A secret cave that used to house Revolutionary War outlaws–British spies and armed thieves also known as the Doan gang – was recently discovered in Bucks County and is currently being excavated, writes John McDevitt for KYW Newsradio.

Known as America’s first outlaws, the men were considered to be the “greatest threat to the American cause” by George Washington.

“We ended up coming out here and started digging and sure enough, we found a big opening in the rock,” said Clint Flack, the exhibit specialist at Doylestown’s Mercer Museum.

The cave was found on a property in Buckingham Township and could lead to the recovery of lost treasure.

The Doan brothers — Moses, Aaron, Levi, Mahlon, and Joseph – along with their cousin Abraham robbed the Bucks County Treasury in 1781 and escaped with all of its funds. That loot has still not been found to this day.

“We have been digging since 2019, almost 18 feet down,” said Flack.

Filmmaker Mark McNutt has been filming the excavations. He is working on a drama series and a documentary about the Doan gang.

Read more about the cave at KYW Newsradio.

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This post was originally published on VISTA Today in August 2022.