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 is beautiful, tall hills along the Sangamon River, creeks and meadows, pastureland and farms are in the area now but it's natural beauty remains. I remember the area, when traversing the river by boat, being referred to as "the devil's backbone" because of the tall, slender hills along the river- some say it is burial mounds but this hasn't been proven. 

Van Noy had a successful blacksmith shop here like I mentioned. But success may not have actually been in the blacksmithing. It is said that Van Noy made counter fit money and would go down river on a flatboat- sometimes to New Orleans, much like young Lincoln (except Lincoln was doing honest work)- to trade in his counter fit money and make real profits. Van Noy was also known to be a drunkard  Now his actual blacksmithing work was falling behind because of all this and some people started to get upset that the work was taking so long. One day a man and his daughter came to his place of work, no one was around, no fire, no forging...strange. Since the house was near and across the road, the man decided to see if Van Noy was home, and what they found startled them.

The man and his daughter had found Van Noy's wife, Peggy, dead. And her husband had left the scene. The man then sent his daughter running back to town through the thick forest of the river bottom to try to find help and to notify the proper authorities. According to John Winterbauer, "local historian, John C. Harris wrote of the adventure years later, 'a great aunt of mine, then a small girl, was among those sent out to summon the neighbors to the Van Noy cabin, and she used to tell of how fearful she was on that mission as she passed through the primeval forest lest a lurking Indian or Van Noy himself would jump out from behind a tree and kill her.'"

When the townspeople arrived they waited for a long time for Van Noy to come home to question him and see if he had or hadn't committed murder. From looking all over his property for signs of him, the people found evidence of more criminal activity-the counterfeiting. 

When Nathaniel Van Noy arrived home he found his neighbors waiting for him. Their accusations and discovery of his crimes made him furious and he blamed the local indigenous peoples for the murder of his wife. The townspeople knew this wasn't true and brought him to the sheriff.

He was swiftly brought before a court and in a day the jury decided he was guilty. Three days after his crimes were discovered he was sentenced to hang. 

However.

Before his death, a strange Doctor met him in his cell. This Doctor believed, if, when Van Noy was hung, he died in a specific way he could be brought to life. Van Noy sold his body to the Doctor right then in hopes of living again. The sheriff heard of this plan, didn't like it, and let the body of Van Noy hang for five hours so to make sure he stayed dead. The doctor then was allowed to autopsy the corpse and did it right under the tree he was hung on. The people around were so appalled he was forced to move his operation to a building nearby. The "Frankenstein" operation wasn't known to be successful but the lore lives on. 

Before Nathaniel Van Noy hung to his death, he made a public statement claiming he buried gold in the valley of the river bottoms near his homestead. Now, if this was a way for him to plea or bribe we don't know. The gold is rumored to have never been found- if there is even gold at all. 

After his death, many people, after hearing the stories of Van Noy, set out to search for the gold amongst the burial mounds and river bottoms. Stories emerged of strange glowing orbs, the ghosts of Nathaniel and Peggy, blood curdling screams, strange noises, and some even say that Sasquatch guards the bottomlands. Many times prospective gold hunters got scared out of the woods by such apparitions. People still claim this is true today. 

I am incredibly interested in this story due to its location in relation to where I grew up and my own adventures in these river bottoms. I have looked for arrowheads and Native American pottery near the homesite of the Van Noy's and have even found some evidence of where an old home may have been. I have had strange happenings in this area and have heard of even stranger ones. I believe the legend lives on, I would love for the gold to be found if it is out there. 

Hope you like this TRUE story. Based on my own facts and "Van Noy Settlement Ghosts and Gold" by John Winterbauer. AI images.

Other resources:

Hanging of Nathaniel Van Noy (1826)