The Castle Treasure
WYANDOTTE COUNTY ? The story of Sauer Castle and the lost treasure of the Sauer family is one recorded in both history and local folklore.
The site has been the subject of all kinds of fantastic yarns, which has made it very popular among present-day ghost hunters.
Sauer Castle is at 935 Shawnee Drive, Kansas City, Kansas. Locating the Castle is no problem, but finding the buried treasure of Sauer Castle may prove a bit more challenging.
German born Anton Sauer, his wife, Francesca, and their five children immigrated to New York City in 1858.
Ten years later, Francesca died and, soon after, the family moved to Kansas City. By 1869, Anton was running a successful business and courting a 28-year-old widow named Mary Einhellig Messerschmidt. That year the couple married and their union produced five daughters.
At some point Sauer contracted tuberculosis and knew his days were numbered.
He completed Sauer Castle by November of 1872 that stood a short distance from the old Shawnee Indian Trail, which by then was the Santa Fe Trail.
On August 16, 1879, Sauer died in his sleep at home. Mary remained living in the Castle until her death in 1919.
Legends surrounding the Castle have passed from one generation to the next.
Five generations of the Sauer family lived at the Castle until it was sold by heirs to Paul Berry, following the death of Eve Perkins in 1955. Berry continued to reside at the Castle until his death in 1986.
Legend claims one or more buried treasures exist on the property that once belonged to Anton Sauer and the Sauer family.
The value and circumstances surrounding the Sauer treasure are vague, but it is said one treasure was buried in the huge underground wine cellar once located on the south side of the house. Today a small stone house has been built over the cellar.
Another treasure is linked to the discovery of a brick foundation that was unearthed following Anton?s death.
The foundation was located about two feet underground and at each corner a flat stone was discovered.
An arrow was found chiseled on each of the four stones. The positioning of each stone pointed in the same general direction when found.
Descendants of the Sauer family are reported to have searched for a buried treasure by following the arrows, but where they converged nothing was found.
Another treasure story has been linked to a secret tunnel built by Anton that led to the Kaw River.
The tunnel is believed by many to have been part of the lost Quindaro Slave Tunnel built during the Civil War, which has yet to be discovered.
Specific details regarding the treasure associated with this tunnel are unknown.
Local research may help further specify what treasure could be hidden at Sauer Castle.
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