Geographically, Oak Island is a 140 acre island just off the cost of Nova Scotia. However this simple island has brought death and irreversible financial ruin to many. This is because in 1795 a teenager named Daniel McGinnis was on a boat late at night and saw strange lights coming from the island. He quickly gathered up two of his friends (John Smith and Anthony Vaughan) and headed over to the island. There they found a huge oak tree with a pulley hanging from it. Beneath the pulley they found a circular depression. They began to dig and every 10 feet they found a platform of round oak logs (remember this because it will be important). The kids got to about 25 feet before they gave up. This spot became known as the Money Pit.
The next attempt to find the treasure believed to be there was by the Onslow Company. They continued the digging of Daniel McGinnis down to 90 feet where they found something of great importance. Resting on the log platform at 90 feet they supposedly found a stone with strange symbols on it. These symbols would later translate to "Forty feet below, two million pounds are buried". However, this stone has since gone missing and there is no proof it actually existed. Furthermore, on removal of the stone, a "flood tunnel" ended up flooding the shaft, ending the operation.
What Is A "Flood Tunnel"?
So I thought I would quickly interject here as to what a "flood tunnel" is. They are tunnels believed to exist throughout the island that are there to protect the buried treasure by funneling seawater to wherever the tunnel is breached. To date, people have an understanding of where the seawater pours into the tunnels but we have yet to actually stop it.
The next very significant expedition took place in 1897 by William Chappell. And here it is important to interject that 2 people have died in accidents in the quest for the treasure and the legend that "Seven men must die before the treasure can be found" is starting to come about. Furthermore, several curious things have been excavated at this point such as a piece of parchment. However, something much more intriguing was about to be discovered. In a drilling expedition they discovered a box like structure underground that was made of a mix of concrete and wood. This is VERY significant because that was the deepest anyone had excavated and they found THAT.
The next significant excavation is VERY significant, but not in a good way. This expedition led by Robert Dunfield hoped to get to the bottom of the mystery once and for all. Dunfield launched an all out attack on the money pit, in hopes to get to the "Chappell Vault" (The structure William Chappell discovered). However, eventually he hit one of the flood tunnels and overnight the excavation was ruined. He then ordered that the pit be filled in. Since then, the location of the Money Pit is STILL unknown because in this all out attack, Dunfield destroyed everything.
Finally, there is the most recent and most successful attempt to find the treasure. It is currently being led by Rick and Marty Lagina. They have reignite the passion for Oak Island and it mystery with their tv show "The Curse of Oak Island". They have recently potentially rediscovered the location of the original Money Pit as well as discovered some new places of interest. On top of that, they have discovered for strange carvings, strange pieces of wood deep underground, and coins. Furthermore, they have also narrowed down some of the theories behind who put the treasure there. So far the leading theories are the Knight's Templar took sacred treasures and hid them during the Crusades, it is pirate treasure, or it is the lost treasure of the Inca's that the conquistadors took when they conquered South America. Only time will tell when they treasure will be found.
This sounds like a very interesting book and I'm so glad that you can get back to some independent reading! ~ Mrs. Kopp
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