The Curse of Civil War Gold (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Route Awakenings - full transcript

BRAD:
Every property
Charles Hackley developed,

there's rumors of tunnels.

Charles Hackley and the idea
of the Confederate gold

was not speculation.

Could Edwin Stanton have been
connected to Charles Hackley?

It's a strong possibility.

And Stanton was involved in the
murder of Abraham Lincoln?

-Yes.
-Wow.

11 feet across.

-Six feet wide.
-That's what we're looking for.

I'm getting a bad feeling
about these waves.



Holy... (screams)

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
In Muskegon, Michigan...

-KEVIN: Hey, guys.
-Hey, there they are right now.
-Hey.

NARRATOR:
...treasure hunter
Kevin Dykstra,

his brother Al

and underwater imaging expert
Brian Abbott

have gathered
for an important meeting

with members of Kevin's team.

They are eager
to discuss the results

not only
from recent diving efforts

at the bottom of Lake Michigan,

but also
from Kevin's trip last week

to the Chennault Plantation



in Washington, Georgia.

Boy, we got a lot of stuff
to go over, guys.

We had a very productive time
down there in Georgia.

It was like being
in a 300-acre time capsule.

You guys are not gonna believe

-what we discovered down there.
-Well, let's hear it.

This was the well-known site
from the Civil War

where a lot of gold
and silver went missing.

And, so, these guys
were down in the creek,

where Gary Drayton
had a ton of success.

NARRATOR:
Last week, Kevin, Al and Brad,

along with
Marty Lagina's son Alex

and metal detection expert
Gary Drayton,

traveled to the grounds
of what was once

the Chennault Plantation
in Washington, Georgia.

-That's the one we want to hit.
-Yep.

That'll be the golden bucket.

NARRATOR:
They were following up on a tip

from one of the
Chennault family descendants

who claimed that gold coins

and other evidence
of Confederate treasure

had been routinely found
by her ancestors

near an old creek bed
on the property.

-I got a ring!
-AL: Oh, yes!

GARY:
That is a silver ring,

-and that looks like
an oldie, as well.
-Wow!

I mean, it was huge.

It was just, like,
a treasure trove of artifacts.

All kinds of evidence.
It just was really

a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to dig on a place like that.

-A lot of stuff here,
isn't there?
-Wow.

-Whoa.
-That is amazing.

NARRATOR:
The story
of the Chennault Plantation,

along with the evidence
Kevin and the team found

during their visit there,

supports Kevin's belief that
at the end of the Civil War,

portions of the Confederate
treasury were scattered

and then hidden
throughout North America.

Look at all this history
that took place on our property.

That's just so exciting.

When we set all that stuff out
on that table

and Dan O'Leary saw
all those artifacts...

-Mm-hmm.
-...I think he said,

-"I'm gonna go buy
my own metal detector."
-Yeah.

-He did, too.
-BRAD: He did, too.
That's right.

-(laughs)
-So, what did you guys get done?

We got one dive in,
uh, with some finds,

but we ended up having
some really crazy weather.

-No kidding.
-KEVIN: Were you able

to get any sector scanning done?

Yeah, we got a few drops done,
and I'd like to pull them out

-and show you what I've got.
-Oh, great.

NARRATOR:
While Kevin and his team
were in Georgia...

BRIAN:
Diver in the water.

...Brian, Jeff Zehr,
Frederick J. Monroe

and Kevin's youngest brother,
Darren,

continued searching the bottom

of Lake Michigan
for additional evidence

of a 19th century boxcar
that Kevin's research

has led him to believe
was deliberately dumped

into the lake while filled

with millions
in stolen Confederate gold.

Get ready to deploy the sonar.

NARRATOR:
Although Kevin
had already applied

for the necessary permissions
that would allow

his team to excavate
previously chosen areas,

he is hoping

that he can amend his permits
to include

a number of debris fields
that Brian Abbott discovered

during last week's dives.

Wow, this is phenomenal, guys.

How many images
were you able to get?

I probably got about ten images,

but they're all
from different drops

and different ranges.
So, three drops

with different ranges
and so forth.

I'll turn around here
and, uh, show it to you guys.

BRAD:
You got some good pictures.

BRIAN:
Yeah. So, you can see,
it's-it's clear.

We were able to get
some good distance out.

This is only a 90-foot scan,

but we've got thousands
of targets down there.

Excellent.

KEVIN:
So, with an image like that

with all of those targets,

if we send somebody down there
with a metal detector,

could you guide them

-into those areas
that need to be checked out?
-Absolutely.

-Yeah, as long as we have comms
with the diver.
-Excellent.

BRIAN:
We've got
all GPS coordinates on this

so we can verify
where exactly this is,

and we can put you guys

back on these individual targets
that are down there.

Well, these look like
some pretty significant targets.

That one shot almost looked like
a scatter-field.

-BRIAN: Right.
-I definitely think

we need to investigate
those targets.

