Central Texas Treasure Club Library Additions & New Policy

 

Central Texas Treasure Club Library

I will be adding some more treasure hunting/metal detecting books to our Club Library over the next few months. Only current dues-paid Members may borrow these books. The one that will be added for the February 3rd meeting is a fascinating book - "Follow the Signs - A Treasure Hunter's Handbook" by Dayne Chastain. We gave some of them away at our 2025 Central Texas Treasure Club Open Hunt but we didn't get a Sponsor for this copy. One of the perks of being CTTC President is that I'll get to read our library books first!   I read this one and loved it. 

 New Library Policy - Our CTTC Secretary/Treasurer Jen Evetts will be in charge of keeping up with the book borrowers, due dates, and such. Members may only check out one book per month. A $5 late fee will be charged to any Member who doesn't return a book to the Library before or at the next meeting after the book is checked out. $5 will be added for each month thereafter that it's overdue. 

Thank you,

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

 

 

CTTC Members Detecting Old Brown County Fairgrounds in 2014

 

I took this photo of our Central Texas Treasure Club Members in January, 2014 when we were given permission to metal detect the old Brown County Fairgrounds Racetrack for one morning. About 15 of us showed up for that one-time opportunity when the property was in the custody of a local bank. We were honored to have a 90-year-old man share his memories of the old track. He told us he went to it when he was a young man. He said they had horse races and motorcycle races there. I was excited because I knew that William C. "Bloody Bill" Anderson regularly attended and bet on horse races there as his youngest son Patrick Henry Anderson told of how he used to go to the races with his father who would leave home with his pockets bulging with silver dollars. I also suspect Jesse Woodson James attended them and may have even had one of his horses entered.

A couple of Members found a few old coins that day. I didn't find any coins but my prize for the day was this very small horseshoe that I found with my detector. I have it hanging on my Relic Fence in the backyard along with many other of my most interesting old iron and metal relics that were all found with my detectors. We were also able to locate the concrete foundation where the old Grandstands once stood. The old track is on private property now and I don't know who owns it. The field is located behind the DPS Office and the old Staples store in Commerce Square in Brownwood.

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club

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Sharing Treasure Hunting Tips

 I'm brushing up on my real treasure hunting skills after reading Rosie Priddy's amazing new book: "Bud Hardcastle: The Truth Tracker". Last night, I began reading "Follow the Signs: A Treasure Hunter's Handbook" (1997) by Dayne Chastain. This book is humorous but it also has some very important treasure signs and true treasure stories in it. I made note of the following story because it provides a good tip to locating hidden treasure caches. This one caught my attention

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Pages 27 & 28 - "...Hog pens are a favorite place for old farmers to hide their treasure, hog pens and fence posts.

Another hog pen north of Wewoka, Oklahoma proved more profitable. Jett had a friend from Wewoka who ran a general store. This friend told Jett about a hog farmer who, like the other one, would sometimes find coins when he went out to feed his pigs. These coins, however, were old silver dollars.

Jett and his friend went out and, with the farmer's permission, ran the metal detector around the hog pen. The land was sloping at about a thirty degree angle. At the higher end of the pen, Jett found and dug up a big bean post full of antique silver dollars.

They figured the pot had gotten tilted somehow and the silver dollars were just washing down into the pen a few at a time from the broken pot. Jett and his friend split the treasure with the delighted old farmer and went their separate ways."

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This is one reason I love to hunt around old farmsteads.  

 

- Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club 

 

 

Meeting Tonight, Tuesday, January 6th!

 Our Central Texas Treasure Club will hold our 1st regular monthly meeting of 2026 tonight, Tuesday, January 6th.  Our regular meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.  We meet at the old Early Chamber of Commerce Bldg. at 104 E. Industrial Blvd. in Early, Texas and the meeting begins at 6:30.

A new order of our amethyst CTTC shirts is in.  The price of those have risen again so the price of the new shirts will be $24, however, the previous 4 styles of Club shirts will still be available at tonight's meeting for $21 each.  After tonight, the price of ALL Club shirts will increase to $24 each so save a few bucks and buy your shirts at tonight's meeting!

I will be going over some of the new ideas I have for our Club this year at tonight's meeting so you won't want to miss it.  To fund these new Club projects and activities, we'll hold Special Fundraising Raffles at every meeting this year.  All proceeds from these Raffles will be used to pay for these events.  

Tonight's Special Raffle will be for a new copy of Steve Wilson's popular book "The Spider Rock Treasure: A Texas Mystery of Lost Spanish Gold"!  Raffle ticket prices for this Special Raffle are $2 each and will only be sold at the meeting.  You may purchase as many tickets as you want and both Members and Visitors may purchase them.  The drawing will be held after Finds of the Month voting is finished. 

See you tonight!

Jay Longley, President, Central Texas Treasure Club 

325-646-1000 (no text)