In today's post, we will be looking at the Oak Island Money Pit treasure. This one is a bit more exciting for me as it hits close to home (I live in Ontario, Canada). Also, this story has it all: Pirates, lost treasure, booby traps, mystery, and even death. So fasten your seatbelts and let's travel to East Canada on a fascinating adventure!
Where Exactly is the Oak Island?
The Oak Island is just off of the shore of Nova Scotia. It is one of the 300 islands in the Mahone Bay.
(Obtained from Google Maps)
(Location of Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
When Did It Begin?
It all began in the summer of 1795, when a teenager named Daniel McGinnis thought he saw lights on the shore of the island from his house. He went on to investigate the lights on the island and came upon a circular hole in the ground, in an area where the trees were removed. He returned with two of his friends, John Smith and Anthony Vaughan, and started digging the hole. As they dug, the boys saw planks, as well as marks on the clay walls every 10 feet, which made them believe that the hole was man-made.
It is well-known history of the Nova Scotia that pirates used to frequent the islands of the Mahone Bay to restock and repair their vessels, and perhaps hide their treasure. In fact, upon his capture, the infamous Captain William Kidd, a notorious pirate, admitted to burying his treasure in the area. Although some believe it was a dying crew member who made such statements. Regardless, the fact that the pirates were frequently in the area in 1600s remains valid and agreed upon by the historians.
(Aerial shot showing the location of the Money Pit on Oak Island, NS. Causeway connecting it to the mainland was constructed in 1965.Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
Despite finding many hollow spaces covered by planks or stones, the boys kept digging in the hopes of finding the pirate treasure. However, despite putting many hours of labour into this, the boys ultimately did not find anything buried.
So, What is All the Hype About?
Despite the fruitless attempts of the teenage boys, the stories of this find circulate and soon others began to be interested. It is also said that even one of the boys, John Smith, purchased the land around the hole. Later in 1803, a group called "Onslow Company" was established with the sole purpose of finding treasure.
The team began excavating the site, and dug around 50 feet, finding timbres with different marks as they went along. At the 60-foot depth, the crew found coconut fibers. This was significant because for one, coconut was not native to Canada, and for another, coconut fibers were used to secure and protect valuable cargo.
It was not until 30 feet deeper, at 90 feet, that the men discovered a peculiar stone. This stone was very valuable because it had strange symbols and characters inscribed on it.
(Replica of a stone found at 90 feet in the money pit.
Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
Unfortunately, the day after this discovery, the crew went back to the site only to find that it had been filled with water. Many attempts at draining and digging another hole proved useless, as the water flooded back in again. It was assumed that the reason behind flooding was clever water traps designed to hinder any attempt at getting to the treasure. The Onslow Company had no choice but to abort its mission.
No one resumed the attempts to find treasure, until 1849 when Anthony Vaughan, one of the original teenagers who dug the hole, founded the "Truro Company" to resume the treasure hunting. The new company used auger, a drilling device, for the excavation and was much more successful than its predecessors. In one of the early excavations, the auger brought up small links of gold chain.
However, soon after the exciting treasure discovery, the Truro company also faced the same flooding issue as the Onslow compnay. This time, the crew discovered that the water was salty and moved with the ocean tides. By noticing these facts, the men were able to find artificial flood traps in the southern parts of the island which proved to be man-made. But, much to the disappointment of the company, the discovery of the water traps did not help in solving the flooding issues, and the company was forced to yet again abandon the excavation and disband.
Meanwhile, it was not until the 1860s when a University of Dalhousie Professor, James Leitchi, claimed to have translated the symbols using Edgar Allen Poe's "The Gold Bug". According to him, the message on the stone read: "40 feet below, 2 million pounds are buried".
With this new discovery, another group of treasure hunters called the "Oak Island Association" was formed. Again, the group faced the same flooding challenge, but this time, they found small valuable debris floating in the water. This prompted them to keep working the pit. However, during the attempt to drain the pit, a boiler exploded, killing one person and injuring several others. Despite this tragedy, the company continued its efforts for another 4 years, before having to give up.
