nottinon
Jr. Member
Large nuggets have been found at North Carolina gold mines. Many large gold nuggets were found at Little Meadow Creek, on the Reed Gold Mine property, starting with a l7 pound nugget. So many nuggets were found at this creek that the area next to the creek was called "The Potato Patch", the digging of nuggets having been likened to digging up potatoes. Much of North Carolina is covered by National Forests which have beautiful streams where families can enjoy panning and prospecting for gold and gems. When gold prospecting, treasure hunting or collecting gems and minerals, don’t worry if the stream is small. Little streams often have gold or other minerals or gem stones of interest.
Gold Mines in North Carolina
Prior work by P. Albert Carpenter, III is acknowledged. Gold mines and gold panning and prospecting sites range across North Carolina from Clay and Swain counties in the west to Nash, Halifax and Franklin counties in the east. Many sites are accessible from primary and secondary roads.
Heavy gold deposit concentrations occur between Morganton and Rutherfordton, all around Gastonia, all around Charlotte, and near Concord, Salisbury, Albermarle, Lexington, High Point, Asheboro, Robbins, Chapel Hill and Burlington. There is a concentration of gold near Andrews in Cherokee County that was commercially mined three times in history.
A geological report mentions that a North Carolina farmer shot deer with golden bullets molded from gold found on his property.
North Carolina Gold History
The material herein under the headings "First Discovery of Gold in the United States", "Origin of Gold Mining at the Reed Mine" and "Spread of Placer and Lode Gold Mining" is quoted from "Reed Gold Mine, Site of the First Documented Discovery of Gold in the United States". (North Carolina Division of Archives and History)
FIRST DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN THE UNITED STATES
Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. During its peak years gold mining was second only to farming in the number of North Carolinians it employed. The estimated value of gold recovered reached over a million dollars a year. North Carolina led the nation in gold production until 1848, when it was eclipsed by the great rush to California.
ORIGIN OF GOLD MINING AT THE REED MINE
John Reed (Johannes Reith) was a Hessian soldier who left the British army near the conclusion of the Revolutionary War and came to settle near fellow Germans living in the lower Piedmont of North Carolina. Most of the people dwelt on modest family-run farms in rural areas, where they raised small grain crops such as corn and wheat.
The life of farmer John Reed would have been long forgotten had it not been for a chance event one Sunday in 1799. On that day Reed’s son Conrad found a large yellow rock in Little Meadow Creek on the Reed farm in Cabarrus County. This rock reportedly weighed seventeen pounds and for three years was used as a doorstop at the Reed house. In 1802 a Fayetteville jeweler identified the gold nugget. He purchased it from Reed for the asked-for price of $3.50.
The following year John Reed began his mining operation by forming a partnership with three local men. The partners supplied equipment and workers to dig for gold in the creek bed, while Reed provided the land. The returns were to be divided equally. The men mined mainly in the off-season from farming, giving first priority to raising their crops. Before the end of the first year, a slave named Peter had unearthed a twenty-eight-pound nugget. Using only pans and rockers to wash the creek gravel, the part-time miners recovered an estimated yield of one hundred thousand dollars by 1824.
SPREAD OF PLACER AND LODE GOLD MINING
Hearing of Reed’s good fortune, other Piedmont farmers began exploring their creeks and finding gold. Men and women, both young and old, worked in the gold fields. Outsiders joined them, including the skilled Cornishmen from England.
Placer gold mining led to underground mining when it was learned in 1825 that the metal also existed in the veins of white quartz rock. The search for underground gold required much more money, labor, and machinery. Underground work at Reed was not begun until 1831. Four years later a family squabble resulted in a court injunction that closed the mine for a decade.
John Reed was a wealthy man when he died in 1845. Soon the Reed mine was sold at public auction. The mine changed hands many times through the years until 1911, when the last underground work took place there. Placer miners found the last large nugget at Reed in 1896. That nugget weighed approximately twenty-three pounds.
THE BECHTLER GOLD COIN MINT AT RUTHERFORDTON, N.C.
