By Ken Mink
International Travel Writers Alliance
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – There once was an uproarious era in America when hundreds of thousands of people were struck with gold fever.
Gold had been discovered in the early 1820s on Cherokee Indian lands in Georgia and North Carolina.Shortly thereafter gold was discovered in California and some other western states.
The U. S. Government forced about 16,000 Indians to give up their gold-laden lands in Georgia. North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee and were shuttled off on a 1,100-mile Army escorted walk in 1838 to Oklahoma, the infamous Trail of Tears that saw more than 1,000 Indians die on the tortuous journey.The Indian lands were then sold in a lottery to local residents in a parcel of 40 acres each.
The time was the 1800s and huge numbers of people had taken up picks and shovels and headed for creeks to try to pan their way to a fortune.
Many prospectors did become relatively lucky and made fortunes in gold, but the huge majority failed and had to return to their mundane way of life.
This little town n North Georgia was once the center of the gold rush in Georgia, with tens of thousands panning their way up and down the waterways of Lumpkin County desperate to strike it rich.
So much gold was mined here that the government established a regional mint, with gold coins minted from 1838 to 1861 in denominations of the gold dollar, the $2 ½ dollar and the $5 gold coin. Also, for one year only in 1854, Dahlonega struck a small quantity of the prized $3 Indian princess—only 1,120 of them. The mint was destroyed in the Civil War. Dahlonenga gold was also used to cover the dome of the state capitol building in Atlanta, one of 10 state capitol domes so adorned.
The town's history has become centered on gold. There is even a Gold Museum here, where you can get an extensive look at the colorful regional gold fever era.
There are also two operating gold mines here, open to the public, offering tourists a chance to get a realistic feel for what gold mining was all about. Visitors can go hundreds of feet underground through actual tunnels (via stairways and ramps) and see where miners toiled in inhumane conditions and the equipment they used. Or visit an above-ground operation where many tons of quartz rock is still being crushed to extract gold. Many miners worked for as little as 25 or 50 cents per day and many became deaf from using noisy drilling equipment.
The Consolidated Goal Mine offers visitors several guided walking tours per day, taking people 400 feet deep underground to see where miners toiled in dangerous and nearly inhumane working conditions. After their 40-minute subterranean tour (tennis shoes are recommended and closed-toed shoes are a must). Visitors are then offered a chance to try their hand at panning for gold at several sluice-type setups. After getting a gold pan filled with (supposed) river residue, visitors can shake the pan above water and then dip it into the pseudo sluice several times, washing away extraneous minerals and (eventually) leaving small bits of gold. Workers then examine the panned results and put any found gold (flecks) into a small glass vial as a visitor take-home souvenir. Customers pay $15 for the panning experience and are lucky if they get one-thousandth of a gram of gold, a few flakes worth pennies.The mine has a huge gift shop, where you can buy real gold items for up to thousands of dollars.
The mine tour costs $12 for children and $15 for adults, with some discounts.
Mine info: (706) 864-8473 at 185 Consolidated Gold Mine Road, Dahlonega, Georgia 30533. www.consolidatedgoldmine.com. Open Monday- Friday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 10 a. m-5 p. m. Closed some holidays.
Crisson Gold Mine is located at 2736 Morrison Moore Parkway, 30533, and is open 10 a. m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week (phone 706-864-6363).
Crisson Gold Mine is an actual open pit gold mine that was established in 1847 and was worked commercially until the early 1980s. On site is a 130-year-old Rock crusher called a stamp mill. Crisson still operates it to crush quartz rock which contains gold. All of these antique gold mining machines can be seen by visitors. The mine also has one of the country's largest supply of gold digging and operating equipment.
Dahlonega is much more than a couple of historic gold mines. A famous saying "There's gold in them thar hills" reportedly originated from Mark Twain's 1892 novel The American Claimant. He supposedly got it indirectly in 1849 from a Dahlonega assayer, Dr. Matthew Stephenson, who in trying to keep prospectors in Georgia instead of leaving for the California gold rush, said, "don't go to California, men, look at our mountains -- there' s still millions of gold in them."
It's a charming Southern town that, like many such early American communities, grew up around its courthouse.
The courthouse square here is surrounded by dozens of shops, restaurants, and a variety of other businesses, including a couple of bed and breakfast firms.
But the highest rated of the B&Bs in this area is the nearby family-owned Forrest Hills Resort which offers a variety of 32 private roomy (up to 2,000 square feet) cabins, each with hot tub and fireplace; 12 luxury bi-level suites with steam sauna and other amenities; and private hotel with 4, 8, 12 and 16 room units. There are seven meeting rooms, 4 dining rooms, including the Secret Garden for couples and the Rose Garden that can be dressed up or down from formal to casual banquets for up to 200 guests.
There is an outdoor wedding pavilion and "Chapel in the Woods," and the resort has an on-site wedding coordinator. Bridal couples may choose a fairy tale wedding package that includes a chapel or outdoor gazebo wedding, horse-drawn carriage ride, reception, hot tub cabin, candlelight dinner, spa treatment and more. Eloping couples can opt for the resort's Elopement Package and let the resort arrange for every other detail.
Activities include horseback riding, horse-drawn carriages/tours, swimming pool and tennis and a gift shop. There are three golf courses within a 10 to 20 minute drive. Forrest Hills Resort accommodates individuals, couples, weddings, corporate groups, family reunions, etc.
Forrest Hills has so much to offer one might expect to pay an occupancy rate of hundreds of dollars per night, but Forrest Hills rates run less than $150 per day.
Info: 135 Forrest Hills Road, Dahlonega, GA 30533 Email:
800-654-6313Fax: 706-864-0757