As the price of gold continues to climb, some prospectors are taking another look at the rich history of gold mining in Alabama and what may still be hidden in the rocks and streams of the eastern part of the state.
Prior to the California “rush”, several east Alabama counties had produced 50,000 ounces of gold. Between 1838 -1860 coins were minted at the U.S. Mint in Dahlonega, Georgia from gold extracted in Alabama.
One early mining town was Arbacoochee, located in Cleburne County, which boasted a population of 5,000 (perhaps the largest city in the state at the time) and considered the gold center of the nation in 1840. It was where Alabama gold was first discovered in 1832 and the mine produced over $5 million worth.
Arbacoochee was among 100 mining towns in Alabama located in or near the Upper Gold Belt running from northern Georgia down into Alabama. Other counties in the “belt” include Randolph, Talladega, Clay, Tallapoosa, Coosa, Chambers, Elmore, Shelby and Chilton.
The local newspaper, reported a representative of one mining company showing samples taken from the Arbacoochee area. “He informed us that another vein has just been discovered which is eight feet thick and is turning out exceedingly well.” (1)
The same paper reported in May 1896 the discovery of another vein with “a width of 30 feet in widest place and 3 feet in narrowest place, it’s depth is not yet known.” (2)
Arbacoochee, covering 600 acres, was considered by some to be the most extraordinary gold placer deposit in Alabama.
Today there is very little remaining of Arbacoochee’s former glory but modern-day prospectors still find glitter in their pans from area creeks and roadside streams.
According to reports, gold panning provided a livelihood for some as late as the 1930s. “Some managed to pan $300-$400 per day and streams around Chulafinne may have been better than those at Arbacoochee,” (3)
The site is now in private ownership so anyone wishing to pan or dig must seek permission from landowners, however just parking on the side of the road and panning near culverts and bridges on county right-of-way will produce results as two Georgia prospectors recently discovered on a visit to the area of what was once “downtown”.
Hobbyists Matthew Hardin and Chris Casey, found flakes in a small branch running under CR 42. Other streams running under SR 46 just east might also yield results as several mines were located in that area.
In the southwest portion of the county was located the second largest mine; the King Gold Mine just off CR 24. It consisted of a 2,500 square feet pit. Those wishing to pan in the area might try public right-of-way around bridges on county roads 24 and 127 crossing Nixon Branch and Chulafinnee Creek and SR 281. Private landowners in the area may also grant permission. Randolph County
Mines operated there between 1835 - 1862. Reportedly, farmers living along creeks near Wedowee panned enough to buy fertilizer for crops in the early 1900s.
Promising areas may be around Gold Ridge and Pinetucky. Gold Ridge is south of Ranburne along Gold Ridge Road just over the county line into Randolph. The Little Tallapoosa River andKnoke’s Creek flow nearby.
Pinetucky may be reached from U.S. 431 south of Hollis Crossroads by taking Cleburne County Road 10 to Micaville and then south on CR 29. The Pinetucky Gold Mine was the site of a 20 stamp mill and was among earliest discoveries of lode veins in Alabama.
Mine Number One was located just west of CR 29 where it junctions with CR 202 at Pinetucky.
The second mine was located some 3000 feet westward but can only be reached by traveling south on CR 29 and taking a right onto CR 204 for about 4,000 ft with the site on the right hand side of the road. A little further northward is Buchannon Creek, a possible panning site.
Talladega County
During the early 1800s several mines operated near Waldo on 1,180 acres. Gold Log Mine was
the largest and consisted of a water-powered mill which turned a generator and a jaw crusher, ten 750-pound stamps, two 60-ft. amalgamation plates, blanket covered tables and an electric furnace. Reports suggest the mill extracted as much as $80 of gold per ton of ore. The facility closed in 1940.
Claude Waid, a driller in the mine, recalls, “The gold was just like a smear on a butterfly wing. Very seldom would you find enough as big as a pin head. We were working down under the creek and you had to keep the pumps running.” (4)
Another Waldo resident, Fred McKnight, said his cousins panned Talladega Creek during the Depression and made $5 per day.
