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Dahlonega Mint

1837 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)Georgia Gold RushLandmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)Lumpkin County, GeorgiaMints of the United States
United States Mint
Dahlonega Mint 1877
Dahlonega Mint 1877

The Dahlonega Mint was a former branch of the United States Mint built during the Georgia Gold Rush to help the miners get their gold assayed and minted, without having to travel to the Philadelphia Mint.: 80–81, 105  It was located at (34°31.8′N 83°59.2′W ) in Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, Georgia. Coins produced at the Dahlonega Mint bear the "D" mint mark. That mint mark is used today by the Denver Mint, which opened in 1906, over four decades after the Dahlonega Mint closed. All coins from the Dahlonega Mint are gold, in the $1, $2.50, $3, and $5 denominations, and bear dates in the range 1838–1861.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dahlonega Mint (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Dahlonega Mint
South Chestatee Street,

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N 34.5299 ° E -83.9871 °
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University of North Georgia - Dahlonega Campus

South Chestatee Street 110
30597
Georgia, United States
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Dahlonega Mint 1877
Dahlonega Mint 1877
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Dahlonega, Georgia
Dahlonega, Georgia

Dahlonega ( də-LON-ig-ə) 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 highway 400, a freeway which connects Dahlonega to Atlanta. Dahlonega was named as one of the best places to retire by the publication Real Estate Scorecard.Dahlonega was the site of the first major Gold Rush in the United States beginning in 1829. The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site which is located in the middle of the public square, was originally built in 1836 as the Lumpkin County Courthouse. In 1849, when local gold miners were considering heading west to join the California Gold Rush, Dr. Matthew Fleming Stephenson, the assayer at the Dahlonega Branch Mint, tried to persuade miners to stay in Dahlonega. Standing on the courthouse balcony and pointing at the distant Findley Ridge, Dr. Stephenson was recalled in his speech as saying: "Why go to California? In yonder hill lies more riches than anyone ever dreamed of. There's millions in it," This phrase was repeated by those miners who did make the journey to California and was shared in the mining camps of the west. Years later, the young Samuel Clemens, better known as the author Mark Twain, also heard of Stephenson's phrase. Twain was so enthralled by the phrase "There's Millions In It," that he used it frequently in his book The Gilded Age. Over time, the phrase has been misquoted to the better-known "Thar's gold in them thar hills."

Consolidated Mine
Consolidated Mine

The Consolidated Mine was a gold mine in Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States, just east of Dahlonega. Like most of the area around Dahlonega, the placer mining on the land on which the mine is located probably started during the Georgia Gold Rush. By 1880, the placer deposits were exhausted and the land was down to hard rock. Gold was soon discovered in a huge quartz vein system, and mined. "The richest acre" was mined deep into the ground, and the resulting shaft became known as the "Glory Hole.” After an interruption of operations at the mine, a group of investors purchased about 7,000 acres (28 km2) of land around the discovery site and formed the Dahlonega Consolidated Gold Mining Co. in 1895. After constructing the largest stamp mill east of the Mississippi River at the Consolidated Mine property, the Mining Co. folded in 1906. The mine's lower workings became flooded and lay dormant until seventy-five years later, when the site came under new ownership. There is still gold to be mined here – but the cost of extracting the gold from the mine exceeds the value of the gold, at least for the time being. Today, a part of the upper level of the mine remains open for tourists, who can tour portions of the "Glory Hole" underground and pan for gold. Original cart rails, electrical lines and even an operational pneumatic drill recovered from the mine may be viewed. This mine and Crisson Mine are the two mines in the Dahlonega area that remain open for tourists. The Consolidated Mine remains the only mine in the area safe enough to take tourists into.

Calhoun Mine
Calhoun Mine

The Calhoun Mine is perhaps the oldest and best-known mine in Lumpkin County, Georgia. When gold was discovered in Lumpkin County in 1828, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush in 1829, it was discovered on 239 acres (0.97 km2) owned by Robert Obar. After at least two intermediary sales, the land was purchased by Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who was also the 7th Vice President of the United States. Calhoun started a mining company to mine the land and later allowed his son-in-law Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of Clemson University, 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. 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 that excitement, things became quiet once again at the mine. The Calhoun Mine was added to the National Register of Historic Places and named a National Historic Landmark in 1973.Calhoun Mine is located about 3 miles (5 km) south of Dahlonega off State Route 60 and on the eastern side of the Chestatee River. 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 National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, for its nationally significant role as an instigating element of the Cherokee removal. 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.