Evening star., 1941-10-26
Georgia May See
Second Gold Rush
BIZ Frederic J. Hdskin.

present developments continue. it may
be the scene Of the first gold rush Of,
the present century. Prospectors have
found much encouragement il exploring
new veins for gold at Dahlonega scene
Of what was actually the first gold rush
in the United States, and where the
United States Treasury obtained gold
from which it minted its first gold coins.
The village of Dahlonega is near
forgotten hamlet in North Georgia.
about Is miles from the nearest railroad,
but once 3 prosperous place of more
than 5000 inhabitants. Today its barely
500 dwellers are thinking of the towns
golden days which only the discovery Of
gold in California robbed of its true
place in history. More particularly,
however, they are thinking Of the pos
sibilities In the nearby mountainsides
which have already yielded more than
$4,000 900 worth Of gold. They share
With many others the belief that the
hills about Dahlonega still possess untold .
riches.
TIE name Dahlonega is derived from
the Indian word TalloneGa. meaning,
yellow gold The whole territory for
many miles around was originally in
habited exclusively by the Cherokee In
dams until the white man ives permitted
to enter it in 1929 The Cherokees were
the first to discover gold in the region,
and how much they extracted from its "a,
hills is unknown. The fact that they
mace the community one of their chief
gathering centers leads to the belief that .
they found gold in great abundance.
Soon after the white man settled In,
the community, prospecting for gold be-
gan to take a place of Importance. BY.
1885 the community was furnishing so
much of the yellow metal that the
United States Treasury took under ad.-
viSement the establishment of branch
mint there This was done in 1888, and
prior to that time more than s5000000.
worth of gold was hauled across the /,
country 10 Philadelphia for smelling and
coming.
The United States Treasury estab-
lished its first mint in Philadelphia in
1892 Prior to that time. and for many
wears thereafter, there was private mint
ing of gold coins. The Treasury, how
ever, did not begin minting OF gold until
after the discovery of it in Georgia. at;
Dahlonega. and from its mines came
the first gold used by the United States
Treasury for mintine into coins
Dahlonega is Georgia third oldest
incorporated town and lays claim to hav-
ing the oldest courthouse in the State.
Built in 1886, of red brick and stone
trimmed, with Gothic arches snd colon
nades running through from east to west
and from north to south, stone wall
around its elevated foundation, it has
served serenely through stress and storm,
through comedy and tragedy. On its
steps in 1849 stood Dr. NJ F Stephenson,
an assayer in the United States Mint
for more than so years. practical engi-
neer in gold, silver and copper mining,
and a man who believed firmly in
Dahlonega as a producing region,
and made dramatic appeal which made
history. The California gold rush fever
was at its height. and almost every man
in and around the village of Dahlonega
had long been acquainted with the pos
sibilities of getting rich by the finding
of gold. So when the news came that
California had struck gold. local miners
were ready to 60 West and 60 in hurry.
Dr. Stephenson. feeling confident the
miners would make a mistake by going
to California in comparison with the
gold they could find almost under their
feet, called a community meeting and
spoke from the courthouse steps. In
his eloquence he pointed to Findley
Ridge skirting the town and told his
audience that millions of dollars worth
of gold lay buried in the ridge. He oon-
vinced the men and they turned with
spades, shovels and picks and with con-
fldence which DR.. Stephenson had in
spired in them. Within a few days the
prophecy began to come true. marking
the beginning of a great mining ac-
tivity =
After the community struck II rich,
there was a rush of prospectors and
others to Dahlonega. and in year or
so 1t became a thriving town of 5000.
inhabitants although far removed from.
the services of q railroad. The boom
continued until about 1858. Diggings.
had become so scant by the time tho.
Civil War was declared, and the South
in great need of men for recruiting its
army, that the mines were abandoned,
the mint removed. and Dahlonega was
all but lost to history =.
When the war was over many Of the
miners who returned continued to work
the abandoned mines. An occasional
find kept up the gold fever to some ex- y
tent, but never did the gold-flnding days
return. In recent months. however, new
surveys have been made, large quantity
Of gold found. and there is strong belief
that early gold mining there only
touched the surface of the wealth still.
hidden in the ridge to which DR.. Steph-
enson pointed when his words OF appeal
touched OF the spark which turned the
community into rush for gold that,
was eclipsed only by California.
Not only did thousands Of miners re-.
ceive fabulous wages. but many small
fortunes were made In buying and selling
real estate. The fortunes of John c.
Calhoun Of South Carolina and Of the.
Stillnan family Of that State were built
nah 800 Al