There are several caves on Mount Tekoa, all located in Russell. Folklore carries on generations back from the late 1700’s of the most infamous large cave where a money-mill was in operation. One day, an old man who lived at the base of Tekoa stumbled upon this operation, of course he was given a plentitude of whatever he needed to keep this secret. Old Ebe…unfortunately not only told of “his friends who lived in a rock house on the mountain” but also paid for his “drink and supplies” with counterfeit coin in the local store, which of course began to circulate in the Hilltowns. This lead to the demise of the operation.

Sile Doty born in 1800 was one of the best and well known thieves and burglars of those times. Sile’s “associate” was Lyman Parks, resident of Salmon Falls and an engraver. Parks showed Doty his room for making money, a cavern in rock. There. his tools and implements for imitating the coin so perfectly made it was hard to decipher real from fake. The four workman were Doyle, Daly, Hogan and Mallory. Whichever story you have heard or read…and I have read and studied for almost 20 years from the day I became a resident of Russell and looked out my front window at the great mountainside…one must be true because it does exist. Thank you to all who made this adventure possible and safely so and long live Hilltown History!
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