Press & News

The foundation of an 18th-century building involved in a famous robbery by Bucks County’s Doan Gang during the American Revolution has been discovered by archaeologists in Newtown Borough.

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.

While waiting for the verdict on my application to the Daughters of the American Revolution, I returned to Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Having had the opportunity to previously view my 5x great-grandfather’s coat, ledger and pistol privately, it was now part of a new exhibition there, “The Doan Gang: Outlaws of the Revolution.”

While verifying that Colonel Augustine Willett is my 5x great-grandfather and that he was in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, an unbelievable discovery was made. I am not using the word “unbelievable” for effect, months later I am still in awe. The Colonel’s pistol, ledger from the tavern he owned, as well as his uniform coat are at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.