On April 3, 1911, it was reported that prior to his death five years earlier, Hodson Burton recorded a message on a phonograph record and entrusted it to his lawyer for safekeeping. In his will, Burton revealed that he had buried a large sum of gold and provided the exact location on the phonograph record, which was not to be played until five years after his death.

On the designated day, Burton’s heirs gathered at the home of his son, Luke Burton, eagerly anticipating the revelation of the location of the buried treasure. The lawyer arrived with the record, which he had carefully preserved, but in a moment of carelessness, he tripped over a footstool and broke the precious item just as he entered the room where everyone was waiting. As you can imagine, they were furious at the mishap and would never learn the location of the buried treasure.

Despite the disappointment of Burton’s heirs, the legend of the buried treasure persists. It still goes undiscovered.  It is rumored that he had hidden the cache on his farm, located about two miles north of State 12 in the southeastern corner of Berrien County in Michigan.