Mm-hmm. I agree.

KEVIN:
We are doing so much.

We're covering so much ground,

and we're moving forward
in this permit process.

Once we get that permit,

the more areas
we have to search,

the better chances we have
of finding that gold.

I think we need to get up
on the lake and start doing

some more searching.

Yeah. We will.

KEVIN:
All right, let's get to work.

NARRATOR:
The following morning,

Kevin and Al arrive
at the marina in Frankfort.

They are eager to check out

the areas where
Kevin's brother Darren

and Jeff Zehr found
what they believed

to be another promising
debris field just one week ago.

Did you check the waves at all?

KEVIN:
It's gonna have to be
pretty brutal

-for us not to go out today.
-AL: It's a good day

-for treasure hunting.
-Hey, guys.

-Hey. How are you, Kevin?
How you doing, man?
-AL: Hi, guys.

-Brian. And you are?
-Captain Luke.

Captain Luke? Nice to meet you.

-Hey, Kev.
-Frederick.

-Let's go find some gold, huh?
-(laughs)

Let's get with it.

(engine starts)

Our plan today is to go back
to those areas where Jeff

and Darren
got the sector scan hits

because it's really promising.

All right. We're good.

KEVIN:
So we're gonna have
Brian Abbott

try to put us
directly on top of those

and then with the sector-scan

can guide us
into those points of interest.

I can't wait to get out there
and dive on those targets.

-Looks like we got good seas
out there today.
-BRIAN: Yeah.

I think so. We'll give it
a shot and see what we can do.

Why don't we get our sonar
hooked up right now.

All right. Good idea.

-Oh, it's all hooked up already.
-Yep. Good to go.

Would be nice
if we could get, like,

three or four dives in today.

NARRATOR:
According to Kevin's theory,

in the late 1800s,

a boxcar containing
stolen Confederate gold

was headed across Lake Michigan
on its way to Utah

when it was mysteriously pushed
off the back of a ferry.

The enormous weight of the car

combined with the weight
of the gold

would have caused the boxcar
to shatter.

It would also have created
a large debris field,

which, over the course of time,

would now lie hidden

under layers of silt
and vegetation.

Since the team
began sector scanning

the bottom of Lake Michigan,

Brian Abbott
has been building a mosaic

of both potential dive
and sonar drop sites.

But given the fact

that the lake's
underwater visibility

can drastically change
not only from day to day

but from hour to hour,

returning to the site
and finding the debris field,

even with the help
of sonar scans,

will not be an easy task.

I don't know if you guys can
see. I see pretty good, uh...

stuff crashing
over the-the walls out there.

What are they looking like?

Probably six to eight.

KEVIN:
Oh, yeah,
they are coming over the walls.

AL:
Yeah, that's not good.

-KEVIN: Yeah. Oh!
-AL: Oh, look at that one.

-KEVIN: Whoa!
-AL: Holy cow.

KEVIN:
When we first get

to the Marina and we look out

over the bay here,
it's always pretty calm

because we're kind of set down
in a hole here.

But you cannot use this bay
as a guide.

That big lake has 300 miles
of lake water

coming at you. You don't know
what it's gonna be

until you get out
of the breakwater.

I don't like this, Luke.

Yeah, let's head out
a little further there, Luke.

-It's deceiving from back there.
-BRIAN: So, guys,

I know it's a little rough,
so let's just take our time.

But I'd like to build
the tripod,

get it set up, ready to deploy

and, uh, go from there.

Grab some legs here.

KEVIN:
We're gonna deploy this,

but we're gonna have to get off
the back of the boat there.

-I think
we need life jackets on.
-BRIAN: Yeah.

-All right.
-BRIAN: Yeah.

AL:
All right.

-There you go.
-Thanks.

KEVIN:
Al, why don't you

come around this side here.

-Okay.
-I'll get on the back
of the boat.

Okay.

Go straight up. There we go.

-Okay.
-Okay.

Hang on a minute.

KEVIN:
Nice.

BRIAN:
Watch yourself here.

KEVIN:
Yep.

Boy, I don't know, Al.

-(laughs)
-AL: It's awful rough out here.

KEVIN:
It sure didn't look like this

-was this rough on shore.
-AL: No.

KEVIN:
All right, guys.

Let's, uh...

let's find our target area.

AL:
Let's do it.

KEVIN:
All right.

There's
a definite somet On a boat

off the coast
of Frankfort, Michigan...

Hang on, guys.

...Kevin Dykstra,
along with members of his team

and underwater imaging expert
Brian Abbott,

are trying to relocate

a possible debris field,

one which Kevin hopes
could be the location

of millions of dollars' worth
of lost Civil War-era gold.

Yeah, I don't know
what's going on here,

-but it scares me.
-Yeah.

LUKE:
We lost our GPS, Brian.

-BRIAN: Did we?
-LUKE: Yeah.

