Georgia Magazine - June 2017 - 24

COURTESY DAHLONEGA-LUMPKIN CO. CHAMBER AND VISITORS BUREAU

COURTESY DAHLONEGA GOLD MUSEUM HISTORIC SITE

Gold nuggets and coins like the ones at left are among the many artifacts from
Georgia's gold rush on display at the Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site. The Lumpkin
County Courthouse is one of the oldest courthouse buildings in Georgia.

Today's golden opportunities

COURTESY CONSOLIDATED GOLD MINE

Several attractions and landmarks are open to folks who want
to learn more about the state's gold history or try their hands at panning for a few flakes.
In Villa Rica, the Pine Mountain Gold Museum & Scenic
Railroad at Stockmar Park, pinemountaingoldmuseum.com, sits
atop a gold deposit on 27 acres. It offers a 4,800-square-foot indoor
museum brimming with artifacts from the area's 100-year-plus goldmining history and an 18-minute documentary about the Villa Rica
mines. Visitors also can explore West Georgia's only operational,
authentic 19th-century gold-stamp mill (functional since 1858), experience 3 miles of self-guided walking trails with interpretive signage,
take a railway tour or try their luck in the covered, on-site gold- and
gem-panning area.
The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site, gastateparks.
org/dahlonegagoldmuseum, is housed in the Old Lumpkin County
Courthouse in Dahlonega. The museum includes coins from the
Dahlonega Mint, a gold nugget weighing more than 5 ounces, a

Mine carts like this one at
Consolidated Gold Mine
in Dahlonega transported
gold-bearing quartz to the
surface. Consolidated
was one of the first efforts
at deep underground
mining in the eastern U.S.
24

large hydraulic cannon and nozzle used to blast soil from mountainsides, a 20-minute film on the history of the area and a gift shop.
The mortar and bricks for the building were made with mud from
Dahlonega's Cane Creek and contain trace amounts of gold, so the
exterior sparkles in the sunshine.
If you catch gold fever while visiting Northeast Georgia,
consider touring a gold mine. At Consolidated Gold Mine,
consolidatedgoldmine.com, built in 1898 near Dahlonega, visitors
travel 200 feet underground and 100 years back in time.
"We are a hard-rock mine," says Consolidated General
Manager Dathan "D." Harbert. "They used dynamite to blast the
rock, then they crushed the rock and then they used chemicals to
separate the gold from the dust."
The adventure starts with a 40-minute guided tour through the
massive tunnel network that once produced just over 54 pounds of
gold in one day. After the tour, learn to pan from some of the best
gold panners in the world.
"A visitor found a nice nugget last summer," Harbert says. "It
was in the $100 range."
Just down the road, east of Dahlonega, the Crisson Gold Mine,
crissongoldmine.com, established in 1847, is an open-pit gold mine
that was worked commercially until the early 1980s. A 125-year-old
stamp mill is still used to crush quartz rock into ore. Crisson sells
ore by the 5-gallon bucket, so you can pan it on-site or take it home
with you. For gold enthusiasts who purchase six or more buckets
of ore, the mine offers trommels-machines that separate the gold
from the sand in less than half the time it takes to pan.
Gold 'n Gem Grubbin', goldngem.com, in Cleveland hauls in
ore from a commercial mining pit and dumps it in a big mound by
the creek that runs through the property. You can either pan for gold
old-style from the mound or use the more-convenient sluices.
If you develop a serious interest in gold, consider becoming a
member of a club active in Georgia, like the Weekend Gold Miners
Prospecting Club or the Gold Prospectors Association of America
and Lost Dutchman's Mining Association, goldprospectors.org.

More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

GEORGIA MAGAZINE

http://www.pinemountaingoldmuseum.com http://www.consolidatedgoldmine.com http://www.gastateparks.org/dahlonegagoldmuseum http://www.gastateparks.org/dahlonegagoldmuseum http://www.crissongoldmine.com http://www.goldngem.com http://www.goldprospectors.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2017