‘Treasure hunt on hill to reach climax today’ capturing the public’s imagination.
Despite their enthusiasm, locating the gold proved elusive.
The crew dug numerous shafts, with one machine reporting treasure just 28 feet down early in March 1933.
However, as they got closer, they found nothing.
A change in strategy followed, as Shufelt redirected efforts to find a tunnel leading to a supposed treasure cave, positioned 9 feet down a different shaft.
This adjustment, however, didn’t yield any gold either.
Later that month, an earthquake brought the search to a halt as authorities ordered the team to vacate the site.
Once the tremors subsided, Shufelt sought a renewal of the contract, highlighting what he described as a ‘labyrinth of tunnels’ beneath the surface, with at least 16 locations where gold was supposedly buried or stored.
The country eventually approved the renewed request, yet the treasure hunters seemingly lost steam and abandoned the dig a few months later.
By November, Shufelt returned with a new tale of mystery.
He recounted an encounter with Little Chief Green Leaf, a Native American medicine man from Arizona, who revealed a legend of gold buried below the Hall of Justice and the Central Library.
This treasure was allegedly hidden 5,000 years ago by an advanced tribe known as the Lizard People, who established their wealth to form a civilization symbolized by a lizard.
According to Shufelt, the layout of the treasure mirrored the lizard’s shape, with specific locations indicating where valuables could be located beneath the city’s streets.
Shufelt proclaimed that his device had taken X-ray images of these legendary gold tablets, purportedly containing insights into the origins of humanity.
Yet, he cautioned that these claims would remain speculative until excavation could prove their authenticity.
This time, he aimed to delve 1,000 feet underground.
Ultimately, if any truth lay in the existence of buried treasures, Shufelt never unearthed it.
By February 1934, the search was called off as the belief prevailed that any riches must lie far deeper than initially suspected.
Moreover, the site of Fort Moore Hill was later leveled to make room for the construction of the 101 Freeway, putting an end to any dreams of discovering gold beneath the bustling streets of Los Angeles.
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