BRIAN:
Ah, (bleep). Okay.

KEVIN:
We're losing the screen
on our GPS.

Yeah, we're-we're losing
the signal.

I don't know if it's these waves
that are rocking things so bad.

Yeah, we got
a malfunction somewhere.

Yeah, we... we got nothing.

-Now we got to... Oh!
-AL: Oh!

BRIAN:
GPS is going on the fritz here.

AL:
What's going on with it?

We're gonna shut this right off.
I don't want to damage it.

-Can we guide him
from the Lowrance?
-Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Since the GPS unit
on the boat is malfunctioning,

Kevin is hopeful that the team
can still find their target

by using
a Lowrance sonar system.

Sometimes referred to
as "the fish finder,"

the Lowrance sonar system
is primarily used by fishermen

to track schools of fish.

It is Kevin's hope that it
will also help guide the team

to the same place
where Jeff Zehr

and Darren Dykstra made
their previous dive.

How far away are we?

-KEVIN:
We're about 200 feet away.
-AL: All right.

-He's doing good.
-Okay.

Are they gonna holler out
at me when they...?

Yup.

-Okay.
-So if he and Brian

can get this boat
over top of that waypoint,

that's where we want to be.

Okay.

Say when.

Uh... when.

KEVIN:
Nice.

BRIAN:
Okay, good job, man.

NARRATOR:
Now that the team
has managed to locate

what they hope is
a debris field,

Kevin and Al will deploy the
MS-1000 sector scanning sonar

in order to obtain
three-dimensional images

of a possible boxcar,

or, perhaps,
evidence of the stolen gold.

AL:
Okay. All right, it's going.

Okay, roger that.
I'll start recording,

-taking sonar data.
-KEVIN: All right.

40 should be...
All right, we're on the bottom.

Roger that. On bottom.

-Are you
getting data now, Brian?
-Yeah, I'm getting data.

All right. Hold on.

-Care if I come up
and look at that screen?
-Ah, no, man. Come on.

-KEVIN: Ah, nice!
-So, how many feet is that?

KEVIN:
Uh, we are 30,
60, 90, 120 feet away.

We moved quite a bit
in a short time.

Yeah, we did.
The wind's clipping pretty good.

You seeing anything?

KEVIN:
There's a definite...
something here.

-That's a really...
-What is that?

BRIAN:
It's got a weird shadow.

It's kind of long.

Ah, (bleep). Geez.

-Darn it.
-KEVIN: It tipped?

BRIAN:
No, it's just...

it's too much shaking.

NARRATOR:
When performing a scan,
the MS-1000 requires

anywhere from 30 seconds
to two minutes

to make a full rotation.

During that time,

the tripod must not be jostled
in any way,

or the scanned images may
appear distorted and unclear.

This makes scanning
in rough conditions,

such as the high waves

Kevin and the team
are now experiencing,

a challenging,
if not impossible, task.

KEVIN:
You know, being out on the lake
at this time of the year,

it can change in an instant--
you know,

you talk about being
on a knife's edge right now.

We could go out there,
calm seas,

and within just a few minutes

it could work up
into a full gale.

We're totally at the mercy
of Lake Michigan.

Okay, about another 20,
25 seconds.

Al, I'll switch places with you.
Can you come and look at this?

All right.

-You got it?
-I got it.

Slowly, let's bring
our aft around,

bring the stern around.

This whole thing right here.

What is that?

It's this area here
and this in here.

Okay, it looks like something

-is broke in half, don't it?
-Yeah. It does.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the team
has actually located

a portion of a boxcar,

the same one
that reportedly contained

more than $140 million
in stolen gold?

-Can we mark this location?
-Yeah, I'll-I'll mark it.

Can you get
a measurement as well?

BRIAN:
Ten... 11 feet across,

five, six feet wide.

-AL: Did you hear that, Kev?
-What?

11 feet across
by five or six feet wide.

-That's what we're looking for.
-BRIAN: All right.

KEVIN:
We're really excited
about this target we found.

We know that a boxcar
is approximately 35 foot long

and approximately
seven to eight feet wide,

but we need to get down there
onto that target

and see what the exact size
of that is

to make sure
that it is either a boxcar

or possibly something else.

How you doing?

We have a 150 foot

-of coil out now.
-Roger that.

Okay, another 30 seconds or so.

So let's get ourselves secured,

and we'll go back and we'll pick
up the tripod and then move it

-to our next
drop location, okay?
-Okay.

Staying dry back there, Al?

-Not really.
-Okay.

You need anything?

-Maybe my wet suit.
-Yeah.

You know, I don't know
what you think,

but I think, you know,
we got to seriously talk

about getting down there--
that's why we're here, man.

I don't think it's safe.
To be honest with you,

I think it's just getting too
wild out here as a cowboy ride.

I think it's a very, uh,
dangerous situation to...

put a diver in.

Can we get at least
one more scan around?

