TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Lost Dutchman Mine is a legend passed down from generation to generation here in Arizona.
"We just haven't found it yet," said Lost Dutchman State Park Ranger Sara Toms-Bergquist. "Or if they have, they haven't told us."
The "it" is gold. But not just any gold. Toms-Bergquist is talking about the untold treasure waiting to be discovered in the famed Superstition Mountains, east of Apache Junction.
She is a park ranger at the Lost Dutchman State Park, located at the base of the Superstition Mountains. The park is named after the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine.
That legend begins in the mid-1800s, with a man coming to the Arizona Territory looking to strike it rich.
"Jacob Waltz was a German immigrant," said Toms-Bergquist.
That's right, the man responsible for the Lost Dutchman Mine legend isn't Dutch, he's German, or 'Deutch' — from Deutschland.
Deutch became 'Dutch', and that's how Waltz earned his nickname.
"He ended up having lots of gold," Toms-Bergquist said. "No one knew where it came from, people started following him around. So, here comes the legend."
The legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine begins in the 1890s, according to legendary treasure hunter Clay Worst.
"The Dutchman said, 'open it'," Worst told KGUN 9 in a 2021 interview.
As he was dying, Waltz shared a secret stashed under the bed.
"In that box was almost 50 pounds, 48 and a half pounds, of incredibly rich hand-cobbed gold,” Worst recalled.
On his deathbed, Waltz tried to share the location of the mine with the woman caring for him, Julia Thomas.
But 135 years ago, not much had been named in the Superstition Mountains. He tried to guide her using landmarks.
"One of the roughest pieces of wilderness terrain on the North American continent, it simply wasn't good enough,” Worst said.
Clay Worst followed in his father's footsteps looking for the Lost Dutchman Mine.
So did Lost Dutchman Park Ranger Sara Toms-Bergquist.
"As a little kid I remember watching my dad have all these maps on the table and I was like what are you doing?" said Toms-Bergquist. "You don't understand. He's like 'we're going to go find the gold'."
Lee Toms, an Army veteran, started searching for the gold in the 1970s, eventually recruiting his daughter in the search.
"I have pictures of me on his back, walking through the Superstitions, looking for it," Toms-Bergquist said.
She says they never found the Lost Dutchman Mine or the gold.
But for them and so many others who come searching each year, the real treasure is the adventure and the scenic beauty.
"The treasure comes within and when you see it, you're hooked," said Toms-Bergquist.
She says hundreds of people still come looking for the treasure each year. Toms-Bergquist tries to warn them not to search in the heat of the summer.
But the drive of the Lost Dutchman Mine legend is just too great.
Toms-Bergquist is also a geologist and believes a large vein of gold in the Superstitions is possible.
"The ghost town that's just down the road was a very active gold mine," explained Toms-Bergquist. "It pulled over $100 million in gold. So, geographically speaking, that's not that far away. Is there gold in the area, absolutely. It's just, that we know of, hasn't been found right here."
Is the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine true?
Are there really millions and millions of dollars in gold just waiting to be found in the Superstition Mountains?
Or does it even matter if this legend is real?
"We got to keep this going," said Toms-Bergquist. "None of us want it to die here because it's such an important part of Arizona history. This mountain is so well known all over the world. Got to keep that going."
Keeping the Lost Dutchman Mine legend alive. A legend that is Absolutely Arizona.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
