Little Puffin Island, Maine - A fortune may lay buried under the soil of this small island located a few miles away from the Jonesport peninsula. The sight was first discovered in the Spring of 1920 by Jeremy Hawthorne when he scouted the island, looking for signs of buried pirate treasure. Hawthorne was drawn to this search upon hearing about the Oak Island Money Pit just up the coast in Canada. That sight was, at the time, rumored to be a near certain pirate treasure stash worth millions.

Roger Hawthorne and the reopened money pit in 1996

What he found was similar to the Oak Island sight in that a circular depression had been dug in the center of the island beneath a large tree. Hawthorne spent 2 weeks digging out the soft soil, going down to a depth of 15 feet, before giving up and returning to the mainland. It was at this time that he enlisted the aid of a wealthy land owner named E. Lee Scott. Scott surveyed the sight with Hawthorne, and bought the island from the state of Maine. He then enlisted a crew of men to dig the pit out.

30 feet down the crew of men discovered a planking of oak, sealed by putty. Breaking through this they found the remains of a chest with several manuscripts. The papers were almost completely destroyed by the elements but what was left was taken by Scott back to the mainland for study. Rough Winter weather halted operations on the small island until the next Spring.

1920 sketch of the money pit

Although what information Scott got from the manuscripts is unknown they must have been encouraging enough for him to continue the operation and in 1921 the site was expanded with the addition of some automated equipment. By this time the hole was approx. 15 feet in diameter and some 45 feet deep. This depth combined with the inexperience of the crew formed a disaster when carbon monoxide from several gas powered engines caused Scott, Hawthorne and 2 other workers to lose their lives.

Scott's eldest son closed the operation down and refused to let anyone else look for the treasure. Blaming the island for his father's death he leased the property to the state for a nominal fee. The state of Maine filled the hole in and created a natural habitat for migrating puffin birds. Under siege by the rough Maine weather, the sight disappeared from sight and memory.

That's the way the island stayed until the Spring of 1996 when a man named Roger Hawthorne showed up at the Jonesport courthouse and paid $12 to get the deed to the island from the state. Forgotten by Maine land management officials, the 75 year lease had run out the month before and by paying the registration fee, this new Hawthorne was able to claim title to the island.

Interviewed by the local paper, Roger claimed to be a descendant of the Jeremy Hawthorne and said that he planned to reopen the pit and "find out what's in the bottom." He also said he had copies of the original manuscripts that were taken from the pit by Scott back in 1921. Hawthorne began digging by himself the next week.

Protests over the destruction of the puffin sanctuary were launched by several different environmental groups and the Maine government tried unsuccessfully to have the island taken back into their custody. A court ruling in favor of Roger Hawthorne stopped those efforts and as of 1998 he is still living on the island and digging in the pit.

So what, if anything has he found? The pit is 40 feet deep at this point although progress is hampered by the fact that no one else is allowed to help with the operation. In 1997 Hawthorne displayed 4 gold nuggets he claimed came from the sight. Recent findings are unknown since Hawthorne shuns most of the press and lets almost no one on the island.

sources

-"Little Puffin Island sold for $12" Jonesport Herald Newspaper, Jonesport Maine, May 10th, 1996

-Maine History Archives, Augusta Maine State Library

-"Treasure Holes" Strange Facts of the Unknown World published in 1978 by Register Press

-photo of Roger Hawthorne in 1996 is curtsey of the Jonesport Herald