Guys, um,

I think it's getting
kind of rough.

It's... it doesn't seem
to be coming down.

It actually seems
to be building a little bit.

And you're working right off
the aft section of the boat.

AL:
Holy (bleep)!

Okay, all right.

-Hang-hang on.
-You okay?
-Yep. Yep.

KEVIN:
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

All right, that's it.
We're done.

Okay, we're done.

-AL: Yep.
-BRIAN: You're good? You sure?

-Okay.
-AL: Yup.

BRIAN:
All right, here we go.

-KEVIN: That's brutal.
-AL: Uh-huh.

KEVIN:
I don't want anybody
to get hurt on this.

You know, chasing this gold
with me is great,

but it's not great
if people start getting hurt.

BRIAN:
So, let's get out of here.

It's too... getting too crazy.

-I've got the data I need.
-All right.

KEVIN:
It's really frustrating
knowing where that object is

but knowing the lake
won't let you get down there.

You don't want anybody
to get hurt.

You don't want to lose
any equipment.

You don't want
to damage the boat.

But I'm totally worried
we're running out of time

to find that gold
on the bottom of the lake.

Watch the turn, Luke.

It's gonna get kind of dicey.

We get one big wave hitting
the back of this boat,

and this thing's going down.

Hang on.

NARRATOR:
Although bad weather

and rough water
has forced Kevin to end

today's dive operation...

-Whoa.
-...he is hopeful

that Brian Abbott's
recently collected data,

showing a possible
debris field,

will eventually pay off
in the weeks ahead.

MONROE:
Well, those waves
are treacherous.

KEVIN:
Here's my shop.
CHAD:
Talking about the Rebel Reward,

CHAD:
Nice.

NARRATOR:
One day after
their aborted dive efforts

in Lake Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra and his team,

along with Alex Lagina,

gather in Kevin's
Muskegon workshop.

Well, guys,
we're all excited about this.

NARRATOR:
They're here
to meet with Chad VanderVen,

a high-ranking member
of the Freemasons.

Well, guys,
we got Chad VanderVen,

who is a Mason,
and he's agreed to come in

(laughs): and share what
he's able to... with us.

Well, I'm happy
to be here. Um...

Are you in the Scottish Rite
or the York?

-Both.
-Both?

-Yep. 32nd Degree
and Knight Templar.
-Oh, wow.

And currently I reside in the...

to my knowledge, the only
rectified Scottish Rite lodge

-in the United States.
-No kidding.

NARRATOR:
With connections
that stretch all the way back

to the Knights Templar,

the fraternal order
known as Freemasonry

expanded across Europe
and America in the 1700s

and continues to thrive
to this day.

Originally formed as a secret
society of master builders,

it has, over time, expanded

into a large membership

with strong ties
to civic leadership.

An estimated 14 of America's
45 presidents, for example,

were members.

Known for their elaborate rules
and mysterious rituals,

Freemasons are also noted

for their use of various
numeric codes and symbols,

like the all-seeing eye...

the pyramid...

the letter "G,"
which represents

the "Great Architect"
of the universe,

and the number 33,
just to name a few.

Based on his research,
it is Kevin Dykstra's belief

that several
of the men connected

with the transportation
of gold and silver,

taken from Jefferson Davis
at the time of his arrest,

from Irwinville, Georgia,
to Muskegon, Michigan,

had strong ties to Freemasonry,

including Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard,

Colonel Robert H.G. Minty

and lumber tycoon-
turned-banker Charles Hackley.

Chad, obviously you've got
a lot of knowledge,

and, you know,
being a high-degree Mason,

you have a lot
of secret knowledge, so...

what made you decide
to come here today

-and share some of this with us?
-AL: Or are you here to push us

off the right track?

(laughter)

CHAD:
Well, as a Muskegon native

growing up
hearing these stories,

I think it's safe to say that
I am just as curious as you are.

And also wanted to lend
my Masonic experience

to help and maybe to set
the record straight on things.

So, can we... can we
kind of zero in on the project

that we're working on,
the Civil War?

One thing that I had heard
is that Charles Hackley

and the idea
of the Confederate gold

was not speculation.

Many people talked about it.

You heard that?

Yes. His wealth
was always talked about.

How much he was worth.

How much the gift that he left
to Muskegon had been worth.

I mean, he was
the biggest man in town.

NARRATOR:
By the end of the Civil War
in 1865,

Charles Hackley was already

a very successful
Muskegon-based businessman.

But in 1870-- five years after
the end of the Civil War--

his wealth grew exponentially.

According
to Kevin Dykstra's research,

Hackley's personal earnings
during his lifetime

were estimated at $3 million.

But at the time of his death,
he donated some $12 million

to the city of Muskegon
for the establishment

of numerous institutions
including businesses,

a high school,

a hospital and more.

Could Hackley's massive wealth
be due to his involvement

with the plot to steal

and then launder
a fortune in Confederate gold?

