“The Curse of Oak Island” is a treasure hunter’s dream. This popular television series from the History Channel is currently in Season 9, and the show is the brainchild of brothers Rick and Marty Lagina. Retired postal worker Rick Lagina came across an article regarding the mysterious Oak Island in a 1965 issue of Reader’s Digest (via The History Channel), and he made it his dream to uncover the secrets of the small Canadian island. The belief — and the major driving force of the Laginas — is that the island holds ancient artifacts and loot that predate the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas.
Oak Island itself is located on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island is 140 acres and has a maximum elevation of 36 feet. There are two permanent residents on the island (via Distractify), but fans of the show may often wonder who truly owns the island, considering how much digging and archaeological discoveries have occurred.
The owner of the Oak Island lots may surprise you
According to the Oak Island Tours website, which is owned by Rick and Marty Lagina, the Nova Scotia island is entirely privately owned. The majority of the island is owned by The Michigan Group, which is also run by the Lagina brothers. Oak Island is split into 32 different lots (via Oak Island Treasure). It appears as if the aforementioned Michigan Group directly owns all but six lots on the island, though one lot is owned by one of the producers of the show, Allan Kostrzewa, and three of them are owned by Tom Nolan, son of the late Fred Nolan. The Nolans have allowed the Laginas to dig on their property; a recent Reddit comment suggested that the Oak Island crew accidentally broke the Nolan family’s backhoe.
The other owners of Oak Island not associated with treasures are Robert Young and J.D. Johnson. Per the Oak Island Treasure forum, Young owns Lot 5, and Johnson owns Lot 13. Ultimately, these are the only two locations that have not been explored by “The Curse of Oak Island” out of the 32 total lots. The rest of these sections of land are pretty much available to the ongoing investigation of the Laginas and their team of intrepid explorers.