JEWELL'S ISLAND
Now here is an island that fairly reeks with legend and treasure lore.
Certainly no island in the Bay so ideally lends itself to piratical
practices with its deep landlocked harbor, hidden coves and thick woods
that even today shelter all observation from the sea. All of which lends
credence to staunch belief that at one time in its history it was the
favorite haunt of smugglers and pirates. Jewell is only a little island
of but two hundred and twenty-one acres, one of the outer islands that
fringe the boundaries of Casco Bay. Being out of the beaten path of
tourist travel, it has not received the attention that its natural
beauties merit.
George Jewell, from whom the island is said to have taken its name, came
from Saco, Maine, and is presumed to have purchased the island from the
Indians in 1637.
From earliest times it has been traditional in the history of Jewell
Island that a pirate's treasure lies hidden somewhere on its shores.
Jewell Island has several so-called "treasure markers." These "markers"
are a pile of flat stones lain one on the other, until the marker
reaches a height of about four or five feet. It is near these markers
that treasure was supposed to have been buried. How near, or just where,
is a question that might be answered by your metal detector. I most
certainly would give the shore and beaches a good going over.
This island can be reached by the tourist boats that go to almost all
the islands in Casco Bay. If the boat does not stop at Jewell Island,
you can go to Cliff and cross over to Jewell by rowboat. The trip across
the channel is a short one.