It's interesting to consider why

Hackley was building
those things.

Why do you think he did?

At the time,

New England
was the end-all, be-all

of financial power and political
power in the United States.

And then you have a man
like Charles Hackley,

who's shrewd, ambitious,
who says

that he wanted to take
the power from New York.

Entire shiploads of people

are being offloaded

into the country there.

So the population explodes.

As a result,

so does the number
of representatives in Congress.

Suddenly,
New England has power.

Suddenly, New England has
the power to do as it wishes.

One of the things
that Hackley was doing,

they were actually sending teams
out to New York

to recruit these immigrants
as they got off the boat.

"Would you like a job?
'Cause I can get you on a train

to Michigan.
Your whole family."

KEVIN:
Listening to Chad tell me
all this stuff,

it really instilled in me
that Charles Hackley had a plan.

He was gonna build a city
that rivaled New York or Boston.

And to do that,
you needed a lot of money.

And I think
Charles Hackley had it.

Growing up,
I heard people like

my great-uncle
and my grandfather

talking about the Rebel Reward.

It's not the rebel treasure.

It's not the Confederate gold.

It's a reward.
A reward for what?

-What was the reward for?
-For the capture

of Jefferson Davis.

No, it was never reported.

It wasn't given by Lincoln.

They got a hearty handshake

and a "thank you very much."

-Barely.
-What do you think?

A reward for helping get
the rest of the money out.

Hackley saw an opportunity.

Think about it in terms
of this: there's no guards.

He's captured
at this remote farm,

with nothing and no one around,

with a field
in the middle of the woods.

Nobody took the gold.

Nobody stole the gold.

They received it.

That the 4th Michigan Cavalry

took possession of that gold

and brought it back here.

That was an exchange
that was preplanned.

It was a thank-you.

It was a payment
for services rendered.

NARRATOR:
A payment
for services rendered?

But, if so, who was authorizing
the payment?

Was it Charles Hackley
or someone else?

Possibly someone much higher up

and with the authority
to engineer

a top secret plot
of national proportions.

So, do you believe yourself

that Charles Hackley used
that Confederate gold

to-to help build Muskegon?

I believe
that that is very possible.

The extent of Hackley's wealth

during these years
was hard to determine.

KEVIN:
It's so interesting to see that

we-we look at all
of these structures

that Hackley built,
that he paid for.

He had far-reaching plans.

I mean, if he's sending people
to New York

to grab people
and send them back home,

the structures are one thing.

The infrastructure
took more work.

BRAD:
Speaking of infrastructure,

Chad, have you heard
of any secret passageways

or tunnels in Muskegon?

My father used to work

back when the Red Cross
would do blood collections.

BRAD:
Right. Yeah.

And part of his job was taking
the blood that was collected

to the cold storage.

In the winter, he said--

he always said
that he used a tunnel.

NARRATOR:
A tunnel?

During the past two years,
Kevin and his team

have been searching
for the means

by which Charles Hackley

was able
to secretly transport gold,

first,
from Irwinville, Georgia,

and then to various locations
and banks in Muskegon,

before shipping it out of town
by ferryboat.

So far, Kevin has successfully
established the existence

of underground tunnels beneath
one of Hackley's former banks

and even one connecting
Hackley's 19th century mansion

to the nearby home of one
of his closest associates.

-KEVIN: Look at that.
-BRAD: Look at that. Nice!

Could an even larger network

of secret tunnels also exist
throughout Muskegon?

BRAD:
In Muskegon,

where Hackley built the school,

the superintendent approached me
recently and said

his mother told him
when he was a boy

there was "a catacomb"
of tunnels in this town.

Really?

You think these tunnels
were built at the same time

-that high school was built?
-BRAD: We do. The tunnels are

from the time of
the construction of the school.

KEVIN:
I think the main purpose
of the tunnels

were to move
that gold around undetected.

We got to check that out.

Yeah.

You know, it feels like

the deeper we dig into this,

the more that we start
pulling back

these layers, it seems

to feel that there's a lot more,

because you don't know
how much is there.

You have answered
a lot of questions,

but you've-you've raised

-some questions as well.
-I think I've created a few.

(birds chirping)

In Muskegon, Michigan...
BRAD:
Look at this, you guys.OR:

JEFF: We got to go to the front
of the school. Yeah.

Oh, okay.
So, you're just gonna go up here

to the stop sign and turn right.

NARRATOR:
...researchers Brad Richards

and Jeff Zehr are driving

-to Muskegon High School.
-Here's the football field.

-Is that where we're going?
-Yep. Yep. That's where

-we're going.
-They are hoping to find out

more information
about a reported network

of underground tunnels

linking the high school
to a number of other buildings

built by
lumber tycoon-turned-banker

Charles Hackley,

tunnels which Kevin
and his team believe

may have been instrumental
in a plot to secretly launder

and then transport millions
in stolen Confederate gold.

