Customer Reviews

Gold Mining in North Carolina: A Bicentennial History

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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.