The Doan Brothers Burial Ground is a small, historically significant cemetery plot in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, situated just outside the boundary wall of a Quaker meeting house. It serves as the final resting place of Levi Doan and Abraham Doan, members of the infamous Doan Gang — a loyalist outlaw band that terrorized the Pennsylvania countryside during and after the American Revolution. According to local tradition, the Quaker congregation refused to inter the executed men within the official burial ground due to their militant activities, so their sister Mary arranged for them to be buried just outside the meeting house wall. The headstones are believed to bear the striking inscription "outlaws," making this a rare example of a burial site that openly commemorates condemned men. Gates visited the site as part of his investigation into the Doan Gang's alleged buried treasure and their broader role in the Revolutionary War's hidden loyalist undercurrent.
The Doan family, a Quaker farming family from Bucks County, becomes increasingly active as loyalist sympathizers during the colonial era.
The Doan Gang allegedly tips off British forces and carries out raids on patriot communities, including what is described as one of the largest thefts of early U.S. public funds.
Levi Doan and his cousin Abraham Doan are captured, tried, and hanged in Philadelphia, reportedly on a death warrant signed by Benjamin Franklin.
Their sister Mary brings their bodies back to Bucks County and buries them outside the Quaker meeting house wall, as the congregation reportedly refuses to inter the men within consecrated ground.
Josh Gates visits the burial ground during filming of Expedition Unknown Season 13, Episode 3, "Traitors' Treasure of 1776."
The Doan Gang occupies an unusual corner of American Revolutionary history — they were loyalists, or Tories, who actively worked against the patriot cause, yet they operated more like frontier outlaws than conventional British agents. According to the historical tradition surrounding the family, Moses Doan is said to have spotted George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and raced to warn the British garrison at Trenton — a warning that reportedly went unread because the commanding colonel was occupied with holiday festivities. Gates highlights this near-miss as evidence of just how consequential the Doans' activities could have been.
Levi Doan and his cousin Abraham Doan were eventually captured and executed in Philadelphia in 1788, years after the Revolution had ended, suggesting that the legal pursuit of loyalist outlaws continued well into the post-war period. The claim that their death warrant was signed by Benjamin Franklin — then serving as President of Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council — adds a layer of historical weight to the executions, though this detail should be verified against primary sources, and the episode presents it as received historical tradition rather than a confirmed archival finding.
The burial ground itself reflects the social complexities of the era. Quaker communities generally opposed both violence and the war itself, yet the congregation's reported refusal to bury Levi and Abraham within the meeting house ground suggests that even pacifist communities drew sharp moral lines around those perceived as criminals. Sister Mary's decision to bury them just outside the wall — and the headstones' alleged "outlaw" inscription — represents a remarkable act of family loyalty in defiance of community judgment, and the site stands as a tangible, if sobering, memorial to the war's losers.
Gates' episode frames the Doan Gang not merely as villains but as a reminder that the American Revolution was, in his words, "also a civil war in which Americans battled themselves." No on-camera expert names are confirmed from the available transcript evidence for this specific segment, but the episode uses the burial ground as a grounding moment — a physical place where the human cost of the loyalist cause becomes real — before pivoting to the larger treasure mystery the season pursues.
According to legend, Moses Doan spotted George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and delivered a warning note to the British garrison — a note that reportedly went unread because the commanding officer was playing cards.
The Doan Gang's robbery of an early American treasury is described in Gates' investigation as what was then 'the largest ever theft of US public funds.'
Levi and Abraham Doan were reportedly executed in 1788 — years after the Revolution ended — suggesting loyalist outlaws were pursued by the new American government long after the war concluded.
The headstones at the burial ground are said to bear the blunt inscription 'outlaws,' making this one of the very few American burial sites that openly labels its occupants as condemned criminals.
The Doan Brothers Burial Ground is believed to be generally accessible to visitors interested in early American history and Revolutionary-era sites in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Travelers should verify current access conditions locally, as small historic cemetery plots of this kind are sometimes on private or semi-private land and may have limited signage or facilities.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the Bucks County seat, is approximately 10–15 miles from the general area and serves as the most practical base for visiting regional historical sites.
Spring and fall tend to offer the most comfortable conditions for visiting outdoor historic sites in southeastern Pennsylvania, with mild temperatures and good visibility. Summer visits are also feasible, though the area can be humid.
Doan Gang Cave, Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
The Doan Gang Cave is directly linked to the same S13E03 investigation, reportedly used by the Doan brothers as a hideout during their loyalist outlaw activities in Bucks County.
Newtown Treasury Site, Newtown, Pennsylvania
The Newtown Treasury Site is associated with the Doan Gang's alleged robbery of early American public funds, the central treasure mystery Gates investigates in the same episode.
Mercer Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
The Mercer Museum in Doylestown is the county's premier repository for early American history and artifacts, and serves as a natural research hub for visitors exploring the Doan Gang's story in Bucks County.