JEFF:
Be as that this is
your neck of the woods,

tell me more about the school.

Hackley created the Hackley
Manual Training School,

Muskegon High School, so...

-Really did a lot for the town.
-He did, he did.

Now, where did the wealth
come from? You know, that's what

-we're researching.
-Right, right.

NARRATOR:
In the early 1890s,

Charles Hackley began donating
an estimated $200,000--

worth almost $6 million today--

in order to finance
the construction

of numerous institutions
bearing his name,

including a hospital,
a middle school,

a high school, and also
a manual training school,

a training school
that also included a foundry

where metals
could be melted down

for the purposes of recasting
them into different forms.

According
to Kevin Dykstra's research,

six wagonloads
of Confederate gold and silver

were smuggled from Georgia
to Charles Hackley in Muskegon

in 1870.

However, since the coins
and gold bars

would likely have been stamped
with the initials C.S.A.,

for the Confederate States
of America,

they would need
to be disguised.

Could it be
that Charles Hackley

constructed
his manual training school

in order to melt
the stolen gold

and then transported it
to other locations

through a network
of secret underground tunnels?

So, this is the old high school.

-JEFF: Right here?
-1893.

And then the Hackley
Manual Training Center,

the first of its kind
in the nation,

was built over here in 1897.

-Hey, Justin.
-Justin Jennings

is the superintendent
of Muskegon Public Schools.

Thanks so much for meeting us.

He recently contacted Brad
when he became aware

of Kevin Dykstra's theories
involving

-Charles Hackley.
-So this is the, uh,

-memorial here, huh?
-This is the memorial.

-JEFF: Wow.
-JUSTIN: Kind of the center
of everything here.

-JEFF: Huh.
-JUSTIN: Everything here
is just Hackley.

The school, the gym,
everything over here.

-The Hackley Manual
Training School.
-JUSTIN: Everything.

He put a lot of money
into the city, so...

So, it seems like,
in the research,

when he built one building,
he always built

-another building.
-Yeah. He only built things
in tandems.

-That's what it seems like.
-Built things in tandems.

-Right.
-And there might
have been tunnels

-between those two buildings.
-That's the rumor.

We've tried to find, you know,

maps for the tunnels,
but we can't find anything.

-So, today, we'll-we'll get
a chance to check 'em out.
-Awesome.

-Yeah.
-JEFF: Well,
we found lots of evidence

of tunnels elsewhere already,

-but we haven't had anything
we could walk through yet.
-Okay.

-This would be the first time.
-Yeah. So if you could show us
a tunnel we could

-actually walk into,
that'd be awesome.
-Absolutely. Absolutely.

-The tunnels are this way.
-All right.

-All right. Let's go.
-Let's go.

(chuckles)

So, this is part of the old
Hackley Manual Training School?

-This is. This is
the old weld shop. Yeah.
-Okay.

-(creaking)
-JEFF: Let's see it.

BRAD:
So, these are
kind of modern steps right here.

JUSTIN:
Yeah, yeah.
From the weld shop, so...

BRAD:
Okay. And as we get back farther

into the recesses, we're gonna
see some older stuff?

JUSTIN:
Yeah. It's gonna be hot.

-BRAD: Hot?
-Yeah.

(Jeff chuckles)

-BRAD: Oh, my goodness.
-JEFF: Well, yeah.

JEFF:
Is this what you're
talking about?

Or were you...

-This is really old.
-Whoa!

Look at this.

This is the kind of architecture
you'd expect to see

-in the-- in the 1800s.
-JUSTIN: Right.

It's arched. It's, um--
There's not concrete.

-That's brick. Old brick.
-Really old brick, too.

-Mm-hmm. It's crumbling.
-We should get some pictures
of this.

-Oh, yeah.
-(camera clicks)

-That's a really cool picture.
-Let's check to see

-how far this goes.
-Yeah. Let's check it out.

-Oh, okay. All right.
-Yeah.

BRAD:
Look at this, you guys.

You can kind of see
where the foundation

-is crumbled.
-Wow!

Yeah.

These mechanicals here,

-these are new.
-JUSTIN: Yeah, these are new.

BRAD:
This was not originally
a utility tunnel,

-it doesn't look like.
-No, not originally.

NARRATOR:
Because these tunnels were
constructed in the late 1800s

and weren't used
to run utility cables

until several years later,

why were they constructed
in the first place?

What purpose would they
have been designed to serve?

Was it to secretly transport
millions of dollars' worth

of stolen Civil War gold,

as Kevin Dykstra
and his team suspect?

BRAD:
This was a lot of effort,
and it was not originally

-a utility tunnel.
-Yeah. Yup.

Yeah, I wonder
if there was ever, like, a set

of rail tracks down here
or anything

that they could've pushed a cart
on or anything like that.

Um, just keep our eyes open,
but this is an old tunnel.

Right.

-BRAD: So, why the expense?
-We don't know.

