A treasure has been found in Canastota, NY!
It’s thought to be the long lost treasure of Elijah Fitzroy, a wealthy merchant, who was one of the first to travel on the canal when it first opened in 1825.
The chest is locked and appears to need a secret code to open.
One notable explorer, William Dananger, travelled by line boat along the canal in 1830 in search of Elijah’s treasure. William never found the treasure, but he detailed his exploration in several letters that were found along the canal. The letters were never taken seriously… until now that a treasure chest has turned up. In his letters, William describes how he found four symbols along the canal with the initials E.F. next to them. It is now widely believed that these symbols are the ones needed to unlock Elijah’s treasure chest. Unfortunately, William’s letters only describe where he found the symbols, but not what they looked like.
The best chance of finding the symbols to unravel the code and open the chest seem to come from retracing William’s steps and following his letters.
Adventurers are called to come explore and try to unravel the mystery.
All of William’s letters have been placed where they were originally found with the hope that adventurers will be able to retrace his steps and find the secret code to open the treasure.
The 5 letters are located here:
1) Lock 21 - end of Lock Rd, Rome, NY
2) Town of Verona Office Building - 6600 Germany Rd, Durhamville, NY
3) Durhamville Fire Department - 5305 Church St, Durhamville, NY
4) Backroads Tavern - 4299 Canal Rd, Wampsville, NY
5) Canastota Canal Town Museum - 122 Canal St, Canastota, NY
Once you register, you’ll receive a copy of a map to help you along your way! With this map in hand, you are ready to head to Lock 21 to read the first letter and start the adventure quest!
Please note the 5 letters are on display in plain sight in windows of buildings along the trail or just next to the trail - so little to no extra travel is needed - in other words, you will come to each of the letters as you follow the route along the Erie Canalway Trail. You can also visit the Route page for a map with pinpoints on the locations of each letter. Read each letter to find the clues.
