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Health & Fitness

Ezra Decoto and the Cache of Gold

On September 23, 1887, Ezra Decoto found a box of gold coins near Alameda Creek.

Reading through old newspapers articles, it is sometimes astonishing the short articles that one comes across, the type of article that begs for more details.

On September 23, 1887, there was a sort article on Ezra Decoto, one of Decoto brothers that lent their name to the town of Decoto. The article says this:

"Ezra Decoto, of Niles, while engaged in hauling stone from the creek near the old Vallejo Mill for use in the Decoto burying ground, came upon a square, flat stone in the sand. He had some trouble in digging it out, and was astonished at seeing a rusty tin box underneath. Prying it open, his astonishment can be imagined at the sight, which met his eyes, the box being filled with twenty-dollar gold pieces. Mr. Decoto refuses to tell the exact size of the box or total value of the coin, and says if any claimant present himself it must be fully described before possession will be given."

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For those not familiar with Vallejo Mill, the gold was found in Alameda Creek close to where Mission Boulevard crosses the creek.

That article leaves so many questions unanswered, especially: Where did the gold come from? Did some local resident feel that keeping gold near the creek was a safe place to keep it? Was the gold the booty from some robbery? Given that Joaquin Murrieta and Tiburcio Vasquez are both rumored to have been operating in the area, was the gold from these legendary bandits?

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Without knowing more we will have to speculate on the circumstances that put the gold into a tin box, under a large flat rock, on the banks for Alameda Creek.

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