What's Under Dungeon Rock?

Late Nights with Nexpo

This episode explores the historical legend of Dungeon Rock in Lynn, Massachusetts, tracing the story from a 1658 pirate sighting to a 19th-c

Key takeaways

• In 1658, a young girl named Temperance witnessed a mysterious black ship arriving in Lynn Harbor.
• John Vinton, an ironworker, fulfilled a pirate's request for tools and received silver coins in return.

Main topics

• Pirate legends
• Dungeon Rock history

Notable quotes

They were a family searching for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world.

Conclusion

The episode provides a haunting look at how historical legends are oft

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) As legend has it, there's a treasure buried in the woods outside Lynn, Massachusetts. Some believe it's pure folklore, a colonial-era rumor that's spun out of control. But others insist that this story is supported by historical records of the day. Yet many believe the truth lies somewhere in between. So, much of what you're about to hear is based on an oral legend that has swirled and evolved for three and a half centuries. But what no one contests is this. One family was so certain that the treasure was real that they literally bet their lives on it. The year is 1658. Night is falling on the New England settlement of Lynn. A young girl who we'll call Temperance makes her way along the shore of the Saugus River, carrying a small bucket. As Lynn Harbor comes into view, she halts. Something is out there. A small black ship is floating in the harbor, and it's flying no flag. Temperance retreats into the shadows, her eyes fixed on the vessel. Her parents raised her to be wary of strange ships, especially ones that fly no colors. The New England colonies are young, with little in the way of an organized military. This makes them a favorite destination for pirates. From her hiding spot, she sees movement aboard the ship. A longboat is being lowered down the side, crewed by four men. Once it touches the water, the men untether it from the ship, and they begin rowing silently up the Saugus River, making their way further inland. Speaker 1 (2:09) Every part of her being tells Temperance that she should run to her parents and report this incident, but to do so now would be to risk losing track of the men in the boat. So she follows them, all the while keeping her distance. The boat advances upriver, past homesteads and the Saugus ironworks, with its constantly churning waterwheel. A dog barks, but the mysterious travelers stay in the course, keeping their boat far from shore the entire time. The evening light is now vanishing quickly. Temperance is no longer following a boat, merely a dim lantern bobbing along the water. The girl's about to give up when, suddenly, the light on the river stops moving. She squints into the darkness. The bone has docked. She hears a scraping sound of metal on wood and a splash of water. The lantern has moved off the river, and the men are now moving into the woods. Speaker 1 (3:12) It almost looks to her like the group is carrying something. Something large, bulky. By this point, Temperance knows that following the boatmen and the Lin Wins is far too risky. She's a great distance from town, and at this time of night, she runs the risk of encountering wild animals or rogue bandits. Speaker 1 (3:35) She turns back and returns toward town. She's convinced that she's seen something significant. But if it's anything beyond strange men on a boat, she can't be so sure. At home, she tells her family what she saw. Word spreads fast in a small settlement like Lynn. And that very night, the heads of the settling families gather to discuss the prospect that pirates have perhaps invaded their town. They've heard stories of buccaneers in the Spanish main. None of them wish for Lynn to become a northeastern tortuga, a lawless place for pirates to come and go as they please. Many of the men are ready to take their hunting muskets and confront the pirates here and now. But cooler hands prevail. The town leaders resolve to seek out these mysterious new arrivals in the morning. They'll try to talk with them before doing anything rash. Speaker 1 (4:32) The townsfolk head to the shore early, just as the sun rises. However, when they arrive, there is no black ship in the harbor, no boat on the river. And so, the townsfolk return to their lives, guarded, but not entirely convinced that such a ship had ever been in their harbor at all. A local smith goes to begin his day at the ironworks along the banks of the river, but when he reaches the door to it, he freezes in shock. A note is pinned to the door with a thin dagger. It seems the pirates are real after all, and they've left a message for the people of Len. Speaker 1 (5:13) John Vinton is a skilled ironworker. He's also a cautious man. The contents of the note worry him deeply and pique his curiosity too. The note requests an order of various tools. It doesn't list an address for the items to be delivered. Instead, it directs the ironworkers to place the ordered items in the midst of the woods in a secluded clearing. If they leave the items there, the next day they'll find a quantity of silver in their place. Vinton is no fool. He knows this could be someone aiming to swindle the town out of valuable goods. Yet with all the recent talk of the strange boat in the Saugus River and mysterious men in the woods, he can't help but wonder if the rumors might be true. What if there are pirates hiding out in Lynn Woods? Which would be the riskier play? Doing business with pirates or refusing to do so? Especially pirates like these. Because the items listed in the note are more than a little concerning. They're requesting axes, hammers, and tools. Items that would be useful for trade men. But they're also asking for shackles and handcuffs. Try as he might, but Vinton can't think of a reason why anyone would need those items. At least, not a good reason. He's heard the rumors already swirling around town, claims that the pirates are keeping enslaved men as their servants and enslaved women as concubines. He's not one to believe or partake in gossip, and yet, he and his family's safety could very well be at risk if he's too dismissive. In the end, he decides that these dangerous men really do exist, and he would rather be a friend than a foe. The craftsmen consider the idea. of sending one of the indentured Scotsmen who work at the ironworks to make delivery. But in the end, Vinton decides to just do it himself. And several days later, he ventures out into Lynn Woods, bugging a heavy crate, filled with the items they asked for. At last, he emerges from the underbrush into the clearing that the note mentioned. He looks around and listens intently, aware of every leaf rustle, every insect chirp. He double-checks the note, and everything is there,