john whitney lewis 1950
May 12th, 1950 to November 27, 1950
John Whitney Lewis, a New York mining engineer with 38 years of mining experience, believed he could succeed where so many others had failed. He bought most of Oak Island, from past treasurer hunter Gilbert Hedden, in 1950, and came to Nova Scotia to interview Frederick Blair, Mel Chappell, R.V. Harris, and any other people with island experiences.
He applied for a treasure trove license, as he believed Blair’s had expired. This was true, but Blair had reapplied, and was awarded the license again, which continued the impasse between the property owner and the license holder that had developed during the preceding years between Hedden and Blair.
Lewis ultimately sold the island to a trust company representing Mel Chappell, and left the island without being able to dig. However Mr. Lewis is noted for the detailed diagrams and information he collected regarding the previous work done in digging and drilling in the Chappell (1931) and Hedden (1937) shafts.
Contributor: Doug Crowell
John Whitney Lewis, a New York mining engineer with 38 years of mining experience, believed he could succeed where so many others had failed. He bought most of Oak Island, from past treasurer hunter Gilbert Hedden, in 1950, and came to Nova Scotia to interview Frederick Blair, Mel Chappell, R.V. Harris, and any other people with island experiences.
He applied for a treasure trove license, as he believed Blair’s had expired. This was true, but Blair had reapplied, and was awarded the license again, which continued the impasse between the property owner and the license holder that had developed during the preceding years between Hedden and Blair.
Lewis ultimately sold the island to a trust company representing Mel Chappell, and left the island without being able to dig. However Mr. Lewis is noted for the detailed diagrams and information he collected regarding the previous work done in digging and drilling in the Chappell (1931) and Hedden (1937) shafts.
Contributor: Doug Crowell