2026 CTTC Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt - Brownwood, Saturday, October 10th!

 Here's what many of you have been waiting for! Our 2026 Central Texas Treasure Club Friou Allen Memorial Open Hunt coming on Saturday, October 10, 2026!  Get your printable copy of this year's Flyer/Registration Form in our Club's Facebook group's Files section.  If you don't use Facebook, email your request for the printable copy to centraltexastreasureclub@gmail.com . Early Bird Entries still only $25 so get your fee and form in the mail today!

Hope to see you on October 10th in Brownwood!

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

 

Most people don't realize that the Spaniards had a big presence and influence right here in what is now Brown County and in rural central Texas. That's why all treasure hunters in this area or any area need to have some knowledge of carvings and symbols that may lead you to some very old and rewarding lost treasure caches. Here are a couple that you should keep in mind when out with your metal detector or just out exploring. The first is a check mark. The second are drill holes. I don't recall ever finding a check mark in this area but I have found numerous drill holes in Brown and surrounding counties. An important fact to remember is that very little was known about the Knights of the Golden Circle when this book was published. Now, however, we know that many treasure signs used by the Spanish and by the ancient Knights Templar were also used by the KGC. These tips are from "Follow the Signs: A Treasure Hunter's Handbook", an excellent book written by Dayne Chastain (1977). We have a copy of this book in our Central Texas Treasure Club Library that may be checked out by dues-paid Members, for 1 month, at our monthly meetings or by picking them up at my home by appointment.

Page 57 - "When you find a check mark, it indicates you should follow the direction of the long side of the mark."

Page 59 - "A drill hole is a Spanish mark. At least, we have always found that the drill holes we have located throughout the countryside of a five state area have always been related to Spanish markings, and more than likely Spanish treasure or gold...

If you find one drill hole, you can find every drill hole in a five state area because one will lead you to another."

 

Which would you choose?

 Woods.  

Friou Allen, Central Texas Treasure Club Co-Founder, Has Passed Away

 

Friou Allen, Central Texas Treasure Club's Co-Founder and my lifelong friend, passed away at 5:00 a.m. this morning at his home in Brownwood.

Friou's funeral will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, May 8th at Heartland Funeral Home in Early with Visitation from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Thursday.

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

 

Today's CTTC 2026 April Surprise Hunt Was A Big Success!

 

Our Central Texas Treasure Club Members had a great time at this morning's 2026 CTTC Members-Only April Surprise Hunt in Brownwood. Thanks to Lisa Alldredge for doing a great job of photographing our Members having fun! 26 Members participated. The number of Club Members attending our activities continues to grow each year. While the most prevalent natural find today was old pull tabs, a couple of Members made some other nice natural finds. Caiden Tyler pulled a 1923 90% silver Mercury dime from the ground and Tommy Faught found a heavy octagonal "Bell System" telephone pole tag from the site.

Yesterday, I buried 3 special prize tokens - 2 for Mercury dimes and 1 for the Grand Prize, a beautiful Brilliant Uncirculated 1922 Peace Silver Dollar. Members Kendall Thomas and "Lucky Mike" Alldredge found the dime tokens and Alvis Boyce found the silver dollar token. Congratulations guys! I estimate that overall our Members cleanly removed over 300 aluminum pull tabs, pop-tops, and assorted aluminum and other trash from the site! Our next regular monthly meeting will be on Tuesday, May 5th. Visitors are always welcome and invited to attend.

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

2026 CTTC Members-Only April Surprise Hunt - Saturday, April 25th!

 Central Texas Treasure Club's 2026 Members-Only Annual April Surprise Hunt date has been set for Saturday, April 25th. We'll gather at Pat Coursey Park at the corner of East Baker and Center Streets in downtown Brownwood BY 10:00 a.m. We'll caravan to the secret hunt site from there about 10:05. Members are encouraged to wear your Club caps and shirts to this hunt to promote and raise public awareness to our Club. Shovels will not be allowed during this Hunt. Small hand-diggers only.

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Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

The Treasure of Dry Pond - Near Goldthwaite in Central Texas

 Most traditionalist "historians" and high-and-mighty archaeologists scoff at the suggestion that our area of Central Texas holds massive amounts of buried treasure, including that left well-hidden by the Spaniards and Spanish settlers. Treasure hunters over the past century and a half have proven otherwise. Here's one such story of many treasure hunters who have sought Spanish treasure near Goldthwaite, just 30 or so miles from Brownwood.

 https://www.texaslostmines.com/dry_pond.html 

 Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club