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The city of Dahlonega () is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Lumpkin County, Georgia Lumpkin County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,488. Its county seat is Dahlonega. History This area was settled by the Cherokee, who also occupied a ...
, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of Georgia highway 400, a freeway which connects Dahlonega to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. Dahlonega was named as one of the best places to retire by the publication ''Real Estate Scorecard''. Dahlonega was the site of the first major Gold Rush in the United States beginning in 1829. The
Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site is a Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia state historic site located in Dahlonega, Georgia, Dahlonega that commemorates United States, America's first gold rush and the mining history of Lumpkin County. The museum ...
which is located in the middle of the public square, was originally built in 1836 as the Lumpkin County Courthouse. In 1849, when local gold miners were considering heading west to join the California Gold Rush, Dr. Matthew Fleming Stephenson, the assayer at the Dahlonega Branch Mint, tried to persuade miners to stay in Dahlonega. Standing on the courthouse balcony and pointing at the distant Findley Ridge, Dr. Stephenson was recalled in his speech as saying: "Why go to California? In yonder hill lies more riches than anyone ever dreamed of. There's millions in it," This phrase was repeated by those miners who did make the journey to California and was shared in the mining camps of the west. Years later, the young Samuel Clemons better known as the author Mark Twain, also heard of Stephenson's phrase. Twain was so enthralled by the phrase "There's Millions In It," that used it frequently in his book The Gilded Age. Over time, the phrase has been misquoted to the more well known "Thar's gold in them thar hills."


The Georgia Gold Rush

In 1829, the first documented discovery of gold was made in Georgia. As news of the discovery spread, thousands of would be get rich quick men flooded into the mountains looking for the yellow metal in the creeks and rivers. At that time in history, the frontier of Georgia bordered the Cherokee Nation. During the winter of 1829-1830, white gold prospectors began illegally crossing the Chestatee River into the Cherokee Nation in search of gold. After objections were made to the Federal Indian Agent in the territory, United States troops were sent in to forcibly remove the gold miners from the nation. By 1831, Governor Gilmer (and later Wilson Lumpkin) of Georgia realized that it was impossible to remove the thousands of miners who had intruded into the Cherokee Nation. Gilmer saw an opportunity to claim the remaining Cherokee lands as part of Georgia. In 1832, the Georgia legislature voted to create ten new counties out of the former Cherokee Nation without regard to their sovereignty. Lumpkin County named after Governor Wilson Lumpkin, was created in December 1832. A year later the town of Taloneka or Talonega was named as the new county seat on December 21st, 1833. The spelling was later changed to Dahlonega, derived from the Cherokee word meaning "yellow." The spelling of the Cherokee word ''Da-lo-ni-ge-i'' was disputed by early correspondents; Featherstonhough, for example, wrote it as "Tahlonekay". The proper pronunciation of Dahlonega is (Dah-loe-nee-gee or Dah-lone-gay) in the Western Dialect of the Cherokee language. Da-lo-ni-ge'i does not mean gold but it simply means, Yellow.


Naming the city

The city was named "Talonega" by the Georgia General Assembly on December 21, 1833.Acts passed by the General Assembly, by J. Johnston, 1838 The name was changed from Talonega by the Georgia General Assembly on December 25, 1837 to "Dahlonega", from the
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
-
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
word ''Dalonige'', meaning "yellow" or "gold".


