The Muscatine Weekly Journal of June 5, 1858, reported for example that, "The Chariton Mail of May 8th announces the discovery of gold in Lucas county, and abundant diggings in Decatur. It states further that the existence of it was known to the Indians, and that when John Green, Chief of the Pottawatamies, came to Chariton in 1854 to enter land, he had a package of gold dust worth about $500, which he exhibited to Mr. Braden of the land office, and told him he could show him where it could be found in plenty. Last summer this same John was around again with some $400, but would only disclose that he got it 'in Iowa.' The discoveries in Decatur are near Garden Grove, where the metal is found both in quartz and in the ordinary dust."
A nearly identical paragraph, also credited to The Mail, was published in the Keokuk Daily Gate of June 3 although it dated the report to May 18 rather than the 8th. No copies of The Mail have survived, so it seems unlikely we'll ever know for sure.
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There seems to be exaggeration at play here --- there is no credible record elsewhere that I've found of gold in these southern Iowa hills.
This does not mean that gold isn't found in small amounts around the state --- left behind, it is believed, in glacial deposits originating in Canada and deposited in the ancient past. No one's quite figured out yet if precious metals are concentrated anywhere thousands of feet below our soil.
But Johnny Green, leader of a group of Prairie Band Potawatomi who ranged in hunting parties across southern Iowa for several years after the larger nation had been forced west into Kansas, certainly was widely known here during the 1850s. Most of the reported encounters in Lucas County between Native Americans and Euro-American settlers are believed to involve Mr. Green and his band.
Joseph Braden, who arrived in Chariton during 1853 to work in the land office that had just been moved west from Fairfield, remained to become one of Lucas County's venerable pioneers.
If you're interested in reading more about Johnny, follow this link to a Lucas Countyan post from February of 2016 headlined, "Lucas County, Johnny Green and the Potawatomi."
Green died during December of 1868 in the vicinity of Marshalltown and was buried on a bluff overlooking the Iowa River on what now are the grounds of the Iowa Veterans Home. The Find A Grave photo used here shows the marker erected there early in the 20th century to mark the approximate site.
Did Johnny buy land in Ringgold County at the Chariton land office using gold dust? There's no reason to doubt that. Was the gold found in either Lucas or Decatur county? It seems highly unlikely.
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