There is an island in the north Atlantic where people have been looking for an incredible treasure for more than 200 years. So far, they have found a stone slab with strange symbols carved into it, Manmade workings that date to Medieval times, and a Lead Cross, whose origin may be connected to the Knight's Templar. To date, six men have died trying to solve the mystery, and, according to legend, One more will have to die, before the treasure can be found.
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–Robert Clotworthy, since S9
Overview
The Curse of Oak Island follows brothers Marty and Rick Lagina, originally from Kingsford, Michigan, through their efforts to find the speculated treasure or historical artifacts believed to be on Oak Island. The series discusses the history of the island, recent discoveries, theories, and prior attempts to investigate the site. Areas of interest include the "Money Pit", Borehole 10-X, Smith's Cove, Site 2, "Nolan's Cross", the "Hatch", and the "Swamp".
Matty Blake - The Oak Island publicist, he leads all the specials (eg, Behind The Dig) and provides a lot of interest and excitement for the show through interviews and behind-the-scenes material and unseen moments.
Rick Lagina – Brother of Marty, Rick is a retired postal worker who is the main driving force behind the project. At the age of eleven, he read an article about the Oak Island money pit in the January 1965 edition of Reader's Digest and got Marty, his younger brother, interested in the Oak Island mystery. In 2004, he and Marty purchased most of Oak Island.
Marty Lagina – Rick Lagina's younger brother who funds a large proportion of the project. He owns a vineyard in his home town of Traverse City, Michigan. He is a certified diver and features prominently in the spin-off The Curse of Civil War Gold.
Dan Blankenship (seasons 1–6) – A treasure seeker on Oak Island for nearly 50 years, he was responsible for drilling borehole 10–X and has dived to the bottom of the 235 ft (72 m) deep shaft, which is the deepest shaft on the island. In season 1, Dan is 90-years-old and does not take an active part in the search but is often sought out by team members due to his extensive knowledge. He died in 2019, prior to filming of season 7, at age 95. Dan was first attracted to the island after reading the same Reader's Digest article that was read by Rick and Marty Lagina.
Craig Tester – The business partner of Marty Lagina, father of Drake Tester and stepfather of Jack Begley; he is an engineer.
Jack Begley – Stepson of Craig Tester, Jack tends to take on the more dirty jobs on the island, such as manually searching the spoils from various shafts, manual digging and even walking through the swamp.
Charles Barkhouse – An Oak Island historian who also acts as a tour guide for Oak Island Tours, the company that owns most of the island. Charles is a freemason.
Fred Nolan (season 3) – A land surveyor who first came to Oak Island in 1958, he was a land owner and treasure hunter on the island until his death in 2016. For much of that time he was involved in a feud with Dan Blankenship until he was convinced to join the team in season 3. Like Blankenship, his advanced age prevented him from taking a more active role in the hunt but he still provided a wealth of information to the team and his maps continued to assist the team after his death. He died before season 4 aired and did not appear during the season. It is revealed in "Drilling Down – The Truth Behind The Curse" that he never spent a night on Oak Island, despite having a house there.
Gary Drayton (recurring seasons 2, 4, team member season 5–) – A metal detecting expert who lives in Florida. Although he appeared in seasons 2 and 4, he did not become a permanent member of the team until sometime in season 5. He has also appeared in the spin-off The Curse of Civil War Gold.
Billy Gerhardt (since season 4) - Heavy equipment operator, in situ in his excavator, says "yup" all the time. Loved my fans, shows up out of the blue like Floyd the Barber from Andy Griffith.
THUNDER COMING FROM DOWN UNDER?! - The Curse of Oak Island - -Shorts
Featured Episode
A Dangerous Dive is the 14th episode of the second season of The Curse of Oak Island. In it, a nail-biting dive into 10-X takes place to find treasure.
A Brick Container was found in 2024 in the north end of the Triangle-Shaped Swamp and is believed to have once been filled with Spanish silver coins or other valuable treasure. Referred to as a "vault", the container may once have been used by Anthony Graves, a mysterious landowner in the 1880s. Who constructed it, and the cobblestone nearby, and the wooden stakes on a wooden platform around it, is up to question.
Featured Theory
A Cobblestone Road was unearthed in 2020 which is a curiosity. Never before has a manmade working connected to Portugal been uncovered and harboured curious lead, iron artefacts, Micmac pottery, and spanned across the Triangle-Shaped Swamp to the north end, where a Wooden platform is and ramps up towards both the Money Pit and Lot 5.
