View source for 90ft Stone

= History =

There are many different theories about the meaning of the inscription on the 90ft stone. The problem is that the location of the stone is no longer known, and no&nbsp;pictures, tracings, or illustrations of any kind have ever been found of the 90 Foot Stone, so we have no detailed idea of what the stone actually looked like.

[[File:90ft stone.png|thumb|right|400px|90ft stone.png]] Depending on whose discovery account you follow the stone was found at either 80ft or 90ft, and it may or may not have been what caused the flood system to be activated. Even the size of the stone is a source of debate.&nbsp;Regardless of the details, the basic story goes that the stone was discovered facedown in the pit around 90ft. It was likely moved to the side based solely on the weight of the stone and the difficulty with which it would be removed.

''<ref>A letter written by McCully of Truro on June 2 1862, and printed in the Liverpool Transcript in October of 1862</ref> "About seven years afterward&nbsp;[7 yrs after initial money-pit discovery], Simeon Lynds, of Onslow, went down to Chester, and happening to stop with Mr. Vaughn, he was informed of what had taken place. He then agreed to get up a company, which he did, of about 25 or 30 men, and they commenced where the first left off, and sunk the pit 93 feet, finding a mark every ten feet. Some of them were charcoal, some putty, and one at 80 feet was a stone cut square, two feet long and about a foot thick, with several characters on it."&nbsp;''

The above account doesn't actually talk about how and when the stone was removed from the pit, but it is believed that the Onslow company did remove it at some point, but did not do anything to document it.&nbsp;

The first Public knowledge of the stone came in 1862 in a letter written by McCully, who was responding to criticisms on the treasure hunt being performed at that time on Oak Island. A local paper had written an article entitled, "The Oak Island Folly", to which McCully responded with his letter relating why those involved in the current attempt had faith in their endeavor. The stone was mentioned as one piece of evidence for their conviction.
<blockquote>
<ref>A letter written by J.B. McCully of Truro on June 2 1862, and printed in the Liverpool Transcript in October of 1862</ref>“at 80 feet was a stone cut square, two feet long and about a foot thick, with several characters on it. “
</blockquote> 
Although it was believed to be important the fact that no one really knew what it said made it more of a novelty than a treasure. Most accounts agree that John Smith used the stone as part of his chimney in the house he built on Oak Island. <ref>https://www.oakislandcompendium.ca/blockhouse-blog/missing-an-investigative-report-into-oak-islands-long-lost-90-foot-stone-part-2-in-a-special-series</ref>The following letter transcripts were reported by [https://www.oakislandcompendium.ca/blockhouse-blog/missing-an-investigative-report-into-oak-islands-long-lost-90-foot-stone-part-2-in-a-special-series Doug Crowell of BlockHouse Investigations]
<blockquote><div class="paragraph" style="border:0px; margin:0px auto 2em; padding:0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; text-align:left"><span style="font-size:13px !important"><span style="overflow-wrap:break-word"><span style="line-height:20px !important"><span style="font-family:Cantarell !important"><span style="color:#010226 !important"><span style="font-style:normal"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:normal"><span style="font-variant-caps:normal"><span style="font-weight:400"><span style="letter-spacing:normal"><span style="orphans:2"><span style="text-transform:none"><span style="white-space:normal"><span style="widows:2"><span style="word-spacing:0px"><span style="background-color:#ffffff"><span style="text-decoration-style:initial"><span style="text-decoration-color:initial">''<font size="3">“Sir,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An interesting sketch of the Oak Island enterprise appears in the “Colonist” newspaper of this morning, and of which I believe you are the author.&nbsp; You mention a flagstone bearing an inscription was found and as it was preserved in the family of Mr. Smith ‘it may be seen by the curious at the present day.’&nbsp; May I beg, in the name of the society, to be favored with the name of the person in whose possession the stone is, as, if authentic, it cannot fail to be important as a historical object.&nbsp; I have the honor to be Sir, Your most obedient servant&nbsp;&nbsp; J. Hunter Duvar&nbsp;&nbsp; Corr. Sec.</font>''<br/> <br/> <font size="3">- Source:&nbsp; 1864 January 2 – Letter written by John Hunter Duvar to George Cooke</font></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div> </blockquote> <blockquote><div class="paragraph" style="border:0px; margin:0px auto 2em; padding:0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width:0px; text-align:left"><span style="font-size:13px !important"><span style="overflow-wrap:break-word"><span style="line-height:20px !important"><span style="font-family:Cantarell !important"><span style="color:#010226 !important"><span style="font-style:normal"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:normal"><span style="font-variant-caps:normal"><span style="font-weight:400"><span style="letter-spacing:normal"><span style="orphans:2"><span style="text-transform:none"><span style="white-space:normal"><span style="widows:2"><span style="word-spacing:0px"><span style="background-color:#ffffff"><span style="text-decoration-style:initial"><span style="text-decoration-color:initial"><font size="3">''“On my return I found your letter of the 2nd instant, desiring information respecting the flag-stone bearing an inscription taken out of the Old Pit on Oak Island, awaiting me…&nbsp; The stone in question was saved by Mr. Smith, who owned the place.&nbsp; About 40 years ago, at a time when nothing was doing at the island & when the prospects of the treasure seekers appeared altogether hopeless.&nbsp; Mr. Smith built, what was then called, his new house.&nbsp; In building it, he found that this interesting stone would suit admirably a corner in the back part of his chimney, and as he began to consider it of no value to himself or to any one else, on account of the operations at the island having ceased, he unfortunately put it into the chimney, the flat side out.&nbsp; Fourteen years ago Mr. Smith pointed out the stone, then & I believe still in the chimney, and assured me that it was the identical stone taken out of the “Money Pit” on the Island, in his presence.&nbsp; Mr. Smith has since died & the property has passed into other hands.&nbsp; Mr. Graves now owns the property & building is occupied by the present Oak Island Association.&nbsp; I am not aware whether Mr. Graves knows anything about the stone being in the Chimney.&nbsp; On making inquiries since receipt of you letter, I find that the chimney has been boxed round by a wood partition, and that a flight of stairs goes up near where the stone is inserted.&nbsp; I was not aware of this before.&nbsp; This may prevent the stone from being got at without trouble, and perhaps, expense, but as it is very important for the interests of the “Oak Island Association” if for no other object that the inscription on the stone should be deciphered, its position in the chimney ought not to ___ be an insuperable barrier to the attempt to decipher it being made.&nbsp; At the time I saw the stone I noticed that there were some rudely cut letters, figures or characters upon it.&nbsp; I cannot recollect which, but they appear as if they had been scraped out by a blunt instrument, rather than cut with a sharp one.&nbsp; I have the honor to be sir, Your Most Obedient Servant&nbsp;&nbsp; George Cooke''</font></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div> </blockquote> 
In 1863 or 1864 it was removed by Jotham McCully (charged with destruction), and taken to his house in Truro. The stone was then moved to a window display in the shop of A. and H. Creighton in&nbsp;Halifax in 1865 in an effort to draw interest back to the treasure hunt and raise needed capital for the ongoing search efforts. A.O retired in 1879 and a new book binding firm owned by Edward Marshal and Creighton continued operation&nbsp;in to the same location. It was Edward's son,&nbsp;Harry Marshall who recalled in a sworn statement to F.L. Blair that he&nbsp;recalled&nbsp;seeing the stone in his father's shop as late as&nbsp;1919.&nbsp;