The next group of people called the "Oak Island Treasure Company" resumed the search for treasure. They, too, only faced obstacles and yet another fatal incident when an ascension rope carrying a crew member up, slipped and the man fell to his death. At this point, rumours began circulating that the treasure was cursed. Despite the setbacks, the company continued its efforts and eventually dug deeper to find more valuable debris. This time, it was a piece of parchment paper with the letter "VI" written on the corner.
(Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
Fast Forward from 1900s to the Current Time
Throughout the 20th century, many more treasure hunters set to break the "curse" of the Oak Island and find its treasure. Amongst them, the most notable are:
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who eventually became the United States President, became interested in the treasure of the Oak Island at 27. It is said that even after he became the President, he wanted to go back to the Money Pit, but never got a chance.
- William Chappell; during his short excavation he found significant mining items.
- Gilbert Hedden; the Vice President and General Manager of Hedden Iron Construction Company, he was more resourceful than his predecessors. His team found some miner's oil lamps, unexploded dynamite, and clay putty.
- The Restall Family; Robert Restall (head of the family), his son, and 2 of their workers died from inhaling toxic fumes coming out of the tunnels.
- Rober Dunfield; this Geologist and his team were able to earth some shards of porcelain, an empty chamber, and a bedrock.
- The Triton Alliance; they found pieces of brass, porcelain and metals. They also found remnants of ancient dam and discovered a pair of wrought-iron scissors, a wooden sled, a portion of an iron ruler and other iron artifacts including nails and spikes. These materials were determined to predate 1790. Eventually, due to legal battles and the volatility of the stock market in 1987, the activities halted.
As of 2010, the government of Canada has established the Oak Island Treasure Act, according to which anyone who wants to exploit the island's natural resources would need to do licensing process with the Department of Natural Resources and would be heavily taxed on any findings. This has discouraged many potential treasure hunters.
Conclusion
Although there have been some promising remnants of a would-be treasure, no one has found anything concrete. In fact, there are many theories as to where this supposed treasure would have come from. Some believe that it belongs to Captain Kidd, while other speculate that William Shakespeare's, or rather Sir Francis Bacon's works may be hidden underneath the tunnels.
There are also many books and even a TV series dedicated to the Oak Island's mystery. Perhaps there is more to the story, however, today the Money Pit is only a tourist attraction shrouded in mystery.
References
Ashley Morgan. ND. Oak Island Money Pit. Retrieved from:
Atimina. ND. Oak Island Money Pit. Retrieved from: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/oak-island-money-pit
The Museum of Unnatural Mystery. ND. The Mystery Pit of Oak Island. Retrieved from:
It is well-known history of the Nova Scotia that pirates used to frequent the islands of the Mahone Bay to restock and repair their vessels, and perhaps hide their treasure. In fact, upon his capture, the infamous Captain William Kidd, a notorious pirate, admitted to burying his treasure in the area. Although some believe it was a dying crew member who made such statements. Regardless, the fact that the pirates were frequently in the area in 1600s remains valid and agreed upon by the historians.
(Aerial shot showing the location of the Money Pit on Oak Island, NS. Causeway connecting it to the mainland was constructed in 1965.Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
Despite finding many hollow spaces covered by planks or stones, the boys kept digging in the hopes of finding the pirate treasure. However, despite putting many hours of labour into this, the boys ultimately did not find anything buried.
So, What is All the Hype About?
Despite the fruitless attempts of the teenage boys, the stories of this find circulate and soon others began to be interested. It is also said that even one of the boys, John Smith, purchased the land around the hole. Later in 1803, a group called "Onslow Company" was established with the sole purpose of finding treasure.
The team began excavating the site, and dug around 50 feet, finding timbres with different marks as they went along. At the 60-foot depth, the crew found coconut fibers. This was significant because for one, coconut was not native to Canada, and for another, coconut fibers were used to secure and protect valuable cargo.
It was not until 30 feet deeper, at 90 feet, that the men discovered a peculiar stone. This stone was very valuable because it had strange symbols and characters inscribed on it.
