The Story of Nathaniel Van Noy: Murder, Cryptids, Native Americans and Buried Treasure
This story hits close to home- literally- because it took place close to my childhood home along the Sangamon River in Illinois. Nathaniel Van Noy and his wife settled outside of Athens in the early 1820's, at that time it was still wilderness and Native Americans still inhabited areas around Menard County (at that time Sangamon County) however it was very few, and, for the most part, the settlers in Menard County got along with the Native inhabitants. Van Noy had a blacksmith shop close by a road frequently traveled in the 1820's and seldom traveled today that takes you up on a hill overlooking river bottoms. That particular area Van Noy set his foundations is rumored to be a Native American encampment in the past. I myself have ventured out there looking for relics and have come across pottery shards and chert, a little more time may have proved bigger rewards but after learning about the lore in that particular area...I don't care to spend too much time there. The area i...
