St. Charles City-County Library

Tales, Trickery and the Temptation of Treasure

Treasure stories have excited generations, perhaps none more so than the famous “Money Pit” located on Oak Island.

The Real Story of Oak Island's Legendary Money Pit

Hunts for the Oak Island Money Pit, a 100-foot hole on an island in Nova Scotia and allegedly containing anything from pirate treasure to the Ark of the Covenant, date back to 1795.

The Curse of Oak Island

The Holy Grail? Pirates' treasure? Marie Antoinette's lost jewels? Whatever is on Oak Island, for 200 years, people have been losing their money, sanity and lives trying to find it.

Oak Island, the Inca/Spanish Connection

Amazingly, the genesis of the story told by the Oak Island artifacts may be in faraway South America, when Francisco Pizarro arrived in the high northern Andes Mountains of Peru.

Hoax Island

However, most historians think it's a hoax and see echoes in the stories of popular folklore from the 18th century. Still, many hope the mystery is never solved.