Who Owned Oak Island?

In 1762, Charles Morris — Surveyor General of Nova Scotia — formally divided Oak Island into 32 four-acre lots as part of the Shoreham Grant. No other island in Mahone Bay was ever surveyed this way. This map traces lot ownership from 1751, when the island was still undivided Crown land, through to today's Oak Island Tours Inc. Earlier records are retroactively mapped onto the lot grid that Morris would later establish.

Drag the slider across the timeline at the bottom of the page to see the lot owners, or press play to watch the lots change hands over time.

Lot ownership records used with kind permission from David Neisen & Chris Boze

Owners in 1751

Who Owned Oak Island?

In 1762, Surveyor General Charles Morris divided Oak Island into 32 four-acre lots as part of the Shoreham Grant — the only island in Mahone Bay to be formally surveyed this way. This interactive map traces lot ownership from 1751, when the island was undivided Crown land, through to today's Oak Island Tours Inc.

Key ownership milestones include: Crown ownership (pre-1762), the Shoreham Grant division (1762), Anthony Graves acquiring major holdings (1780s–1850s), the Smith family's long tenure (lots 15–20, 1795–1857), Frederick Blair and the Oak Island Treasure Company era (1890s–1940s), Melbourne Chappell consolidating most lots (1950s–1970s), David Tobias and the Triton Alliance (1970s–2006), and the current era under Oak Island Tours Inc. (2006–present), owned by Rick and Marty Lagina.

The ownership data spans 275 years, 32 lots, and 68 documented owners. Records sourced from the Oak Island Mystery Trees Compendium by David Neisen.

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Oak Island Ownership History Map

Who Owned Oak Island?