The lost loot at Gillett ghost town!

People being robbed next to the stagecoach, at gunpoint

Arizona’s Wild West was full of violence and lawlessness. And there are many, many tales of millions and millions of loot missing in the great Az. In fact, this is just one story in the amount of $68,000 still remaining in the Gillett ghost town! Unfortunately, it is on private land and you can’t just go on somebody’s private property! Unless, you get permission to!

What is left of the mining town called Gillett, what is left of the Burfind hotel

This is a true story that you are reading. It happened in the county of Yavapai in a town that is usually miss spelled, named Gillett, but often called Gillette. Like the razor used to shave a man’s face.Gillett was founded in 1878 and named after Dan B. Gillett, the developer of the Tip top mine. Founded by the superintendent of the Tip Top mine, where the mill was located.

Tip top mine
The shaft of Tip top mine

Gillett had six streets, a mill, post office, bank, Assay office, Hotel, lumberyard, dairy warehouse, two blacksmiths, two stagecoach stations, four stores, nine saloons, four stores and houses for gambling.

There was a blacksmith named Henry Seymour. He also had a side job called robbing the Wells Fargo wagon. He was super fast at it, so he was called “Ghost bandit” Why? Because he would go rob the stagecoach and head back to his blacksmith job before the stagecoach got back into Town! No one suspected him!

In 1882, Seymour robbed three of them and had accumulated $68,000. That’s a lot of money back then. A deputy by the name of Henry Garfia, a Mexican American was hired to investigate the case. He was very good at his job!

Henry Garfia was the first Mexican-American to become first Marshall of Phoenix

Garfia was told by witnesses that they saw Seymour on the last robbery, holding a rifle under his arm and carrying a bunch of sacs. Garfia decided to go to the Agua Frida river to catch Seymour.

Agua Frida river in Gillett

Garfia saw Henry Seymour walking up to this area and arrested him on the spot!Seymour was arrested and sent to prison, never to return to Gillett, Az.! So what happened to the loot? Where did he hide it? Well no one knows exactly and it remains a mystery! There is not much left of Gillett ghost town except the hotel ruins. A place in our desert that remains a mystery! Maybe one day, someone will find it, or maybe not.

Thanks for reading and may you share this with others! Many blessings to you and your family this Holiday Season! Push the follow button for more educational articles and thank you all!

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