Thar's Gold In Them Thar Hills (Dahlonega Gold Museum)

Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site.

My trip to Dahlonega Trail Fest on Saturday gave me the chance to visit somewhere that I have wanted to for a while now and that is the Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site. Not growing up in Georgia its history is to say the least not my strong point. Outside the states beginnings as a penal colony, slavery, the Civil War and Jim Crow I just didn’t know that much about the history of the Peach State.

So, last year when I first went to Sawnee Mountain near Cumming, GA I was surprise to find on the mountain the remnants of gold mines and at the visitors’ center information on them. 

Hampton & Herman Mine site.

South mine shaft.

Inside the north mine shaft.

Info in visitors' center.

It was here I learned that Dahlonega was the center of one of America’s first gold rushes starting in 1836. It was after this I learned about the Dahlonega Gold Museum from a book I have, North Georgia Mountains Pocket Companion by Brian Boyd. The museum, a GeorgiaState Park, is housed in the old Lumpkin County Courthouse, which has a history of its own. Built in the same year the gold rush started, it is the oldest surviving courthouse in the State of Georgia sitting right down in the middle of town. It was refurbished and became the home of the Gold Museum in the late 60's.

The old Lumpkin County Courthouse.

Historical marker.

Besides a film about the history of the gold rush in Georgia it house lots of artifacts, including gold nuggets, coins and panning equipment, that trace this history for the town and state. One will also find a display about the Chestatee River Diving Bell, which was an example of an 19th Century diving technology. It was used to look for gold in the area. The actually diving bell can be found at Hancock Park, it was found in the Chestatee River, refurbished and displayed in 2012 after being abandoned for 125 years. 

Old judges chambers.

Display about "Shine."

One of the hydraulic cannons used in mining.

Big safe.

Cherokee land is stolen land!

Gold placers.

Stamping machine.

Information on the old diving bell.

The Diving Bell Plaza.

Restoration of the diving bell.

1875 Chestatee Diving Bell.

People that helped with restoration.

Another side of the diving bell.

Another part of the diving bell.

An interesting fact, in the film, I learned was that gold found in Georgia was up to 98 percent pure making Peach State gold some of the highest quality in the world. Gold from Dahlonega can be seen on the steeple of the Price Memorial Hall at North Georgia College and on the State Capital Building Dome in Atlanta.

Georgia Capital.

Oh, and  something else I didn’t know that Dahlonega housed a branch of the U.S. Mint from 1838 until it was closed because of the Civil War. The coins from this mint are some of the most prized in the country. 

Gold belts map.

Gold production.

Plaque about the branch of the U.S. Mint.

Coins from the Dahlonega Mint.

Anyway, it was a fun visit and would recommend it to anyone who visits one of North Georgia’s nicest mountain towns.