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Last updated: 2009 January 2.

1909 April Captain Henry Bowdoin forms The Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company, based in New York. Company has $250,000 authorized capital. Officers: president Henry Bowdoin, vice president Frederick Blair, treasurer L.H. Andrews, secretary G.D. Mosher, and a board director Captain John W. Welling. He announced his company will resume the Oak Island search for the assumed treasure of pirate Captain Kidd. Despite impressive talk, he only raises $5000 through sale of shares. [1.198] [4.87] [5.77] August 27 Henry Bowdoin and workers arrive on Oak Island, setting up "Camp Kidd". [4.89] (month unknown) Excavations commence near Smith's Cove, looking for the flood tunnel, unsuccessfully. [4.89] The Money Pit is excavated with an excavation bucket, ripping out platforms, ladders, and cross timbers down to 107-113 feet. Drills bore 25 holes at various angles and depths (to bedrock at 155-171 feet), only finding clay, sand, stones, and limestone pitted by water. (Later drillings suggest that these drillings were not directly in the Money Pit.) [1.198] [4.90] [5.77] November The Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company closes down operations. [4.90] 1911 The Old Gold Salvage and Wrecking Company ceases digging work on the island; Frederick Blair does not extend their permit. [5.78] Rudolphe Faribault makes the first geological report of the Oak Island region. It concludes that limestone, gypsum, sandstone, and shale are most likely below thick overburden deposits at the east end of the island. [5.78] August 18 Collier's Magazine publishes an article by Henry Bowdoin calling the Money Pit a hoax, claiming the treasure and flood tunnel never existed. [1.199] [5.78] 1919 The bookbinder business in Halifax merges with Philip and Marshall company. The engraved stone slab is reported still at this location. (Searchs in 1933 and 1935 cannot find the stone anywhere.) [3.30] [4.21] 1922 December 7 The Journal of Commerce of Boston runs an advertisment by Frederick Blair looking for someone to buy half interest in the Oak Island treasure hunt for $50,000. [4.107] 1928 May 8 The New York Times publishes an article on the island. [4.113] 1931 Frederick Blair joins with Chappells Limited of Sydney, Nova Scotia. One of the company owners is William Chappell. Also with company are son Melbourne Chappell, brother Renerick, and nephew Claude Chappell. William tells Blair a secret he kept for 31 years: he noted traces of yellow metal or gold on a drill bit during 1897. [4.108] Unsure of where excatly the Money Pit is, William Chappell and his brother create a 12 x 14 foot shaft (#21), slightly southwest of the Money Pit. They dig down to 155 feet, using a 450 gallon/minute pump to keep water under control. Drilling another 12 feet hits hard clay. They conclude they are not directly over the Pit, but may be 6-7 feet south. At 116 feet, they find an anchor fluke embedded in wall, 14 inches long, 9 inches wide, 1.25 inches thick, no sign of rust but not recent design. At 119 feet, a granite boulder about 5 feet diameter is encountered. Under the boulder are fragments of wood, wood chips, spruce boughs, and a limb of oak. At 123 feet, an axe is found, with rusted head, clean wide blade, and 3 foot long wooden handle (resembling a 250-year-old Acadian axe). At 127 feet are found a pick (head 14 inches, handle 18 inches) and remains of miner's oil lamp with seal oil. From 130 to 150 feet are various pieces of granite. The pick and axe were found at depths not recorded by earlier diggers, and are highly unlikely to have "fallen" 30-40 feet from earlier digs due to tunnel collapses. [1.79,199] [4.110] [5.79] Mel Chappell locates the triangle of stones near the high water mark of the south shore, previously discovered in 1897. [4.112] Sophia Sellers, widow of Henry Sellers, owner of the eastern end of the island, dies. She is succeeded by twelve heirs who refuse to renew the Chappell/Blair lease on the land. [4.112] October 29 After expenditure of $40,000, work is halted. [4.112] 1932 William Chappell ends digging operations. [5.90] Another group gets permission to dig, drills holes, finds nothing. [4.113] 1933 John Taylor of New York does some drilling on the island. [4.113] [5.90] Baker drills some holes near the Money Pit. One boring finds a speck of free mercurym which does not usually occur naturally. This provides a potential link to New Spain, with mercury mines west of Vera Cruz. [5.90] Thomas Nixon of Victoria, British Columbia, forms the Canadian Oak Island Treasure Company to search for treasure on the island, and makes an agreement with Frederick Blair. [1.200] [5.90] 1934 Thomas Nixon's company drills 14 boreholes north of the Chappell pit, down to 176 feet, finding bits of oak and china fragments from 123 feet. One boring encounters a vacant space between 136 