In a couple of earlier posts, I mentioned the Georgia Gold Rush and named a few of the better known gold mines. Three of the more well-known gold mines were the Loud Mine, the Consolidated Mine, and the topic of this post, the Calhoun Mine.
Calhoun Mine:
According to Wikipedia, the land the Calhoun Mine is located on 239 acres originally owned by Robert Ober. After a couple of intermediary sales, John C. Calhoun, South Carolina senator and the 7th Vice President of the United States, purchased the land. Below is John C.’s picture and he is an intense looking kind of guy!
Calhoun purchased the land for $6000 dollars (approximately $167,000 in today’s dollars). He began working the mine and it yielded much gold. Calhoun sent his son-in-law, Thomas Clemson, to run the mine. The deposit was rich and, according to an 1856 letter from Thomas Clemson to his brother-in-law, was still yielding significant quantities 30 year after the initial discovery. Part of the money used to found Clemson University came from the Calhoun Mine and specimens from the mine are on display in the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta.
The mine closes:
The Calhoun Mine passed from the Calhoun family in 1879 and, in 1939, a vein was found by Graham Dugas – one of the more colorful characters in Dahlonega’s Gold Rush history. The vein played out and the mine ceased operations. It is now privately owned and listed on the National Register of Historical Places and became a National Historic Landmark in 1973.
I plan on taking a drive up to the area of the Calhoun Mine very soon and taking some pictures. If I can find out who owns the land now, I’ll see if they will let me go on the property and take a look around! It would be awesome to see where the gold came out of the ground!
In my books, The Gemstone Chronicles, Beebop owned land in the North Georgia Mountains. His land included an old mine and he prospected more for gemstones than gold, but who knows, maybe Beebop was on to something. Maybe there still is gold in those hills!! John C Calhoun certainly found some at his mine!
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Are there any gold mines where you live? If so, let me know about them! As always, feedback and shares are welcome. You can also connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. I enjoy meeting new friends!
Did you ever gain access to the Calhoun mine? I live in the North Georgia mountains and explore a lot of the old mines and mining areas.
Hi Brian. I haven’t had any luck determining who owns it now, but I keep looking. I also want to find out who owns a few other mines in the area. I want to go explore them!
I am new at panning but very interested as a hobby. Is there gold in the streams in and around Calhoun?
Hi Jesse. I’m not sure about the Calhoun area, but since there were so many gold mines in the North Georgia area, I wouldn’t be surprised. I know there are a couple of Gold Prospecting Clubs and they are helpful in getting started. Try the Weekend Gold Miners or the GGPA. Another good resource might be the Rome Mineral Society. Good luck and happy panning!!
Yes. Not sure if anything substantial has been found but I have recovery some placer gold.
Thanks for the information Brian!
Where would you suggest going in that area and maybe north ro Chattanooga?
Just hit some of the creek beds around there. That’s all I do. As far as Chattanooga area. Probably won’t find much over that far. Coker creek in Polk County, TN is good.
Thank you for your time and infermation. I will check out the clubs
hi, my name is FORREST MARSINGILL. i am trying to find out how to join one of the gold mine clubs of north georgia. If anyone can tell me how to contact them, please semd me a message to my email at forrestmarsingill@ymail.com thank you for your help.
Good evening Forrest and thanks for stopping by the blog! I appreciate it. I think the easiest one to join is the Weekend Gold Miners based in Dahlonega, GA. There are a couple of ways to begin the membership, but the best thing to do is go to their website at http://www.weekendgoldminers.com. There is a link there for membership. Good luck on the gold hunt!!
Good Afternoon Bill – I know your post is dated, so I’m hoping you get this. I actually worked the Calhoun Mine in the late eighties for the private land owner and his son in law. I have awesome photos and can tell you the whole story. 🙂 I was 17 or 18 at the time. Drop me a note if you are interested in hearing more. I spent two years of my life in that mine chasing the last color Dugas swore was there! Have you heard the story of his car?? I grew up in Dahlonega and Lumpkin County – such a wonderful place and there’s not many rivers more beautiful in GA than the great Chestatee. River of Lights.
Hi Ben! You have a great story and I would love to hear more about it. If you get time, send me a response and I would love to have a picture or two. I could do a follow up post about it.
Thanks for reaching out!
I am the owner of this tract now as well as
The original BrierPatch property.
Would enjoy hearing your experiences and seeing your pictures
Send me a
Couple of pics of you can
Thanks
Hey Scott! So you’re the current owner of the Calhoun mine land?
Would love to talk to you! I live north hall county. So very close to all the action haha.
Thanks, James
Jameswestbrooks927@gmail.com
I would love to get in contact with you and learn about your experience mining there, your stories and photos! Very interested!!!
I love the history of mining.
Jameswestbrooks927@gmail.com
I would love to get in contact with you and learn about your experience mining there, your stories and photos! Very interested!!!
I love the history of mining.
Jameswestbrooks927@gmail.com
i’m a few years late but if you still have those photos i’d love to see them! my email is sgn340976@gmail.com
recently went to visit this mine and found about 30 no trespassing signs and a couple trail cams so i decided to stay away. the name of the property was listed as Briar Patch on the sign but i can’t find anything else about this or a owner which really sucks because i’d love to check out the area. if you ever got any pictures or anything i’d love to see them!
sgn340976@gmail.com