According to [https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Oak-Island-Treasure-Hundred/dp/1459403150 ''The Mystery of the Oak Island Treasure: Two Hundred Years of Hope and Despair'']&nbsp;by Mark Reynolds and [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802126936/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802126936&linkCode=as2&tag=jojergraphics-20&linkId=e023f2df4efd30bf16b20d76f5a1d095 The Curse of Oak Island] by Randall Sullivan claim that when the book bindery closed in 1919, the stone was given to Thomas Forhan. There is also a claim that the residence and businesses associated with Forhan were searched resulting in nothing of significance. I think the Forhan connection probably still warrants further investigation.

There is another account that states the stone was taken to the Halifax historical society when A.O. retired, which implies that Harry may have seen a stone, but not the stone. What makes the story more confusing is that in 1909 Colonel Henry Bowdoin wrote an article in Collier's that stated he had seen the stone, but there was no inscription- only someone's initials "JW, or JN" carved in the corner. Harry Marshall also recounts the initials in the stone. My belief is that when Mr Bowdoin&nbsp;came looking for the stone he merely asked those that were there if they had a recollection of a stone with the approximate dimensions that was once in the window. Whoever was there had no knowledge of the inscribed stone, but did know of the binding stone as so claimed it was one in the same. Once that account was recorded it became (like so many other theories) fact. The story was then passed down through the years. '''Of note, the Lagina team did find the JW stone during a search of the book bindery basement in 2016, and after having it examined by a laser scanner was unable to find any remnant of carvings. While it is possible that the inscriptions had been worn off as they claimed, I find it unlikely that all traces of the carving were removed from the entire surface.&nbsp;'''

The theory about it moving to the historical society was first presented to Reverend Kempton&nbsp;when searching for the retired teacher that had provided the first translation. Kempton inquired at the historical society and found nothing. This lead appeared to be dead until the funeral for Dan Blankenship, when Rick Lagina was approached by an employee of the historical society claiming that he had personal knowledge of the stone in the back yard for years. The Lagina group has since excavated the yard where it was believed to have been and could not find anything- so that trail is cold at least for now.&nbsp;

The same is true for the set of symbols that it is said to have carved upon one side.&nbsp;However, a set of symbols, forming a simple substitution cipher, was revealed in 1949, and said to represent the characters that were on the stone.

&nbsp;