The first documented discovery of gold in the United States was in 1799 at John Reed's farm in Cabarrus County, N.C. In the first half of the 19th century, North Carolina was the preeminent state in gold mining, yielding more of the precious metal than any other American state prior to 1849. For nearly three decades, until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, all domestic gold coined by the U.S. Mint came from North Carolina. The authors assert that the story of mining in the state offers impressive evidence of industrialization that struck a balance between industry and agriculture. They present case studies of John Reed and the Gold Hill mining district in Rowan County, which together chart North Carolina's unique role in the industry. Additional sections of the book focus on the activity at mines other than Gold Hill from 1865 well into the 20th century. Through the book, the authors discuss the role of African Americans, slave and free, in North Carolina's gold region. The volume contains 63 black-and-white illustrations, a helpful glossary of gold mining terms, and an extensive list of sources.
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About the Author
Richard F. Knapp received his Ph.D. from Duke University. He reitred in 2005 from the Historic Sites Section of the N.C. Office of Archives and History. During his tenure at Historic Sites, Dr. Knapp was responsible for the research and development of a number of the state's historic sites, including Reed Gold Mine. Brent D. Glass received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. since 2002 he has served as director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Previously, he served for fifteen years as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice introduction to a relatively unknown topic,
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This review is from: Gold Mining in North Carolina: A Bicentennial History (Paperback)
Gold Mining in North Carolina? The very thought of this pales by comparison to the gold rushes seen in California in the 19th century, but there was indeed gold found in North Carolina as well.The authors have done a nice job of introducing the reader to the history of gold mining in the state of North Carolina. The book provides the reader with a quality study of the personas and events that triggered the gold rush in the south, as well as the struggles faced in trying to recover gold in this region. The book starts with a rather dry chapter on the geologic activity in the region, including where the gold was found. From there, however, the book picks up pace nicely and becomes a great narrative story of mining and recovery of gold nuggets and flakes in this American state. In my opinion, the strongest features of the book are the introductions to the characters (quite literally, some of these folks were indeed characters) that were involved in the mining experiences in North Carolina starting as early as 1799. The authors have also done a splendid job in describing the meteoric rise and similarly rapid fall of the mines themselves, including the many times that mining properties were sold at auction or purchased by new gold-hungry entrepeneurs. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an introduction to gold mining in North Carolina, but be warned that the first chapter can be tough sledding. I can only hope that there are further books written by this team detailing out the lives of the people that made these events so interesting.
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