Upon arriving in Cooleyville, Morris and Wallace abided by the Philadelphia psychic’s direction, although believing that finding a little girl swinging on a gate was utter foolishness.
However, after a couple weeks of searching, to their delight, they found a little girl swinging on a gate. Immediately, the Pattersons purchased the farm across the road.
To all outsiders of this secret endeavor, the gentlemen appeared to be farmers. They began digging 30 yards west of the house, and then 90 feet west of the large oak tree, in aspirations of great fortune.
Nevertheless, mishaps occured when least expected, and the same was true in the Pattersons’ quest. According to a special to the Owatonna People's Press, dated November 23, 1897, these gentlemen prospected approximately four years, finding nothing. They then contacted the medium again, who located the mine instantly on her only visit to Cooleyville.
Quickly, a shaft was sunk 40 feet deep. They found dust in rewarding measure. Only to be struck with more misfortune, 30 feet of water filled the mine nightly.
Perry Chadwick, who helped the Patterson Brothers dig for gold from 1932-36, believed there was gold within their reach.
"I saw gold on two occasions. I got it out of the earth myself," Chadwick was quoted in a July 20, 1966 issue of the Albert Lea Tribune.
In that same article, Chadwick ceased the rumor that the woman with Cooleyville visions was a "gypsy" or "fortune teller." He identified her as Mrs. L.G. Fritz of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, wife of a carpenter.
This reporter’s thirst for information was quenched when what remains of Cooleyville lore was found, simply waiting alongside a desolate street approximately one mile east of Ellendale. In turn, that guided me north, one-half mile, to immeasureable riches of days gone by.
The Pattersons spent the rest of their lives in search of the American dream, digging for the gold prize in Cooleyville. It never came to fruition. But they left behind a gold mine of history.