The second largest mine in the area was Riddle’s Mill and assays taken in 1930 showed the quartz ore to contain $20 to $150 in gold per ton. “They were (in 1888) mining 20 tons of ore per day profitably and there was five distinct veins.”(5)
By 1889 the Storey Mine was said to have yielded $100,000 in gold. Men panning for gold at nearby Robb Placer before 1930 made up to $50 per day.
Clay County
In the Pyriton area are many sites in the hills west of SR 9 up against Talladega Mountain in the Talladega National Forest.
District Ranger Kimberly Bittle says, “recreational gold panning along with ‘rockhounding’ is permitted on the national forests in Alabama. . . Taking a handful of rock, mineral or petrified wood specimens from the surface of National Forest lands is permissible,” (6) and no fee is required but anyone planning to pan should contact the local district office and obtain a free permit. The district office in Heflin issues about 50 permits per year, however to pan in the Clay/Talladega portion of the TNF you should visit the Talladega District Office in Talladega.
The Harold Gold Mine was located east of Bethlehem Church on CR 18. This area can be reached by taking SR 148 west out of Millerville until it connects with CR 18.
Gold was also found in the Cragford district east of Lineville.
Prospectors may want to check the shoal sands of the Tallapoosa River and the gravel bars of Gold Mines Creek south of Erin. Gold has also been panned south of Lineville in area streams emptying into Crooked Creek.
Tallapoosa County
Goldville was located in north Tallapoosa County during the mid-1840’s and is 21 miles north of Dadeville on SR 49 in an area including some of the state’s well known mines.
Hobby prospector Joe Waters explains “In 1842, gold was discovered in Northeast Tallapoosa County . . . . The population of Goldville quickly reached 3,500 . . . . The gold was there, but the methods of obtaining it were crude. There also was free gold, concentrated at the surface by weathering which made it possible to work with a shovel and pan in some places. Gold was worked down to water level. A great amount of work was done as indicated by the trenches, pits, and shafts that can still be found. . . . The town of Goldville was born and died between the census of 1840 and 1850. . . When news of the California gold strike reached Goldville, the miners packed up and left not even taking time to put out their campfires.” (7)
The Devil’s Backbone District in south-central Tallapoosa County was perhaps the richest goldbearing area in the state, located within a narrow band beginning at Martin Dam and followingthe shores of Lake Martin to Jackson's Gap.
Hog Mountain, three miles west of Goldville, was a site where more gold was removed over a longer period of time than any other location in Tallapoosa County. Also known as Hillabee Mines, they were operated from1844 when oxen were used to haul the ore. While $500,000 worth was mined in the 1930s, processing cost $600,000 so operations ceased in 1936.
Coosa County
Gold may be found near the Unity Community west of Weogufka off CR 56 where the Stewart and Parsons mines were once located and around Alum Bluff near the mouth of Hatchett Creek. Roadside streams around Rockford may yield up some glitter. The stream bed of Gin-House Branch has produced some flakes as well.
Chilton County
The last of the gold fields discovered in Alabama were in Chilton County during the mid-1830’s. Sites include a number of placers along Mulberry Creek where stream gravel deposits have been worked. Many free nuggets were found up until the 1860’s in the Rippatoe Gold Mine near Varner.
State geologist Eugene Smith noted, “This famous property is situated in Sec. 17, T.21, R16E was extensively worked prior to 1860, work having begun here as early as 1835 and continued with but little interruption for twenty-five years.”(8)
Most of the mining operations in the state ceased during the Civil War but started up again in the 1870s, peaking at the end of the 19th century.
(1) The Cleburne New Era, March 23, 1893.
(2) The Cleburne New Era, May 1896
(3) The Creek Indian Town of Arbacoochee, Alabama, Final Report, March 7, 1984 Lenore B.
Martin. Historical and Genealogical Archive, Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library, Lenore Martin Collection
(4) Claude Waid in an interview with author in Waldo in the early 1980s
(5) E. Grace Jemison, “Historic Tales of Talladega”, Strode Publishers, 1984
(6) Press release/handout, Kimberly Little, Shoal Creek District Ranger, Talladega National Forest. Heflin, Alabama.
(7) http://jovikri.tripod.com/public-index.html
(8) Dr. Eugene Smith, Alabama Geological Survey Bulletin #1, 1886
