The Kildonan Gold Rush was a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

in the Strath of Kildonan,

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later c ...

, in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1869. Small amounts of gold had long been discovered in the Kildonan area. A nugget with enough material for a ring was discovered in 1818. Public interest was sparked, and a gold rush started, following a newspaper announcement in 1868 of the results of Robert Nelson Gilchrist more systematic search for gold. The gold rush proper began in January 1869. At this stage those searching for gold stayed in

Helmsdale Helmsdale ( sco, Helmsdal, gd, Bun Ilidh) is a village on the east coast of Sutherland, in the Highland council area of Scotland. The modern village was planned in 1814 to resettle communities that had been removed from the surrounding straths ...

or more ad hoc accommodation near the Kildonan burn including the old Kildonan Church. Two small towns, Baile an Or ( "town of gold") and Carn na Buth ( "hill of huts") were built to accommodate the prospectors. However, the gold rush ended by 1870, as the

Duke of Sutherland Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made th ...

ended it due to conflict of interest with deer stalkers.

References

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* {{Financial bubbles Gold rushes 1860s in Scotland 1860s in the United Kingdom 1869 in Scotland 1869 in the United Kingdom Sutherland Economic history of Scotland Gold mining in the United Kingdom Mining in Scotland