The Calhoun Mine is perhaps the oldest and best-known mine in

Lumpkin County, Georgia Lumpkin County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Georgia, Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,488. Its county seat is D ...

. When gold was discovered in Lumpkin County in 1828, which led to the

Georgia Gold Rush The Georgia Gold Rush was the second significant gold rush in the United States and the first in Georgia, and overshadowed the previous rush in North Carolina. It started in 1829 in present-day Lumpkin County near the county seat, Dahlonega, ...

in 1829, it was discovered on owned by Robert Obar. After at least two intermediary sales, the land was purchased by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, who later served as the 7th

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

. Calhoun started a mining company to mine the land and later allowed his son-in-law

Thomas Green Clemson Thomas Green Clemson (July 1, 1807April 6, 1888) was an American politician and statesman, serving as Chargés d'Affaires to Belgium, and United States Superintendent of Agriculture. He served in the Confederate Army and founded Clemson Univers ...

, the founder of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, to manage it. The ore deposit was a very rich deposit and, according to an 1856 letter from Clemson to his brother-in-law, was still producing significant quantities of gold nearly 30 years after its initial discovery on the land. This mine - along with the Consolidated Mine and the Loud Mine - were some of the most productive mines in the

Georgia Gold Belt The largest quantities of gold found in the eastern United States were found in the Georgia Gold Belt, extending from eastern Alabama to Rabun County, Georgia, Rabun County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The biggest concentration of gold was fo ...

. In 1879, the Calhoun Mine passed from the Calhoun family. In 1939, after the deposits at the Calhoun Mine were long thought to be depleted, a small pocket was discovered and mined. After the initial excitement, things became quiet once again at the mine. The Calhoun Mine was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and named a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1973. Calhoun Mine is located about 3 miles (5 km) south of

Dahlonega Dahlonega ( ) is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of Georgia h ...

off

State Route 60 The following highways are numbered 60: International * AH60, Asian Highway 60 * European route E60 Australia * Bruxner Highway * Dawson Highway (Rolleston to Gladstone) – Queensland State Route 60 Brazil * BR-060 Canada * Alberta Highwa ...

and on the eastern side of the

Chestatee River The Chestatee River (variant spellings Chestatie, Chestetee, Chostatee, Chosteta, Chestotee; none in modern use) is a file geodatabase (GDB) at ftp://rockyftp.cr.usgs.gov/vdelivery/Datasets/Staged/Hydro/FileGDB101/ river in the Appalachian Mounta ...

. It lies on a hill on the west side of the road - about 0.6 miles (1 km) off the road - on the opposite side of the ridge, on private property. The mine was designated a

and listed on the

in 1973, for its nationally significant role as an instigating element of the

Cherokee removal The Cherokee removal (May 25, 18381839), part of the Indian removal, refers to the forced displacement of an estimated 15,500 Cherokees and 1,500 African-American slaves from the U.S. states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to ...

. The mine was located directly adjacent to Cherokee land, and the conflict with miners illegally working Cherokee lands contributed to calls for removal, and the eventual displacement of, the Cherokee from their lands.

References

External links

''Gold in Georgia'' by Sylvia Gailey Head"Thar's Gold in Them Thar Hills': Gold and Gold Mining in Georgia, 1830s-1940s
from the

Digital Library of Georgia The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is an online public collection of documents and media about the history and culture of the state of Georgia, United States. The collection includes more than a million digitized objects from more than 200 Georgi ...

Georgia Division of Archives and History Photo - Interior of stamp mill at Calhoun Mine, 1899Georgia Division of Archives and History Photo - entrance to Calhoun Mine, 1955
* {{National Register of Historic Places Georgia Gold Rush Gold mines in Georgia Mines in Lumpkin County, Georgia National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state) Geology of Georgia (U.S. state) Underground mines in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Lumpkin County, Georgia

See also

References

External links