It’s been amazing over the last few months to see gold prices soaring through the roof. Since gold is selling for about 12 hundred dollars an ounce right now, it’s got me wanting to search for this shinny metal. There have been several places in North Georgia where significant amounts of gold were found. Most people think of gold in North Georgia, they will think of the city of Dahlonega, Georgia. This is where the first gold rush in Georgia started, but wasn’t necessarily the first place gold was found. The Sixes Gold Mines in Canton, Georgia was the first big place that gold was found in the Peach State. I live in the city of Canton and the Sixes Gold Mines is about a 10 minute drive from my house. If gold is that close to my house; then I wonder what’s the chances of finding it in my backyard?
I have never searched for gold on my land and I am curious to pan a little bit to see if I do have gold on my property. I don’t own the mineral rights to my land, so I guess I would have to dig it up without anyone knowing about it. I’m not sure how that works, but I do know gold is hot right now and I am broke, so finding gold sounds like the perfect cure to someone that is lacking wealth in life.
The Franklin Gold Mines in Ball Ground, Georgia is another place where gold was mined from the red clays of North Georgia. These mines are located on the Etowah River and this river seems to be the path for gold in North Georgia. The Etowah River starts in Dahlonega and this is a place where gold is. Down the river several miles is where Ball Ground, Georgia and the Franklin Gold Mines comes into the picture. Just south of Ball Ground is where you find the city of Canton in North Georgia. The Etowah River doesn’t take a direct path to where the Sixes Gold Mines are located, but it is nearby and very close to the area. I’m not sure how far the gold in Dahlonega is from the Sixes Mines in Canton, but I would guess about 50 miles or less. I think it’s safe to assume that this 50 miles of river tracking through the hills and mountains of North Georgia as it winds it’s way down to Canton is loaded with gold.
Not only do you have the natural gold that exists in North Georgia, but there are several Indian legends that are around these parts. Several stories that link the days right before the Trail of Tears started in North Georgia that hints toward hidden gold. Apparently the Indians got word that their removal was coming and in preparation before they left, they came together to bury their valuables in secret locations and gold was a valued possession of the Cherokees in North Georgia. Some believe that the Indians in modern times came back from Oklahoma where the Trail of Tears ended and returned to fetch the gold they had left hidden. There are others that feel it has never been recovered or only a portion of the hidden gold left by the Indians has been retrieved.
As someone that is getting ready to go on a gold-finding mission, it’s hard to come up with a clear game plan. Do you seek the gold that is found heavily along the Etowah River? Or do you search for all the clues left by the Indians and see if you can find the secret caves or burial sites for the gold they left behind?
I won’t discard the legends that exist in my area of North Georgia concerning the gold the Indians left behind before they took that infamous march down the Trail of Tears. I believe I will keep these details in the back of my mind and start down the natural route first. If the Indians found gold and the historic places like Dahlonega and the Franklin and Sixes Gold Mines had gold at one time; then there still must be gold in them thar hills.
Thanks to technology I should be equipped with better tools for finding gold than these old time miners in North Georgia. A good metal detector, sluice boxes, and a dredge to suck up the gold on the bottoms of creeks and rivers, should help me to find gold at a faster rate, than those that walked my footsteps in the past.
If you live in North Georgia and own land with a creek or located near the Etowah River, then I would love to have permission to look for gold on your property. I would be willing to share any finds that I discover on your land. I think getting permission to look for gold in certain areas, will be my biggest hurdle that faces me right now. Hopefully I can find a few contacts online and get a team assembled; so I can begin a big search for gold in the beautiful areas of North Georgia.
