1970 National Guard Armory robbery

[xs11jack]

I think Snowwolfe hit the nail on the head. I just don't think the thieves spending the kind of time it would take to gather supplies needed to preserve the weapons properly and do a good job of burying them. They most likely wrapped them in tarps and buried them that way. I don't think they would have more than one night to do all of this as daylight would bring curiosity seekers around to see what is going on.
Battis, I have 6 or 7 metal detectors so if you are really serious about this, I will send you one if you pay shipping.
Ole Jack

[country gent]

In a lot of big cities and even old farmers when things were buried they weren't outside. A few blocks were pulled of the wall or the dirt floor and dug into to hide whatever was being hidden. There were a lot of graves in basements in New York, Detroit and other cities. The old timers here that were alive in the depression all had loose stair treads, loose blocks in basement walls, floor boards, and spots in plaster that were hidden for stashing money and valuables.

[Battis]

Thanks for the offer of the metal detectors. I think it might be time for me to invest in one. I agree that if they did hide the items there, they were in a big hurry, and maybe came back at a later time.
The area where I think the items might be is a forested hill with a river running near the west side. There's an old stage road that skirts the west side of the hill where kids have partied for a long time. The town recently removed some old 1940s era car wrecks from the woods on the side of this road. Back in 1970 this would have been the place to drive a car into the woods at night (Gilday lived on the east side of the hill). I asked a "townie" the other day (I'm not a townie - I came in in 1983) where he would have driven or gone to hide stolen items at night and without question he named the same area. I'm sure most towns have this kind of place, where kids party in the woods, etc.
If I could be sure that the stuff was ever there, I'd start a serious search. For years I heard stories of an old silver mine on that hill but no one knew where it was. I went to the library and searched old newspapers and found one from the mid 1870s that told me where the mine had been. Sure enough, I found it.

And to what Country Gent said - the house that Gilday lived in is on the other side of the hill. It's a big old Victorian built in 1860. I'd love to get into that basement or attic eaves.

[RugerFan]

I have no idea what the National Guard Armory in Newburyport, MA had at the time but M1 Carbines, M1 Garand's and M14's were used in my area in the mid-70's. Some had S&W model 15's and 50 Cal BMG's.

Likely S&W M10 if it was an Army NG unit (as opposed Air National Guard). As I recall Army used the M10 and Air Force used the M15.

[Multigunner]

In the late 60's or early 70's I read a newspaper spread of a find of vehicles and weaponry stashed by a reclusive multi millionaire in the 1920's.
His grand son inherited a small island in the middle of a river and awhile looking over the property he found a ventilation shaft. At the bottom he found tunnels and galleries filled with WW1 era military and civilian trucks and many cases of rifles and machine guns along with millions of rounds of ammunition.
Turned out the grandpa has been certain that civilization would come to an end because of the stock market crash and stockpiled weapons and supplies enough for a large group of followers.

I've tried to look up information on this in recent years with no luck. All I remember was the locals called the island Skull island but that was probably not its real title. The Grandson wanted to build a theme park and hotels there, don't know if he was successful.
Most of what was found was rusty and moisture damaged.

In Florida in the 70's a arms cache left by NAZI agents 30 years before was found buried near an old lighthouse.

[richhodg66]

Whether the stuff is hidden around there or not, this is the kind of lore that makes communities fascinating.