It has everything a treasure story needs: a mysterious island, a deep hole, flooding tunnels, a legendary curse, and rumors of pirate gold. For more than two centuries, people have been digging on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, convinced something incredible is buried there.
The short answer: no treasure has ever been found. Ideas about what's down there range from pirate gold to the Holy Grail, but skeptics such as investigator Joe Nickell argue there is no treasure at all. In their view, the famous Money Pit is most likely a natural sinkhole connected to underground limestone passages.
How the Legend Began
Very little about the early days is verified. The stories come from word of mouth, and the first known account of a settler finding the pit didn't appear in print until 1857.
According to the most popular version, a settler named Daniel McGinnis spotted a depression in the ground in the summer of 1795. Recalling tales that Captain Kidd's crew had buried treasure on the island, he and two companions began to dig. They reportedly found a layer of flagstones two feet down, then marks of some kind every 10 feet. They gave up at 30 feet out of superstitious dread.
Deeper and Deeper
Around 1802, a group called the Onslow Company allegedly dug to about 90 feet. They reported layers of logs, charcoal, putty, and coconut fiber, plus a stone carved with symbols. Then the pit flooded with 60 feet of water.
Later searchers ran into the same problem again and again. A group called the Truro Company, said to have formed in 1849, re-dug the pit and drilled into it, reporting wood, clay, and something described as metal in pieces. The pit flooded once more.
A President's Fascination
One of the most surprising treasure hunters was Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1909, he was a member of a group called the Old Gold Salvage group, which sent divers into the pit. Nothing of interest turned up.
Roosevelt kept following the mystery for the rest of his life, until his death in 1945. He even secretly planned to visit the island in 1939, but fog and world events got in the way.
Tragedy and a Curse
The hunt has had real costs. In 1965, Robert Restall was overcome by toxic gas in a shaft. His son went down after him and also collapsed. Restall's work partner and two other men tried to rescue them, but only one, Andy DeMont, was brought out alive. Restall, his son, and two of the rescuers died.
Those deaths fed a legend that started more than a century ago: a curse said to claim seven lives before the treasure is found.
The Natural Explanation
Suggestions that the pit is natural go back at least to 1911. Sinkholes and caves exist on the mainland near the island. A sinkhole fills with loose debris that is softer than the surrounding ground, which could make it look like someone had dug there before. The log platforms could be trees that fell or washed into the hollow over time.
Still, the mystery lives on. Since 2014, brothers Rick and Marty Lagina of Michigan have documented their search in the History channel series The Curse of Oak Island. Whether there's gold down there or just a very convincing hole in the ground, Oak Island has proven that a good mystery can be its own kind of treasure.