and 170 feet. [1.200] [5.90] 1935 March Gilbert Hedden of Chatham, New Jersey, signs an agreement with Frederick Blair. [4.113] July Gilbert Hedden purchases the east end of Oak Island from the Sellers heirs for $5000. [1.200] [4.113] [5.90] 1936 April Gilbert Hedden hires Sprague and Henwood, Inc., of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to pump and re-excavate the Money Pit, Chappell shaft, and others, and to drill laterally at depths of between 125 and 160 feet. [4.114] (month unknown) Using electric turbine pumps to keep water out, the Chappell shaft is excavated and re-timbered to 170 feet. No trace of treasure encountered. Work is put on hold at the end of the season. [1.200] [4.114] [5.90] 1937 (Spring) Another new shaft, 12 by 24 feet, is excavated adjacent and east of the Chappell shaft, down to 125 feet. At 65 feet, a miner's whale oil lamp is found. An oak stump is found at 80 feet. At 93 feet, putty-like clay not found on the island previously is encountered. At 104 feet, a tunnel with beach rocks is found, measuring 3 feet 10 inches wide by 6 feet 4 inches high. The tunnel is thought to be either an original water tunnel, or one dug by the Halifax Company in the 1860s. Holes drilled at the bottom to 160 feet encounter oak varying in thickness from 1 to 30 inches. Finance problems end work for the Winter. Cost of this company's operation to date is $50,000. [1.79] [4.114] [5.91] Gilbert Hedden discovers 15-inch diameter old timbers, four feet apart at low tide (buried four feet) at Smith's Cove. The structure could be a ramp or slipway. [5.93] The book Captain Kidd and His Skeleton Island, written by Harold Wilkins is published in London, England. The book, about pirates and treasure, includes a map resembling Oak Island. The legend on the map includes "W.K. 1669", and three bearings to the treasure: "18 W and 7 E on Rock", "30 SW 14 N Tree", and "7 by 8 by 4". [1.201] [4.117] August Gilbert Hedden explores the island after reading the Captain Kidd book. He finds a white granite boulder 50 feet north of the Money Pit with a drill hole. Another is found about 400 ft away, near shore of Smith's Cove. The holes are 2 inches deep, 1.25 inches diameter. He locates the stone triangle, near the South Shore, 50 feet from the high water mark. It is made of large granite beach stones 12-14 inch diameter, arranged to form a large equilateral triangle 9-10 feet on each side. The base runs east-west, and a line of stones runs from the base to the apex in true north direction. This line intersects the Money Pit. [1.201] [4.117] [5.93] August 16 Charles Roper, Nova Scotia Land Surveyor of Halifax, and assistant George Bates, arrive on the island to make measurements to investigate a possible connection to the Captain Kidd book map legend. Distance between the two drilled granite rocks is about 25 rods (one rod equals 16.5 feet). At the point 18 rods from the Money Pit rock and 7 rods from the other drilled rock is near the Cave-in Pit. 30 rods south-west from this point is behind the stone triangle. But the original oak tree at the Money Pit is about 18 rods north from this point, not 14 rods like the map legend. [4.120] [5.93] November 10 Gilbert Hedden travels to London, England, to meet with Captain Kidd book author Harold Wilkins. Wilkins is surprised to learn of the coincidences of his map with Oak Island, claiming to have never been to the island, and that the legend was completely made from his imagination. [4.122] 1938 (Spring) Professor Edwin Hamilton of New York University offers to take over the search from Gilbert Hedden, when Hedden runs into financial difficulties. [1.202] [4.124] July (mid-month) Edwin Hamilton signs an agreement with Gilbert Hedden and Frederick Blair, to split any treasure 40% to Blair, 30% to Hedden, and 30% to Hamilton. [4.124] Sprague and Henwood begin drilling and excavating for Edwin Hamilton. 58 holes are bored laterally in the Hedden shaft. Main result is possibly relocating the original Money Pit, slightly north of the Chappell shaft. [4.125] [5.94] 1939 Popular Science publishes an article on Oak Island. [1.36] (Summer) Sprague and Henwood continue drilling and excavating. [4.125] October 14 The Saturday Evening Post publishes an article on "The Money Pit". [5.205] 1940 (Summer) Sprague and Henwood continue drilling and excavating. They extend part of the Hedden Shaft 6 feet by 6 feet down to 170 feet. They only find stones believed not to be native to that depth. [4.125] [5.94] 1941 (Summer) Sprague and Henwood continue drilling and excavating. They deepen the Chappell Shaft to 167 feet, to bedrock. Drilling to 200 feet encounters chips of oak, the first direct evidence of workings below bedrock. [1.202] [4.125] [5.95] Edwin Hamilton's workers discover that a tunnel leads out under the waters of Smith's Cove. [1.202] 1943 Edwin Hamilton ceases his search for treasure, due to World War II. [4.125] [5.96] 1946 