BRAD:
These tunnels aren't big enough
to do much in,

but they're big enough
to cart gold or to hide

from sight and to sneak around
a city between buildings.

JEFF:
Do you think
we're heading south now?

JUSTIN:
We're heading south, yes.

-JEFF: Okay.
-BRAD: We've gone a long ways.

JUSTIN:
Yeah, we're still
under the street, so...

BRAD:
They said one of these tunnels

went all the way
to Hackley Hospital?

I think from his house.

-Man!
-Holy cow!

NARRATOR:
Charles Hackley's house?

Located nearly one mile away?

Could Jeff and Brad
have just discovered the link

between the tunnel they located
under Charles Hackley's house

three weeks ago and a network
of tunnels connecting Hackley's

other buildings
in downtown Muskegon?

JUSTIN:
Really tight around here.

BRAD:
Oh, wow. Look at this!

Justin. Okay, look at the size
of these walls.

JEFF:
That's crazy.

This definitely was built
during the Charles Hackley era.

This wall right here.

They look like
they tried to patch it up.

-Yeah.
-But th-this is old right here.

BRAD:
What's going
through my mind is,

what secrets
did these guys have?

I'd love
to get behind that wall,

investigate this place further.

-So, how far does that go?
-It goes all the way over

-to the school.
-BRAD: Can we go?

-Yup.
-All right.

This is crazy.
We're underneath the street.

We're underneath the street
of the city right now.

JUSTIN:
Yup, underneath the street.

BRAD:
That's crazy.

Charles Hackley--

he put those tunnels in
for a reason.

JUSTIN:
Yeah, we're in the steam room.

BRAD:
And we need to get
to the bottom of this.

JUSTIN:
I think this is the end, so...

BRAD:
Okay. So, we left the street

and kind of ducked back
into the high school.

-Right. We're underneath
the high school now.
-Okay.

That was quite a trip, man.

-Can't thank you enough, man.
-Thanks for coming.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-Great time.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR:
The following day...

-KEVIN: Hey, guys.
-ALL: Hey!

NARRATOR:
...Kevin Dykstra and his team

gather at his workshop

for a video conference
with Marty Lagina's son Alex.

-Well, let's hope he's here.
-(laptop chiming)

-Hey, guys.
-ALL: Hey, Alex.

Good to hear from you.

Yeah, we've been...
we've been busy.

Did you get those photos
that I sent?

Um, yeah.
The ones of the tunnel?

Yeah. Jeff and Brad are here.

They were actually
in that tunnel.

Tell Alex about those tunnels.

Well, Alex, uh,

Jeff and I got into some really,
really old tunnels

under the school
that Charles Hackley built,

and the tunnel, one of 'em,

headed towards Hackley's house.

Do you... do you know, I mean,

what-what was the purpose
of these?

You know, why do you think
they're there?

Well, right at the moment,
they're-they've repurposed them

with conduit
and things for the school,

but you can see that it's
the old, original tunnel that

were used back
in Hackley's time, um,

well, very likely
to move gold around,

to move themselves around when
they didn't want to get seen.

I can tell you that
putting tunnels underground

is not an easy thing to do.

And I think that is
a significant amount of effort.

Um, and I'm having trouble
thinking of reasons

that you would need
such a long tunnel

if you weren't trying
to do something

out of the public eye,

or-or something like what
you're talking about.

What Brad and Jeff did--

these tunnels--
man, that's huge.

AL:
It's a home run.

Well, guys, that's...
that's really great work.

And great job
finding those tunnels, and,

Kevin, what-what is the plan

as far as Lake Michigan goes?

Well, we're gonna be watching
the weather very closely.

As soon as we get an opening

in the weather, and hopefully,
when we get that permit,

it'll mesh together,

and we'll get back to work
on the lake.

So, I guess that puts us
in a little bit

of a holding pattern, though,
doesn't it?

-Mm-hmm.
-Yeah, just a bit.

Well, I have some good news
on that front, actually.

I've come across an author and
a reporter in Washington, D.C.

by the name of Warren Getler.

He is a Civil War expert,

and he's actually
got some information that,

you know,
might blow your theory up

a little bit bigger
than you had expected.

Uh, he thinks he might be able
to connect your theory

to Abraham Lincoln's Secretary
of War, Edwin Stanton.

Oh, wow.

NARRATOR:
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton?

The man who served
in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet

during the time
of his assassination?

According to official
Civil War records,

the orders that members of the
4th Michigan Cavalry received,

which directed them
to capture Jefferson Davis,

originated in Washington, D.C.,

and from the office
of Edwin Stanton.

Could Alex Lagina have
turned up a possible link

between Stanton and the plot
to steal millions of dollars

worth of Confederate gold
and silver?

If you guys want to meet me
out in Washington, D.C.,

sit down with Warren
and kind of pick his brain

-a little bit...
-AL: Oh, wow.

