Tales of Treasure Digging on South Mountain in Bristol
August 16, 2025
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South Mountain in Bristol stands at 2,325 feet. Visible from Main Street, the mountain is known for its rugged terrain and steep cliffs. It was once (and apparently still is) a challenging but desirable location for treasure seekers.
Money digging was a popular craze in the 1800s, when people climbed places like South Mountain in search of treasure.
“In my view, it’s a weird, eccentric part of the state,” says Ethan Mitchell, a history and mathematics teacher who grew up nearby in the town of New Haven. He’s also a folklore enthusiast who has researched tales of money digging in Vermont, including stories about people searching for treasure on South Mountain.
-A view of South Mountain behind the Bristol Post Office.
People to this day will explore South Mountain, hoping to find something valuable, he says.
“If you’re going up to South Mountain with ladders, pickaxes and metal detectors, you’re looking for treasure. And you have this idea that someone has overlooked something that you’re going to discover,” Mitchell says.
South Mountain is known for its rugged terrain and steep cliffs.
In my latest Happy Vermont podcast episode, Mitchell talks about tales of money digging on South Mountain, as well as supernatural and religious connections to treasure hunting.
“The protocols that the treasure hunters in most of Vermont used—the supernatural protocols—often meant that they had to work at night and often in silence,” he says. “It’s a pretty intense way to live, right? That you’re working on dangerous terrain—in the dark and in silence—doing this laborious activity.”
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