The largest nugget found so far weighed 132 grains or only about one-third of an ounce, not a very large nugget. Indiana gold is known only from the streams that have glacial drift in their beds and thus our gold must have been transported from some other source, probably Canada. Gold has been panned in Indiana streams since the 1850s and you can still experience the thrill of seeing flakes of gold in your pan in certain streams in Brown and Morgan counties. In fact, gold has been reported from 26 Indiana counties, but usually in only very minute quantities. I have heard stories of lost gold mines in Dubois, Crawford, Perry, Orange, Lawrence and Martin counties and I'm sure other counties are also the site of alleged mines.
Most stories are quite similar.
One would deduce they came from the same source with only the location and a few minor details changed. To me the most interesting story and the one which differs the most from the rest concerns the lost gold nuggets of McBrides Bluff. Located in Martin County about six miles north of Shoals, the McBrides Bluff is an imposing mass of sandstone that looms about 175 feet above the ast fork of White River. It is a very scenic area and one long-favored by picnicers and sightseers. It also is the locale of two legends about lost treasure.