The Great Gold Swindle of Lubec, Maine

In 1897, a stranger named Reverend Prescott Jernegan arrived in Lubec and made a bold claim: he could extract gold from seawater. To do so, he used so-called accumulators of electrically charged rods in iron pots. Fooling many, he actually hid the gold beneath a wharf in the Bay of Fundy during the night. He and his accomplice, Charles Fisher, preached with fervent enthusiasm as they built their factory and encouraged inspections, which reversed doubters to greedy high-stakes investors. Hundreds of laborers accelerated factory expansion until July 1897, when Jernegan and Fisher fled. Although residents of Lubec attempted civil and criminal action, both men relocated, and fantasies of gold wealth flowed away. Relive the excitement, disappointment and anger of turn-of-the-century Mainers in this collection of accounts about the Lubec gold hoax.

Author: Carrie C. Bangs
Publisher: History Press Library Editions
Published: 04/16/2013
Pages: 210
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.99lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN13: 9781540221476
ISBN10: 1540221474
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | State & Local | New England (CT, MA, ME, NH,
- True Crime | General

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