The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, where archival documents revealed the specific treasure theory that drove Roosevelt's lifelong interest in Oak Island.
About This Site
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is located on the grounds of the Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York, along the Hudson River. Established in 1941, it was the first presidential library in the United States and houses millions of pages of documents, photographs, and personal papers spanning Roosevelt's political career and private interests. Among the archives are materials documenting Roosevelt's fascination with Oak Island, including correspondence with his Harvard classmate Duncan Harris, who served as his personal liaison to the treasure hunt, and records related to his investment in the 1909 Bowdoin expedition that attempted to recover whatever lay at the bottom of the Money Pit.
Connection to Oak Island
In Season 4, Rick and Alex Lagina traveled to Hyde Park with Paul Troutman and Doug Crowell to review Roosevelt's Oak Island archives. The team discovered a document from Duncan Harris, Roosevelt's Harvard classmate and personal Oak Island liaison, that revealed the specific theory behind FDR's interest: a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette was reportedly ordered to smuggle the queen's gold and jewels out of France as the Revolution turned bloody in 1792. According to the account, the woman fled to Canada and claimed the jewels were buried in Mahone Bay.
Roosevelt heard the story through his grandfather Warren Delano Jr.'s connections to the Truro Company, one of the earliest organized excavation efforts on Oak Island. He apparently believed this narrative and invested in the 1909 Bowdoin expedition based on it. The team noted that if the lady-in-waiting could be identified by name, it would represent the first direct link between a real historical figure and the Oak Island deposit. Roosevelt's involvement remains one of the most high-profile connections between an American president and the Oak Island mystery.
Fieldwork Notes
Visited during Season 4 by Rick Lagina, Alex Lagina, Paul Troutman, and Doug Crowell. The team reviewed archival documents at the Roosevelt Presidential Library, focusing on correspondence between FDR and Duncan Harris regarding Oak Island treasure theories and the 1909 Bowdoin expedition.
