Reed Gold Mine, North Carolina

America’s Oldest Gold Mine

The Reed Mine, NC

In 1998 there were big celebrations for the 100^th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush in Alaska/Yukon and the 150th anniversary of the California Gold Rush in California. Nearly forgotten, and only a year away from its Bicentennial (200th) anniversary was America's first verifiable gold discovery in 1799: the Reed Gold Mine, in North Carolina!

Here a twelve-year old boy named Conrad John Reed, was the lucky lad to start America's love affair with gold mining. Legend has it that young Conrad skipped church one Sunday morning, and ended up playing in Little Meadow Creek. He found a yellow, brick-sized rock, weighing about 17 pounds. Conrad had two brothers and five sisters, as well as numerous cousins, and his father was a former Hessian (German) soldier who had been brought to "The Colonies" to fight the American rebels, but instead ended up deserting and settling down in the hilly Piedmont, where he married and began farming.

Not much happened until 1802, when the rock that had been used as a doorstop was identified by a Fayetteville jeweler as a large gold nugget. He bought it from John Reed for $3.50. After the value was determined, Reed demanded another $1000, which he got. Now that Reed knew what it was, he wanted to find more gold, so he and his brother-in-law Frederick Kiser began their search for more gold in the farm's streams. He brought in a couple other partners, and using slaves they prospected for and found a lot of gold nuggets, and dust in the stream beds and nearby embankments. In 1803, one of the slaves created a lot of excitement when he uncovered a 28-pound nugget.

Originally they wandered about the stream beds "digging up stones, clay, &c. and picked up what they could find." That was followed by panning with frying pans. By the summer of 1805 they were using crude rockers.

Neighboring farmers took notice and searched their own land, and it didn't take long for word to spread outside the region. Within a few years the entire Piedmont was buzzing, and the gold mining even attracted attention in Washington, where Elias Boudinot, Director of the United States Mint, advised President Thomas Jefferson of the recent gold discoveries. The mint in Philadelphia had processed about $11,000 in Carolina gold, and to a financially strapped, struggling young country that had to rely on foreign gold, this was definitely good news.

By the 1820s, the entire Piedmont area from Virginia south through northeastern Alabama had became a hotbed of mining. Throughout the region, hardrock mining became the method of choice after gold was found in rock veins on the Barringer farm in 1825. The Reeds had found about $200,000 in gold by placer mining alone, but in 1831 they joined the others in hardrock mining. The rock was crushed in arrastras, Chilean mills, or stamp mills, and mercury used to recover the fine gold.

The Chilean mill was a large rolling stone (or stones) that rotated around a central post around a flat stone base, pulverizing the gold-bearing ore. Mercury and water were added to the mixture, and as the wheels rotated around the base, crushing the ore. The free gold was absorbed into an amalgam by the mercury. It was also during this time that stamp mills were introduced into the region from Germany.

Big money was now being spent, and some rich mines were coming into production. With that came publicity. Thousands of people headed for the mines, and America's first gold rush was underway, much to the delight of the local economy. Boomtowns sprang up all over, and gold flowed from the North Carolina mines, finding its way into coins via the Philadelphia mint and thence into the Nation's coffers. Gold dust and nuggets were also used as a medium of exchange throughout the Piedmont.

At the Reed Mine, the first shaft sunk in 1831 is said to have produced between $18,000 to $20,000 worth of gold. As a result of that, several other shafts were also sunk in both the Upper and Lower Hill workings.

In 1834, John Reed was getting too old for the physical rigors associated with mining, so he formed an agreement with his sons and sons-in-law. They would do the physical labor, and John as the landowner would receive one-third of the mine's profits, and they would share the other two-thirds. Even agreements can cause grief, as later in the year a 13-pound nugget was recovered. Arguments over ownership rights began, and that was followed by over ten years of litigation. This litigation curtailed full exploitation of the Reed Mine.

In 1842, John Reed became an American citizen, and the next year, his wife Sarah died. 88-year old John Reed followed her to the grave in 1845. When Reed died in 1845, his will stated that the mine was to be sold and the money divided among his heirs.

His grandson, Timothy, and his son-in-law, Andrew Hartsell pooled their money, and purchased the mine, to keep it in the family. Their mining methods had become antiquated, and the mine was not nearly as profitable as some of the others in the area. They were not able to realize enough profit to pay off debts, so in 1852 they sold out for $3000: a pittance for the historic old property.

In the meantime, both the Reed Mine and the entire east coast gold mines were practically forgotten as the siren call of Gold in California echoed across the continent, and a mass exodus of miners, would-be miners, and wannabe miners flocked toward the Golden West and adventure.

The mine was sold several more times, and in 1853 the New York based Reed Gold and Copper Mining Company brought in state of the art equipment, developed new shafts and tunnels, and hired professional miners to work the fabled old mine. Hundreds of feet of new tunnels were run, and the future looked very bright.

In late 1854, America's first major gold mine was closed, and the following year sold at auction to satisfy the hounding creditors. The Reed Gold and Copper Mining Company of New York folded, despite great dreams and lots of ambition. The property was now owned piece-meal by several individuals.

After the Civil War, William L. Hirst, a lawyer from Philadelphia purchased all of the original John Reed Land and tried to reactivate the old mine. In 1875 a $2000 nugget was reported to have been uncovered, but production was sporadic, and in 1895, Hirst sold the property plus an additional tract of land to Oliver S. Kelly, O. Warren Kelly, and Dr. Justin D. Lisle, all of Springfield, Ohio. They reopened the mine, retimbered some of the shafts and tunnels, and operations began again.

In 1896, a 23-pound nugget was discovered in one of the tunnels, but that wasn't enough to sustain the old mine. In 1897, another wild gold rush up in Alaska and The Yukon siphoned away people, interest and capital.

Finally in 1903, the mine closed, only to reopen briefly in 1911-12, when some of the placers and old dumps were re-worked. In 1912 it closed for good. The Kelly family (Kelly Tire Co.) remained owners until December 31, 1971 when they sold to the state of North Carolina.

Most of the original buildings have all rotted away, as have most of the newer buildings. The Kellys did not farm the property, and as a result the property gradually reclaimed by nature. Although little remained except tunnels, shafts, and foundations, the property had not been burdened with development.

The state repaired the mine, installed a museum and opened it for visitors on April 23, 1977. Today a visitor center welcomes folks to the property, and tours are offered...All for no cost.

"The Reed Mine, site of the first discovery of gold in the United States, assumes a

significance out of proportion to the value of the precious nuggets, grains, and ore torn

from Little Meadow Creek and the adjoining hills. The Reed Mine was the seed from

which the country's gold mining industry and subsequent gold rushes germinated."

(North Carolina Division of Archives and History)

It was here that a 12-year old boy changed American History, and today's visitor can experience the story of 200 years of American gold mining. This is truly where it all began, 50 years before the California Gold Rush, and 100 years before the Alaska/Klondike Gold Rush.

The Reed Mine is America's oldest gold mine, and is located on Reed Mine Road, 1.6 miles southwest of Georgetown, which is on State Highway 200, 14.4 miles southeast of Concord.

For more information, contact...

Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site

9621 Reed Mine Road

Stanfield, NC 28163

Telephone: (704) 786-8337

Fax: (704) 786-8390

hours... M-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5 summer

Tue-Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4, winter

Location:

· Latitude: 35.2845871 / 35° 17’ 05” N

· Longitude: -80.4645097 / 80° 27’ 52” W

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for April 2000.