Historic Footnotes

Cryptic Ciphers, Treasure, Duels: The Life of Thomas Jefferson Beale

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Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson Beale. It’s the name you likely have not heard, but the name behind a story you’ve seen a version of on the big screen.  A 200-year-old mystery in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia begins with TJ Beale. He is credited as the author of the Beale Papers (also known as Beale Ciphers). They are the “treasure map” to the Beale Treasure worth an estimated $65 million.  Consisting of three ciphers explaining what the treasure is, where it is and who is entitled to it the ciphers have never been fully decoded. The cipher explaining what the treasure consists of was decoded using the Declaration of Independence n the late 1800s. Does that sound familiar?  The movie National Treasure is said to be loosely based on the story.  Now it is time to tell the real story of Thomas Jefferson Beale. 

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Leading the Nation from Key West: Truman’s Little White House

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Harry S Truman's Little White House in Key West Florida

The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know Harry S Truman A mere two blocks from bar-lined Duval Street in Key West sits a nondescript house that served numerous Presidents and other world leaders. Facilitating working vacations for our nation’s leaders, this tropical paradise is a far cry from the … Read more

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Savannah’s Fort Pulaski-The Most Well Preserved Civil War Era Fort

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Cannon on Parade Grounds

For much of the 19th century, brick and masonry fortifications are impenetrable. All this would change with the innovation of rifling technology. Forts once believed to be invincible are now conquerable with a strategic bombardment. Thus, coastal defenses such as Fort Pulaski become obsolete.

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Key West’s Legendary Chart Room Bar

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Window seating at the Chart Room Bar

Only in Key West could a real treasure hunter sit in a motel room-turned-bar, tended by an actual gun running pirate smuggler, while charting his search for a lost Spanish treasure ship. All the while listening to one of the most influential musicians to ever sing about the Caribbean.

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