Oak Island's Smiths Cove

Nova Scotia is home to Mahone Bay, the center of a rich pirate culture throughout early European settlement in the Americas. For one island in the bay, pirate lore has become intertwined with a mystery treasure. Oak Island has been the subject of a centuries-long treasure hunt, with "x" marking Captain Kidd's lost treasure. According to legend, seven men have to die before the treasure can be revealed. Archaeologists, amateur theorists, and everyone in between have visited Oak Island to crack this mystery, with special attention given to Smiths Cove. Discoveries made here throughout the centuries could potentially alter the timeline of European contact in modern-day Canada. Today, brothers Rick and Marty Lagina, along with a team of researchers/archaeologists/historians, are excavating the island in search of the treasure, documenting their journey through the History Channel show Curse of Oak Island (2014-present).

Settlement near Nova Scotia’s Oak Island (originally called Smith's Island) first occurred in the 1750s, with the English town of Lunenburg’s establishment in 1753 and the French establishment of Chester in 1759; land on the island was first given out to families the same year of Chester’s founding. Over the coming decades, lots were purchased by individuals connected to the Oak Island treasure hunt, such as Anthony Vaughan Sr. in 1781 and the Smith family in 1786 (both were parents of boys involved in the original discovery of the famed Money Pit). 

The island itself seemed to be an afterthought, especially economically. There were no fisheries or agricultural activity on the island. The residents seem to have worked in Chester or Lunenburg fisheries, rather than develop a sustainable economy on the island. Oak Island was also left untouched before European settlement. There has been no evidence of any Indigenous activity on the island, nor any myths about the island present in Mi’kmaq culture. 

The island could have been accessed by Europeans as early as 1632, largely due to the establishment of LeHave at the entrance of Mahone Bay. Mahone Bay was an epicenter for pirate activity in the 16th-18th centuries, which only grew with LeHave’s founding. The relationship between pirates and the local governments were so strong that in 1700 the governor of Arcadia invited pirates to officially use LaHave as a base of operations; buccaneers jumped at the chance. The Bay was an ideal discrete location, with natural mountain barriers by land and the shelter of the Tancook Islands at the mouth. Oak Island was one of, if not the most protected island in the bay. Thanks to the unusual growth of oak trees on the island, and its close proximity to the coast, anyone docking on the south shore of the island would be completely hidden from the bay’s entrance. That south shore is the location of Smith's Cove, which was also known as Smugglers Cove. 

Many famous pirates, including Peter Easton and Sir William Phipps, were active within Nova Scotia, but the name most associated with Oak Island is Captain William Kidd. While there is no proof that Kidd was ever near Nova Scotia or Oak Island, the belief that Captain Kidd’s treasure was buried there proliferated for centuries. According to a deathbed confession from a sailor supposedly on Kidd’s ship, Captain Kidd’s crew buried treasure on an island near the Atlantic coast. After Daniel McGinnis’s 1795 discovery, people throughout the Americas believed Oak Island to be the island from the confession. 

The story goes as follows: a teenage McGinnis sailed to the island, discovering an impression in the earth that was marked with a tackle block. Gathering his friends Anthony Vaughan and John Smith, he returned to the site. The trio dug into the pit, finding layers of flat oak log platforms. They named the area the Money Pit, buying lots on the island and recruiting “men of means” to finance a digging operation to find what they believed to be Captain Kidd’s treasure. The mystery treasure on Oak Island was attributed to Kidd ever since, with maps labeling Oak Island as the location of Kidd’s Treasure.

Because of its ideal landing location for ships, and its proximity to the Money Pit, Smiths Cove has been the subject of excavation for hundreds of years. Significant archaeological findings have been found by many companies, especially the modern-day Lagina Brothers Operation. Rick and Marty Lagina became proprietors of the treasure hunt in 2007. With the help of former hunters Fred Nolan, Dan Henskee, and Dan Blankenship, as well as a team of archaeologists/divers/historians, they have made significant discoveries that they showcase in their History Channel show The Curse of Oak Island. The show has focused on Smiths Cove multiple times, specifically highlighting the two following discoveries. 

In 1850, the Truro Company found evidence of a French style box drain. The discovery was confirmed in the 1960s and in the 2010s by multiple treasure hunters. The drains were theorized to have been created as booby traps for the money pit. Water from five box drains throughout the island would fill the treasure hole with water if treasure hunters dug past a certain point. The box drain in Smiths Cove is the only one of the supposed five to be found.

In 2017-2018, Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton (a metal detecting expert) unearthed a lead cross in Smith’s Cove. Not only was the lead dated to the 1300-1400s, but it was connected to Southern France. The cross has been one of the greatest findings on the show, supporting a theory that the Knights Templar had been on the island. The cross is also identical to a Templar prison carving in Domme, France, which has given even more support to the French Templar theory. If Templars were indeed on the island, it could change Canadian history and early European settlement as we know it. 

Other discoveries (a hinge, a slipway, coconut fibers, etc.) in Smiths Cove have had an impact on potential treasure theories. Today, the Laginas are still at work on the island, documenting the journey on their TV show. Public access to the island is restricted, but a visitors center is sometimes accessible.

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