Gold Rush and Its Origin in America

By Jack Wagon

The Georgia Gold Rush, which started in Lumpkin County in 1829, is considered to be the first major gold rush in the US. Though the major discovery of gold was noted in 1828 in Georgia, there were some accounts of gold discovery in the mountains of North Georgia quite earlier.

When the European explorers came there, the American Indians told them about the little amounts of gold that they got from the mountains. Some other accounts, which have not been documented in a proper way, indicate that French and Spanish have been mining gold in this region during 1560 to 1690. However, many experts say that these accounts are based on rumours and suppositions that were passed on by the American Indians.

Many of these traditions and accounts about gold mining in this region seem to be very plausible, but at the same time, they seem quite unbelievable as well at certain points as one can hardly believe that Spaniards could abandon mines that were quite profitable.

When gold was discovered in North Carolina in 1798, the speculations regarding occurrence of gold in Georgia greatly increased. Gold discovery in Georgia caused two such factors that led to the first gold rush in the United States in 1829. The first factor was the placer deposits which showed that it was not hard to collect gold in the region, and the second factor was those speculations and rumours that quickly spread in many different parts of the US just like a jungle fire.

Many stories are associated with the inception of gold in Georgia. Some of the accounts show that Frank Logan was the pioneer in the discovery of gold in the Duke Creek. While according to other records, John Witheroods discovered a three ounce nugget of gold in Duke Creek region. All these stories enthralled people of the US resulting in the rush to Georgia for discovering the same gold nuggets like the ones discovered by the earlier explorers.

No matter who made the first discovery of gold in the region at that time, but gold rush had started there, and it could have been seen at its peak quite soon. It was on August 1, 1829 when first public account of gold discovery in the region emerged in the Georgia Journal. A news item, published in that journal, explained that two gold mines had been discovered in the region, and that further preparations were being made to reveal that hidden treasure in order to bring it to use.

Most of the area having gold mines was under the hold of Cherokee Indians. However, mining preparations were made to explore the nearby areas. Earlier the alluvial mining was the most employed one.

According to an estimate, nearly 4,000 miners were working only at Yahoola Creek by the end of 1830. Similarly, it is said that some other towns like, Dahlonega and Aurarua, were supporting nearly 15,000 miners when the gold rush was at its peak in this region. - 29871

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