(Replica of a stone found at 90 feet in the money pit.
Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
Unfortunately, the day after this discovery, the crew went back to the site only to find that it had been filled with water. Many attempts at draining and digging another hole proved useless, as the water flooded back in again. It was assumed that the reason behind flooding was clever water traps designed to hinder any attempt at getting to the treasure. The Onslow Company had no choice but to abort its mission.
No one resumed the attempts to find treasure, until 1849 when Anthony Vaughan, one of the original teenagers who dug the hole, founded the "Truro Company" to resume the treasure hunting. The new company used auger, a drilling device, for the excavation and was much more successful than its predecessors. In one of the early excavations, the auger brought up small links of gold chain.
However, soon after the exciting treasure discovery, the Truro company also faced the same flooding issue as the Onslow compnay. This time, the crew discovered that the water was salty and moved with the ocean tides. By noticing these facts, the men were able to find artificial flood traps in the southern parts of the island which proved to be man-made. But, much to the disappointment of the company, the discovery of the water traps did not help in solving the flooding issues, and the company was forced to yet again abandon the excavation and disband.
Meanwhile, it was not until the 1860s when a University of Dalhousie Professor, James Leitchi, claimed to have translated the symbols using Edgar Allen Poe's "The Gold Bug". According to him, the message on the stone read: "40 feet below, 2 million pounds are buried".
With this new discovery, another group of treasure hunters called the "Oak Island Association" was formed. Again, the group faced the same flooding challenge, but this time, they found small valuable debris floating in the water. This prompted them to keep working the pit. However, during the attempt to drain the pit, a boiler exploded, killing one person and injuring several others. Despite this tragedy, the company continued its efforts for another 4 years, before having to give up.
The next group of people called the "Oak Island Treasure Company" resumed the search for treasure. They, too, only faced obstacles and yet another fatal incident when an ascension rope carrying a crew member up, slipped and the man fell to his death. At this point, rumours began circulating that the treasure was cursed. Despite the setbacks, the company continued its efforts and eventually dug deeper to find more valuable debris. This time, it was a piece of parchment paper with the letter "VI" written on the corner.
(Retrieved from: https://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/#story)
Fast Forward from 1900s to the Current Time
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who eventually became the United States President, became interested in the treasure of the Oak Island at 27. It is said that even after he became the President, he wanted to go back to the Money Pit, but never got a chance.
- William Chappell; during his short excavation he found significant mining items.
- Gilbert Hedden; the Vice President and General Manager of Hedden Iron Construction Company, he was more resourceful than his predecessors. His team found some miner's oil lamps, unexploded dynamite, and clay putty.
- The Restall Family; Robert Restall (head of the family), his son, and 2 of their workers died from inhaling toxic fumes coming out of the tunnels.
- Rober Dunfield; this Geologist and his team were able to earth some shards of porcelain, an empty chamber, and a bedrock.
- The Triton Alliance; they found pieces of brass, porcelain and metals. They also found remnants of ancient dam and discovered a pair of wrought-iron scissors, a wooden sled, a portion of an iron ruler and other iron artifacts including nails and spikes. These materials were determined to predate 1790. Eventually, due to legal battles and the volatility of the stock market in 1987, the activities halted.
Conclusion
Although there have been some promising remnants of a would-be treasure, no one has found anything concrete. In fact, there are many theories as to where this supposed treasure would have come from. Some believe that it belongs to Captain Kidd, while other speculate that William Shakespeare's, or rather Sir Francis Bacon's works may be hidden underneath the tunnels.
There are also many books and even a TV series dedicated to the Oak Island's mystery. Perhaps there is more to the story, however, today the Money Pit is only a tourist attraction shrouded in mystery.
References
Ashley Morgan. ND. Oak Island Money Pit. Retrieved from:
Atimina. ND. Oak Island Money Pit. Retrieved from: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/oak-island-money-pit
The Museum of Unnatural Mystery. ND. The Mystery Pit of Oak Island. Retrieved from:
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