 Soon after the building was completed, a legend circulated about how Thomas Briggs was able to afford to build such a large and elaborate building following the Civil War.The legend claimed that sometime prior to the Union occupation of Raleigh in 1865, Briggs converted all of his Confederate money into gold and silver coins.He then took the coins, stuffed them into pipes, found a distinctive grove of trees, and buried the money to prevent Union soldiers from stealing the money.