The Dahlonega Branch Mint

Due to the abundance of gold which was discovered in North Georgia, the United States Treasury Department decided to build a branch mint in Dahlonega. This allowed local miners a place to bring their gold deposits in exchange for hard currency. The Dahlonega
branch mint A branch mint is a satellite operation of (usually) a national mint. In many cases it will add a mint mark to coins that is different from that used at the main facility, although each country has different rules that may vary over time. Added let ...
was built in 1838 and operated from 1838 to 1861. The
Dahlonega Mint The Dahlonega Mint was a former branch of the United States Mint built during the Georgia Gold Rush to help the miners get their gold assayed and minted, without having to travel to the Philadelphia Mint. It was located at (34°31.8′N 83°59.2 ...
, like the one also established in 1838 in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, minted only gold coins, in denominations of $1.00, $2.50 (
quarter eagle The quarter eagle was a gold coin issued by the United States with a value of two hundred and fifty cents, or two dollars and fifty cents. It was given its name in the Coinage Act of 1792, as a derivation from the US ten-dollar eagle coin. Hist ...
), $3.00 (1854 only) and $5.00 (
half eagle The half eagle is a United States coin that was produced for circulation from 1795 to 1929 and in commemorative and bullion coins since 1983. Composed almost entirely of gold, its face value of five dollars is half that of the eagle coin. Produ ...
). It was cost-effective in consideration of the economics, time, and risk of shipping gold to the main mint in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania. The Dahlonega Mint was a small operation, usually accounting for only a small fraction of the gold coinage minted annually in the US. In 1861, when the Civil War began, the mint closed due to lack of materials and manpower. After the war the U.S. government decided against re-opening the facility. By then, the U.S. government had established a mint in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. Given the large amount of gold discovered in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
from the late 1840s on, the San Francisco and Philadelphia mints handled the national needs of coin minting. As a result, surviving Dahlonega coinage is today highly prized in American
numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
. The University of North Georgia After the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Dahlonega Branch mint remained closed. The building served as a barracks for US troops garrisoned here, and as a school for freed black students. In 1871, Hon. William P. Price, who had been elected to congress from Dahlonega, petitioned the government to re-purpose the vacant mint building into a college. In 1873, the newly founded North Georgia Agricultural College, opened its doors from the ashes of the original Dahlonega Branch Mint. Over the years as the college grew, the names have changed from the original North Georgia Agricultural College, North Georgia College, North Georgia College and State University and the current designation as the University of North Georgia.


Wine and tourism

In recent years, Dahlonega and Lumpkin County have been recognized as "the heart of the North Georgia Wine Country". The county features multiple
vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
s and five licensed wineries that attract many tourists. The historic Dahlonega Square is a popular destination, with gift shops, restaurants, art galleries and studios, and wine-tasting rooms. In 2015, Senator
Steve Gooch Steve Gooch, (born February 25, 1967) is an American politician. He is a member of the Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Geo ...
introduced Georgia Senate Resolution 125 officially recognizing Lumpkin County as the Wine Tasting Room Capital of Georgia. The city's local festivals draw many visitors. "Bear on the Square", an annual three-day festival held the third weekend in April, marks the day that a
black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
wandered onto the square. It features bluegrass and old-time music. "Gold Rush Days", an annual two-day event the third weekend in October, attracts over 200,000 people. Dahlonega is home to the Holly Theatre.


Historical marker

Located at 384 Mountain Drive,
WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...
Historical Marker 19 B-7 explains:
This court house, built in 1836, replaced the small
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
used since the establishment of Lumpkin County in 1832. The town was named Dahlonega in October, 1833, for the Cherokee word ''Talonega'' meaning "golden." From its steps in 1849, Dr. M.F. Stephenson, assayer at the Mint, attempted to dissuade Georgia miners from leaving to join the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. His oration gave rise to the sayings: "There's millions in it," and "Thar's gold in them thar hills."


Geography

Dahlonega is located in central Lumpkin County at (34.5325, −83.9850).
U.S. Route 19 U.S. Route 19 (US 19) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Lake Erie. The highway's southern ...
passes through the east side of the city, leading north to Blairsville and south to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
Georgia State Route 400 Georgia State Route 400 (SR 400; commonly known as Georgia 400) is a freeway and state highway in the U.S. state of Georgia serving parts of Metro Atlanta. It is concurrent with U.S. Route 19 (US 19) from exit 4 ( Inter ...
, a freeway which runs concurrently with US-19 to Atlanta, has its northern terminus south of the center of Dahlonega. State Routes 9 and 52 run concurrently around the south side of Dahlonega, joining US 19 on the southeast side. State Route 9 leads southwest to Dawsonville, while State Route 52 leads west to
Amicalola Falls State Park Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge is an Georgia state park located between Ellijay and Dahlonega in Dawsonville, Georgia. The park's name is derived from a Cherokee language word meaning "tumbling waters". The park is home to Amicalola Falls, ...
. To the east State Route 52 leads to Clermont. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.60%, are water. The city is centered on a low ridge, with the west side draining to Cane Creek and the east side to Yahoola Creek. Both creeks flow south to the
Chestatee River The Chestatee River (variant spellings Chestatie, Chestetee, Chostatee, Chosteta, Chestotee; none in modern use) is a file geodatabase (GDB) at ftp://rockyftp.cr.usgs.gov/vdelivery/Datasets/Staged/Hydro/FileGDB101/ river in the Appalachian Mountain ...
, part of the
Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...
watershed. Crown Mountain is in the southern part of the city.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 7,537 people, 1,873 households, and 1,086 families residing in the city.