I think while
we can't do anything else,

that'd be a great use of time.

Well, Alex, that sounds great.

Well, as-as awesome
as that sounds,

I got a lead on something
potentially pretty big, too,

I wonder
if I shouldn't follow up on.

-What is it?
-There's a house right next

to the Hackley-Hume compound

that I'm told has
some very interesting things

in-in its basement.
Could follow up on that.

KEVIN:
You know what? Let's-let's,

um, split up and-and conquer.

I think... I think Brad and Al,

why don't you guys head
to Washington

with me, we'll meet Alex.
Can Jeff...?

-Yeah.
-Can you and Fred
go investigate that? That way,

we can get things done
on two different fronts.

Well, that sounds great, guys.
I will see you in D.C.

And Jeff, Fred, I can't wait
to hear what you guys find out.

-Great.
-We'll let you know.

KEVIN:
Excellent. Well, safe travels.

-We'll meet you in D.C.
-All right. We'll see you soon.

KEVIN:
That sounds like a great plan.

Let's, uh... let's get packing.

nference

in Muskegon, Michigan...

BRAD:
And there's
the Lincoln Monument.

-We're not in Michigan
anymore, boys.
-Oh, wow.

...Kevin Dykstra,
along with his brother Al,

history teacher Brad Richards

and Alex Lagina have gathered
in Washington, D.C.

for what promises
to be an important meeting.

What I think is amazing
is the search

that we've taken so far.
I mean, look at.

Now we're in Washington
searching more stuff out.

Oh, this is pretty exciting
to, uh,

have a chance
to meet with Warren Getler.

Uh, I've talked with him
a little bit, and

he's got some
really interesting information.

All right, boys. Here we are--

Warren Getler's office.

ALEX:
Well done. Thanks for driving.

-AL: Excellent.
-KEVIN: Excellent.

NARRATOR:
Warren Getler is an author
and investigative journalist

who has spent more than two
decades researching and writing

about the Civil War
and the period that followed.

-Come on in, guys.
-All right.

NARRATOR:
In 2003,

he coauthored a book entitled,
Rebel Gold,

which documents evidence

that numerous Confederate
treasures remain buried

across the United States today.

WARREN:
Great to have you guys.

Grab a seat.

-Wow.
-Wow!

(Warren chuckles)

WARREN:
It's... I'm so glad to see you.

Great fan of what you guys
have been doing. Your research

-is phenomenal.
-You know, the-the research

has been huge in this project,

but it seems like the more
people hear about the research,

the more people
that reach out to us.

You know, like you and Alex

-hooking up and setting this up.
-Mm-hmm.

-What got you into this? What...
-Oh, wow.

-What made you do all this?
-Right, so I was

an investigative journalist
for most of my career, and, um,

I got wrapped up into this story
that involved Stanton

and a lot
of other powerful figures.

History will tell us

that this man won the war
with Lincoln for the Union.

This gentleman Stanton is a
very, very mysterious character.

NARRATOR:
Edwin McMasters Stanton

was a lawyer and politician

who had served
as attorney general

under President James Buchanan

prior to the start
of the Civil War.

In 1862, he was appointed
by Abraham Lincoln

to be his secretary of war,
the equivalent

to what is now called
the secretary of defense.

As the civilian in charge
of the United States military,

Stanton exercised great power

during a time
of national crisis.

In my research, you had
a very powerful contingent

of five or six major players,

some of whom used to be
in the Confederate cabinet,

who were organizing events
and organizing the financing

of the Lincoln assassination
and others.

-Got it.
-I think
there's a real possibility

that Edwin Stanton was
a major coconspirator.

Are you saying
that Stanton was involved

in the murder
of Abraham Lincoln?

-Yes.
-Wow.

Whoa.

Could Edwin Stanton
have been connected

to Charles Hackley,
who was a high level Mason?

It's a strong possibility.
Absolutely.

NARRATOR:
Has Kevin Dykstra and his team

just made what could be their
most important contact yet--

one that could link the plot
to steal a fortune

in Confederate gold
to the assassination

of America's 16th president?

If so, then perhaps the
treasure Kevin is searching for

isn't only a monetary one,

but one of great
historical significance.

One that possibly means

that the conspiracy
Kevin has been investigating

and the treasure
he's looking for

might be considerably larger

and more deadly

than he and his team could ever

-have suspected.
-(gunshot)

NARRATOR:
Next time on The Curse
of Civil War Gold...

I believe that there are

potentially billions in gold

hidden by the Knights
of the Golden Circle.

And it played out in Muskegon

because of Charles Hackley.

-He fits the profile.
-Wow!

AKRAM ELIAS:
Here you're in
the nation's temple.

I've always felt that the Masons

collaborated about
the missing Confederate gold.

What gold?

-Vault number one.
-Oh, my goodness.

Every history textbook
in America has this wrong.

Absolutely.

Subtitled by Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk