The Silver Hill Mine (originally named King's Mine and Washington Mine prior to 1854) was the first silver mine in the United States, later used primarily as a source of lead and zinc. Discovered during the Carolina gold rush at a Davidson County, North Carolina location later named Silver Hill, operations began at the site in 1839 under the Washington Mining Company. Increasing difficulties extracting the silver from ore heavy in lead and zinc led to the introduction of various new metallurgical processes and equipment. These were unable to fully stem losses of silver in refinement, and an increasingly convoluted production chain led to closure of the mine in 1852.
The mine was reopened and acquired by Franklin Osgood in the 1850s, before serving as a secondary lead supplier to the Confederate States during the American Civil War. Expansions of the mine continued during post-war lead and zinc extraction, but the continued expenses of mineral refinement prompted the reabandonment of the mine in 1882. Smaller operations were conducted at the site in the 1890s, 1900s, and 1940s, mainly restricted to the clearing of water and extraction of small amounts of material from the surface levels of the mine. The Tennessee Copper Company briefly expanded the mine in the 1960s before once again abandoning efforts. Although surveys of the site conducted in the 1980s described a considerable amount of viable ore remaining on the site, no further operations have been conducted.
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