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What's New on Oak Island!
The Good news is that the island may soon be open to guests again. As early as this month tours will begin again on the Money Pit side of Oak Island. After three years of denying access to journalists, documentary filmmakers and the public, the gate across the causeway will be open again.
I visited Oak Island in July and heartily recommend the Oak Island Inn and Marina as a modern resort-quality place to stay. Guests can choose between private villas and motel rooms at very attractive Canadian dollar prices; and have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the inn while looking out over a short stretch of Mahone Bay to Oak Island. Charles Barkhouse is the resident historian and a walking encyclopedia on the world’s greatest treasure hunt.
The Bad news is that outside of some minor work, nothing of importance has been happening. From discussions with several individuals connected to the dig, it appears that plans are being formulated both to raise funds for the dig and to start real work again, but no serious work has started.
THE PLOT THICKENS
There is growing evidence (and speculation) that the underground workings of Oak Island are not limited to the island. Fred Nolan, who owns half of Oak Island, recently brought in a partner, Jim Young, who bought a nearby island. Nolan’s work has taken an exciting turn as several megalithic markers found on the island offer directional clues that have not been investigated before now. A second island nears the Oak Island causeway is the site of some serious excavation work. It is a small island in low tide and even smaller in high tide, but the treasure rights owner believes it too may be connected by tunnel. I even heard of still another island with an underground stairway although I was unable to find out much more.
There are over 300 islands in the bay, and since there has been no location of artifacts that would indicate where the builders of the Money Pit and its tunnels stayed, there is much more to be discovered. A short distance away is the town of New Ross, once called Charing Cross, or simply "The Cross". At a small house opposite the Masonic Hall was found certain stones that indicate some sort of pre-settlement building had gone on, and then destroyed. See Michael Bradley’s Holy Grail Across the Atlantic for this intriguing part of the mystery.