On a recent episode of Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown researchers explored Buckingham Cave in search of evidence left behind by the Doan Gang, an infamous group of loyalists who were active during the Revolutionary War. The exploration yielded two new discoveries, prompting their addition to a Mercer Museum exhibit highlighting the Doan Gang.
America's Original Outlaws:Doan Gang featured on Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown
The excavation was headed by Clint Flack, an exhibit specialist from the Bucks County Historical Society who grew up hearing stories about the Doan Gang. In 2019, Flack was finally granted access to Frank Lamitina's Bucks County property where the entrance to the cave is located. Since then, Flack and Lamitina have worked together to uncover the cave, digging out dirt from the entrance, filming the Discovery Channel episode and maintaining the surrounding area.
Flack explained that the new discoveries, a rock with the inscription "1775 M" and a colonial-era bottle, bring clarity and bridge information gaps that history may have gotten wrong. Up until the discovery of the rock and bottle, Buckingham Cave was only suspected to be a hideout for the Doan Gang, but the discoveries confirmed the rumor as fact.
In a news release, Mercer Museum explains that the inscribed rock confirms Buckingham Cave as a hideout frequented by the Doans, corroborating a story that ran in the Bucks County Intelligencer over 160 years ago.
In the original article from 1859, Joseph Fell claimed to have "descended into Buckingham Cave on Christmas Eve," after a group of boys including Fell's son found the entrance. Once inside, they found the inscription "1775 M. DOAN" carved into one of the walls.
More:Hear how these Doylestown history buffs found a cave believed to be a Doan Gang hideout
The Doan Gang terrorized Bucks County patriots to aid British troops
Another example of a misconception, Flack says, is the confusion surrounding who the Doan Gang were. The Doans, he explained, came over to the Americas as pilgrims. It was not until "Daniel Doan, the great grandfather of the outlaws, becomes a Quaker and then comes to Bucks County in 1691," Flack explains.
"The folklore says [the gang] is five brothers and a cousin that terrorized Bucks County and a few other places," Flack explains, "but the reality is, it's this large network that had men and women from multiple states." The gang would sabotage Bucks County patriots, aiding the British through guerrilla war-esque tactics, he said.
"They spied for the British, they acted as guides, helped British prisoners of war that had escaped from prisons," Flack said, "but their biggest robbery was the robbery of the Bucks County Treasury."
To this day the money stolen by the Doans, approximately 1,307 pounds sterling or $262,128 in modern day, has not been recovered and is suspected to be hidden in a Doan Gang hideout like Buckingham Cave. Flack describes that at the height of their crime spree, the Doans were feared locally and by significant historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin who "knew them well," he said.
Aaron Doan, the first member of the Doan Gang to be caught, is "the first person in American history to be charged with outlawry," Flack explains. Franklin quietly pardoned Aaron, but later signed the death warrants of Abraham and Levi Doan, "the only people in American history to be executed without a trial," says Flack.
Mercer Museum's exhibit features the Doan Gang's colonial-era
Frank Lamitina and Flack originally pitched the idea of a Doan Gang exhibit to Mercer Museum in 2019, but struggled due to a lack of artifacts and historical documents. The Discovery Channel then approached Flack about the episode, and the rest, he says, is history.
The inscribed rock and bottle made their public debut along with the rest of the exhibit on July 28 during the museum's community program, "Outlaws in the Underworld: Bucks County Caves and the Doan Gang." In addition to the discoveries, the exhibit features a colonial-era barn and tavern built by Mercer Museum's staff. Doan Gang related artifacts from the Library of Congress and the Philadelphia Museum of Art will also be displayed.
The discoveries were added to the exhibit, which specifically focuses on the Doans and the activity of the gang. "The Doan Gang: Outlaws of the Revolution" will be open to the public and run until December 2026 at Mercer Museum at 84 S. Pine St.
Flack says that over two million people have watched the Discovery Channel episode on the cave, which has brought national attention to the Mercer Museum's exhibit and the Doan Gang. Lamitina, who owns the property where the cave is located, says that he had no idea about the history lying just feet away from his home, let alone the interest that it would generate.
Lamitina moved to Bucks County in 2019 and, "I didn't know anything about [the cave], the previous owner never told me anything about it," he says. "I'm a history buff myself, so when I found out about this and once I talked to Clint, we started digging and here we are."
The duo connected over a shared love of history, and now "I always tell people that I was Frank's first friend when he moved here," Flack says, "I would come on the weekends and we would dig and talk and became good friends."
"He's like a son to me," Lamitina says, "he takes care of my property when I leave, he's the only one that could do it."
Exhibit Highlight:Grave marker centerpiece of new exhibit on Bucks County's infamous Doan Gang
The exhibit highlights the gang's activity throughout Bucks County, featuring stories about their robberies, lost treasure, and local conflict and tension surrounding the Revolutionary War. The fascinating history of the gang and the Expedition Unknown episode draws large crowds to the Mercer Museum exhibit. "We get about 400 to 600 people per day on the weekends, sometimes even during the week," Flack said.
To learn more about Doan Gang related programs such as "The Doan Gang: Outlaws of the Revolution," visit Mercer Museum's program website. The special exhibit is included with a Museum Admission ticket, which can be bought online on Mercer Museum's website.
