Let's Talk Gold Rushes...!

The California gold rush was NOT the first one, just the most famous.

You may not have ever heard of the previous gold rushes, but don't feel too badly because most other folks haven't either!

This topic could probably win you a prize in your local trivia contest! Then again, it may not. That all depends on how trivial things are in your neighborhood!

The California Gold Rush of 1849 wasn’t America’s first gold rush. It wasn’t even the second.

When young Conrad Reed found a large yellow rock in his father’s field in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, in 1799, he had no idea what it was. Neither did his father, John Reed. The family reportedly used it as a doorstop for several years, until a visiting jeweler recognized it as a 17-pound gold nugget. The rush was on. Eventually, Congress built the Charlotte Mint to cope with the sheer volume of gold dug up in North Carolina.

In 1828 gold was discovered in Georgia, leading to the nation’s second gold rush. Finally, in 1848, James Marshall struck it rich at Sutter’s Mill in California, and thousands of Forty-Niners moved west to seek their fortunes.

I'll be the first to admit that I did not know about these other gold discoveries. But even I don't know everything, no matter how often I think I do!

How about we have our coffee on the patio this morning? Pretty nice out so far!