C. Bechtler began operation of a private gold coin mint in 1831 at Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Gold mines and prospectors supplied gold to the mint. Bechtler’s gold coins were widely accepted in trade and are now highly prized by coin collectors. C. Bechtler operated his mint until 1838 and then his son, A. Bechtler, operated it until 1857. In the meantime the U.S. had established mints at Dahlonega, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina; yet the private operations of Bechtler were not interfered with, for the reason, it was said, that the Bechtler coins were found to equal or exceed the federal standards of fineness and weight.
Gold Mines in North Carolina
Prior work by P. Albert Carpenter, III is acknowledged. Gold mines and gold panning and prospecting sites range across North Carolina from Clay and Swain counties in the west to Nash, Halifax and Franklin counties in the east. Many sites are accessible from primary and secondary roads.
Heavy gold deposit concentrations occur between Morganton and Rutherfordton, all around Gastonia, all around Charlotte, and near Concord, Salisbury, Albermarle, Lexington, High Point, Asheboro, Robbins, Chapel Hill and Burlington. There is a concentration of gold near Andrews in Cherokee County that was commercially mined three times in history.
A geological report mentions that a North Carolina farmer shot deer with golden bullets molded from gold found on his property.
North Carolina Gold History
The material herein under the headings "First Discovery of Gold in the United States", "Origin of Gold Mining at the Reed Mine" and "Spread of Placer and Lode Gold Mining" is quoted from "Reed Gold Mine, Site of the First Documented Discovery of Gold in the United States". (North Carolina Division of Archives and History)
FIRST DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN THE UNITED STATES
Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. During its peak years gold mining was second only to farming in the number of North Carolinians it employed. The estimated value of gold recovered reached over a million dollars a year. North Carolina led the nation in gold production until 1848, when it was eclipsed by the great rush to California.
ORIGIN OF GOLD MINING AT THE REED MINE
John Reed (Johannes Reith) was a Hessian soldier who left the British army near the conclusion of the Revolutionary War and came to settle near fellow Germans living in the lower Piedmont of North Carolina. Most of the people dwelt on modest family-run farms in rural areas, where they raised small grain crops such as corn and wheat.
The life of farmer John Reed would have been long forgotten had it not been for a chance event one Sunday in 1799. On that day Reed’s son Conrad found a large yellow rock in Little Meadow Creek on the Reed farm in Cabarrus County. This rock reportedly weighed seventeen pounds and for three years was used as a doorstop at the Reed house. In 1802 a Fayetteville jeweler identified the gold nugget. He purchased it from Reed for the asked-for price of $3.50.
The following year John Reed began his mining operation by forming a partnership with three local men. The partners supplied equipment and workers to dig for gold in the creek bed, while Reed provided the land. The returns were to be divided equally. The men mined mainly in the off-season from farming, giving first priority to raising their crops. Before the end of the first year, a slave named Peter had unearthed a twenty-eight-pound nugget. Using only pans and rockers to wash the creek gravel, the part-time miners recovered an estimated yield of one hundred thousand dollars by 1824.
SPREAD OF PLACER AND LODE GOLD MINING
Hearing of Reed’s good fortune, other Piedmont farmers began exploring their creeks and finding gold. Men and women, both young and old, worked in the gold fields. Outsiders joined them, including the skilled Cornishmen from England.
Placer gold mining led to underground mining when it was learned in 1825 that the metal also existed in the veins of white quartz rock. The search for underground gold required much more money, labor, and machinery. Underground work at Reed was not begun until 1831. Four years later a family squabble resulted in a court injunction that closed the mine for a decade.
John Reed was a wealthy man when he died in 1845. Soon the Reed mine was sold at public auction. The mine changed hands many times through the years until 1911, when the last underground work took place there. Placer miners found the last large nugget at Reed in 1896. That nugget weighed approximately twenty-three pounds.
THE BECHTLER GOLD COIN MINT AT RUTHERFORDTON, N.C.
C. Bechtler began operation of a private gold coin mint in 1831 at Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Gold mines and prospectors supplied gold to the mint. Bechtler’s gold coins were widely accepted in trade and are now highly prized by coin collectors. C. Bechtler operated his mint until 1838 and then his son, A. Bechtler, operated it until 1857. In the meantime the U.S. had established mints at Dahlonega, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina; yet the private operations of Bechtler were not interfered with, for the reason, it was said, that the Bechtler coins were found to equal or exceed the federal standards of fineness and weight.
