About This Carved Stone
A flat stone bearing the deeply carved numerals "1704," discovered by Mildred Restall on the beach at Smith's Cove around 1960. Mildred and her husband Robert Restall Sr. had moved to Oak Island in 1959 with their family to search for the treasure, and the stone was found during their years of exploration along the shoreline. The carved numbers remain sharp and legible.
The date places activity on the island nearly a century before Daniel McGinnis's reported discovery of the Money Pit in 1795, and 56 years before the first recorded land grant on the island. Robert Restall Sr. kept detailed journals documenting his expeditions, and these records reference the 1704 stone as part of a man-made reservoir at Smith's Cove connected to the flood tunnel system. In that context, the date may mark construction or maintenance of the engineered drainage works that have frustrated treasure hunters for over two centuries.
Lee Lamb, eldest daughter of Robert Restall Sr., brought the stone to the War Room in Season 4, where she presented it alongside other artifacts from the Restall years. Lee and her brother Richard also visited the island in Season 5, during which Richard confirmed the family's finds at Smith's Cove and became emotional upon seeing a toy gun recovered from Isaac's Point that had been his, lost more than 50 years earlier.
Historical Context
Historical finds
Where It Was Found
Found at Oak Island surface — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
