No, it's not a legend, we did find gold in Saint Joseph.
Not enough to redo a John Wayne western “for a handful of dollars” but gold nonetheless.
Tradition reports that a cup made with “local” gold would have been offered to Marie de Médicis on the occasion of her marriage to Henri IV in Lyon on December 17, 1600. Beautiful pub. But the small vein was quickly exhausted (at the same time at the time we were not really equipped to do intensive). End Clap result for the mine in 1630.
Even if the mirage has made more than one adventurer dream (who tries nothing, has nothing), the projects have remained embryonic for 200 years. It was in the 19th century that the call for gold led geologists to go (tri)dig into the basements. And there, no gold but antimony (a metal sought after for its anti- friction) on the plots of the Peysselon family. Two wells are then dug (Peysselon well and Hello well). Operation was taken over 20 years later by an engineer. But the fault with bad luck the war puts an end to the projects but not to the dreams nor to the legends.