Recently I read a story in the town newspaper (Wilmington Town Crier) about Pirate Treasure Buried in Wilmington. It certainly caught my eye as I read it with excitement. I am always ready for adventure, whether actual or fictional. You can read the article at the online link …. Buried Treasure in Wilmington
http://homenewshere.com/articles/2009/01/24/wilmington_town_crier/news/doc494fadd1a4ff5916803228.txt
The article described how some children living at the Harnden House in 1699, now the town museum, saw a man driving an ox cart carrying a heavy load and a black slave, heading north on old Andover Road. Later that day, the man was again seen driving the ox cart south but now without the heavy load or the slave. As rumor circulated it was assumed that this was the infamous Captain Kidd who had just arrived by ship in Boston Harbor and maybe buried some of his treasure north of Boston.
Captain William Kidd was initially a trusted merchant ship captain who made his living carrying goods by ship from England to the Americas. He was later hired as a Privateer by wealthy merchants in Boston to protect their merchant ships from Pirates along the coast of North America. Even Lord Bellamont (Governor of Masachusetts, New Hampshire and New York) invested in the venture. As a privateer, Kidd was legally able to attack enemy ships (Pirates, and Foreign Nations other than England) and keep the captured loot and share the profits with his men as well as his investors.
One foreign ship that he captured in the West Indies was the Quedah Merchant which had a valuable cargo of silk goods and gold. Before sailing to Boston, he sailed into New York and buried a treasure worth 20,000 pounds on Gardiner’s Island, near Long Island. Besides burying the treasure, he also stashed other valuables along the way (maybe in Wilmington). Three days after arriving in Boston he was arrested as a pirate by Lord Bellamont, who then sent for the buried treasure on Gardiner’s Island which was mostly recovered.
After reading the story, I was curious about the treasure and if any was ever found in Wilmington. I researched historical information from the local library and the internet about the Harnden House and Captain Kidd and found that the treasure was supposedly buried a half mile north of the Harden House in a rock cave called Devil’s Den. Using a mapping program called Street Atlas I marked the location on a map with GPS latitude / longitude. You can see the map at the link …. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/TreasureHillRd
I was surprised to see that the name of the street that leads to Devil’s Den is Treasure Hill Rd.. Evidently, many a treasure hunter has searched the area with metal detectors and treasure maps looking for the allusive Captain Kidd’s treasure chest.
Although we read about pirates today along the coast of Madagascar, there were hundreds of pirates that traveled the North Atlantic coast from the 1500s to the 1700s. These pirates not only plundered ships at sea but also in ports and sea coast villages. Along with Captain Kidd were Blackbeard, Edward Teach, Anne Bonny, Mary Reid, Calico Jack Rackham and Arrabella Drummond. Although these pirates were mostly men, there were also some notorious women. A treasure trove about pirate info can be seen at the link …..
http://www.vleonica.com/pirates.htm
After reading several books on Captain Kidd and other pirates, I also found one in the children’s department of the Wilmington Library, called Piratology. This book contained some interesting photos and treasure maps that I shared with my 8 year old grandson. You can see some photos at the link ….. Piratology http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Piratology11209
Additional information can also by found on the internet by doing a Google Search with key words like (pirate treasure, treasure maps, gold doubloons, pieces of eight, jolly roger, etc.) . Maybe one of the best treasure finds that I made is just using GOOGLE.
http://homenewshere.com/articles/2009/01/24/wilmington_town_crier/news/doc494fadd1a4ff5916803228.txt
The article described how some children living at the Harnden House in 1699, now the town museum, saw a man driving an ox cart carrying a heavy load and a black slave, heading north on old Andover Road. Later that day, the man was again seen driving the ox cart south but now without the heavy load or the slave. As rumor circulated it was assumed that this was the infamous Captain Kidd who had just arrived by ship in Boston Harbor and maybe buried some of his treasure north of Boston.
Captain William Kidd was initially a trusted merchant ship captain who made his living carrying goods by ship from England to the Americas. He was later hired as a Privateer by wealthy merchants in Boston to protect their merchant ships from Pirates along the coast of North America. Even Lord Bellamont (Governor of Masachusetts, New Hampshire and New York) invested in the venture. As a privateer, Kidd was legally able to attack enemy ships (Pirates, and Foreign Nations other than England) and keep the captured loot and share the profits with his men as well as his investors.
One foreign ship that he captured in the West Indies was the Quedah Merchant which had a valuable cargo of silk goods and gold. Before sailing to Boston, he sailed into New York and buried a treasure worth 20,000 pounds on Gardiner’s Island, near Long Island. Besides burying the treasure, he also stashed other valuables along the way (maybe in Wilmington). Three days after arriving in Boston he was arrested as a pirate by Lord Bellamont, who then sent for the buried treasure on Gardiner’s Island which was mostly recovered.
After reading the story, I was curious about the treasure and if any was ever found in Wilmington. I researched historical information from the local library and the internet about the Harnden House and Captain Kidd and found that the treasure was supposedly buried a half mile north of the Harden House in a rock cave called Devil’s Den. Using a mapping program called Street Atlas I marked the location on a map with GPS latitude / longitude. You can see the map at the link …. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/TreasureHillRd
I was surprised to see that the name of the street that leads to Devil’s Den is Treasure Hill Rd.. Evidently, many a treasure hunter has searched the area with metal detectors and treasure maps looking for the allusive Captain Kidd’s treasure chest.
Although we read about pirates today along the coast of Madagascar, there were hundreds of pirates that traveled the North Atlantic coast from the 1500s to the 1700s. These pirates not only plundered ships at sea but also in ports and sea coast villages. Along with Captain Kidd were Blackbeard, Edward Teach, Anne Bonny, Mary Reid, Calico Jack Rackham and Arrabella Drummond. Although these pirates were mostly men, there were also some notorious women. A treasure trove about pirate info can be seen at the link …..
http://www.vleonica.com/pirates.htm
After reading several books on Captain Kidd and other pirates, I also found one in the children’s department of the Wilmington Library, called Piratology. This book contained some interesting photos and treasure maps that I shared with my 8 year old grandson. You can see some photos at the link ….. Piratology http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Piratology11209
Additional information can also by found on the internet by doing a Google Search with key words like (pirate treasure, treasure maps, gold doubloons, pieces of eight, jolly roger, etc.) . Maybe one of the best treasure finds that I made is just using GOOGLE.
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