Gold has been an important part of North Carolina’s history since 1799 when a young boy found a 17-pound gold nugget in Little Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County. This discovery initiated America’s first gold rush. North Carolina soon became the nation’s first gold-producing state and was the only gold producer until 1828. This report summarizes information from many publications, some of which are out-of-print, that describe the gold deposits of North Carolina. Much of the historical information is from the reports by Bryson (1936), Kerr and Hanna (1893), Nitze and Hanna (1896), Nitze and Wilkins (1897), Pardee and Park (1948), and Stuckey (1965). During the 1980′s, there were significant developments in gold processing technology and in the understanding of ore-forming processes. A review of these new developments is included in the text. Where information was available, new ideas on the formation of individual ore bodies is included in the individual mine descriptions. By P.A. Carpenter, III, 1993, second reprinting 1999. 51 pages.

The largest lump of gold, found in the United States, was dis-
covered on the Reed plantation in Cabarrus county, N. C, in 1799.
It was about 8^ inches long, 5 inches broad and an inch thick,
and weighed 28 pounds avoirdupois.

Gold Rush Guys have many Books & Maps of Virginia, North & South Carolina and Georgia related to prospecting for gold, The Civil War and even Ship Wrecks! Many of these are out-of-print or maps that date back 100+ years! We are located in Charlotte, NC in the heart of the Carolina Gold Belt.