May Nathan Lindenbaum from New York arrives at the island, with pick and shovel. He is allowed to dig a bit, but soon quits, making this the briefest search ever. [4.125] (month unknown) Anthony Belfiglio, an engineer of Toronto, Ontario, offers to buy the Money Pit lot for $15,000. Hedden says he can buy all his property for $25,000. No deal is worked out. [4.126] 1949 June 30 Frederick Blair's treasure trove license expires. [4.126] 1950 January Newsweek magazine runs an article about Oak Island. [4.126] April 1 Frederick Blair dies, at age 83. Mel Chappell takes over the treasure trove license. [4.127] May 12 Gilbert Hedden sells his Oak Island property for $6000 to John Whitney Lewis, a mining engineer of New York. [4.116,126] July 14 Frederick Blair receives a new treasure trove license for five years. [4.126] (month unknown) (late in year) John Whitney Lewis sells his Oak Island land to Mel Chappell. [4.127] December Parker Contract Company of Bellville, Ontario, takes their "Mineral Wave Ray" to the island to search for gold. They identify five locations, but Mel Chappell digs and drills each, finding nothing. This cost him $35,000. [4.128] 1951 M.R. Chappell, son of William Chappell, buys Oak Island. He and Frederick Blair (with Treasure Trove license) begin work. They use an electronic metal-locating device, and a clam shovel. At 45 feet down, they stop digging, as the locator indicates something now further south. [1.202] 1953 Leary publishes the book The Oak Island Enigma, written by Thomas Leary. Presents summary of work, and possible originators of the Money Pit. Opinion is that the treasure consists of the lost manuscripts of Sir Francis Bacon. [5.202] 1955 September George Greene of Corpus Christi, Texas, representing five large oil companies, signs a contract with Mel Chappell. [4.130] (month unknown) (Autumn) George Greene drills four 4-inch core holes near the Money Pit. Three holes hit oak platforms every 10 feet down to 110 feet. The fourth drill hits 8-inches of oak at 100 feet, a 10-foot cavity, another 8-inches of oak, then a cavity extending for 45-70 feet. He pumps in 100,000 gallons of water to determine the size of the cavity, but it is not enough to fill it. [1.203] [4.130] [5.97] October 28 George Greene ceases his search operations for the season. An oil drilling contract takes him elsewhere, and he does not return. [1.37] [4.130] [5.97] 1957 January 28 Letter from Mel Chappell to Bob Restall, says agreement with Mr. Greene now terminated. Says new agreement with Restall would be fifty-fifty split of any treasure recovered. [1.38] March 1 Bob Restall replies by letter to Mel Chappell, with a proposal for finding the treasure of the island. He includes the right of Chappell to terminate the contract if Restall fails to seal off the source of sea water within six months. [1.38] April 8 Mel Chappell replies by letter to Bob Restall saying an engineer from New York is going to try locating the treasure. [1.39] October 4 Mel Chappell writes to Bob Restall referring to Ontario mining men making arrangements to be next searchers. [1.40] 1958 May William and Victor Harman, brothers from Ontario, sign a one-year agreement with Mel Chappell. [4.130] The Harman brothers drill four holes near the Money Pit, finding bits of oak, spruce, coconut fiber, and ship's caulking, from about 150 feet and below. [1.203] [4.130] [5.97] June The Ryerson Press publishes the book The Oak Island Mystery written by Reginald Harris. First comprehensive book on Oak Island available to general public. Reviews the many theories; the book is based on many original documents no longer available. [4.viii] [5.201] July The Harman brothers run out of money, and cease operations temporarily. [4.130] 1959 October The Harman brothers quit their search. [4.131] Mel Chappell and Robert Restall sign a contract for Restall to begin work on Oak Island. Term is three months, more if progress made. Profit from any treasure found will be split 50 percent to Chappell, 25 percent to Restall, and 25 percent to Restall's financial backers. [1.41] [4.131] October 15 Bob Restall and family arrive on Oak Island, with $8000 in savings and equipment. [1.41] December Mel Chappell extends the contract with Bob Restall through all of 1960. [1.54]

End of 1909-1959. Next: 1960. The complete timeline can be purchased in a PDF file for US$10 from the author. You can pay now directly via PayPal. When I receive notification from PayPal, I will email you the PDF file. or send me an email to request my mailing address to mail payment. 1641-1860 1861-1908 1909-1959 1960-1972 1973-end A list of references to all source material is available. Other web pages of interest: This Day in History Chronology of World History

Last updated: 2009 January 2. Copyright © 2007-2009 Ken Polsson (email: kpolsson@islandnet.com). URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/oakisle/ Link to Ken P's home page.