2010 census

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 5,242 people and 2,392 households. The population density was . There were 1,181 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.3%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 3.1%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.04% Native American, 1.2%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.2%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 2.0% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.9% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
people of any race were 6.0% of the population. There were 1,060 households, out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.4% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 13.5% under the age of 18, 42.9% from 18 to 24, 19.0% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 73.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.3 males. The
median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
for a household in the city was $28,636, and the median income for a family was $44,904. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $22,917 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $16,572. About 11.4% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.


Education


Lumpkin County School District

The Lumpkin County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 215 full-time teachers and over 3,511 students. *Lumpkin County Elementary School *Long Branch Elementary School *Blackburn Elementary School *Lumpkin County Middle School *Lumpkin County High School


Higher education

Dahlonega is home to
University of North Georgia The University of North Georgia (UNG) is a public senior military college with multiple campuses in Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. The university was established on January 8, 2013 by a merger of North Georgia College ...
(formerly named North Georgia College and State University), North Georgia College and North Georgia Agricultural College, the
Senior Military College In the United States, a senior military college (SMC) is one of six colleges that offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs under , though many other schools offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps under other secti ...
of Georgia and the second oldest public university in the State of Georgia. The University of North Georgia is one of six senior military colleges (along with the Public Campuses of Texas A&M University, the Citadel, the Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech, and the Private Campus of Norwich University). The campus' administration building, Price Memorial Hall, is topped with a
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
covered with
gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...
from the town. The rotunda
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
of the
Georgia State Capitol The Georgia State Capitol is an architecturally and historically significant building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building has been named a National Historic Landmark which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As t ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
is also covered with Dahlonega gold.


Other educational facilities

* Wahsega 4-H Center, an environmental education center and summer camp owned by the
University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...
and administered through the UGA Cooperative Extension Service
Georgia 4-H Georgia 4-H was founded in 1904 by G.C. Adams in Newton County, Georgia, Newton County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, as the Girls Canning, and Boys Corn Clubs. The Georgia 4-H Program is a branch of Cooperative extension service, ...
program * Camp Glisson, a year-round retreat camp owned by the North Georgia Conference of the
United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...


Residents

* Sara Christian,
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
's first female driver *
Steve Gooch Steve Gooch, (born February 25, 1967) is an American politician. He is a member of the Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Geo ...
, Georgia state senator and majority whip *
Dallas Kinney Dallas Kinney (born 1937 in Buckeye, Hardin County, Iowa), is a photojournalist who won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize in photography for his photographs of Florida migrant workers for The ''Palm Beach Post''. As a newspaper journalist, Dallas has also ...
,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning photographer *
Guy A. J. LaBoa Guy A. J. Laboa (born December 9, 1939) is a retired United States Army officer. A veteran of the Vietnam War, his senior command assignments included the 4th Infantry Division and the First United States Army. Early life Guy Anthony Jackson La ...
,
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
who commanded the 4th Infantry Division and
First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...


In popular culture

There is a Dahlonega Mine Train roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia. Corey Smith has a song titled "Dahlonega", in reference to the town and its landmarks, on his album ''While the Gettin' Is Good'', released on June 23, 2015. Country music recording artist
Ashley McBryde Ashley McBryde (born July 29, 1983) is an American country music singer–songwriter. Raised in Arkansas, she was drawn to various types of music from a young age. She also developed a passion for writing songs and later moved to Nashville, Tennes ...
directly references the town in her debut single "
A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega "A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Ashley McBryde. The song was released as her first single on October 16, 2017, and served as the lead-off single to her major label debut album, '' ...
", which was released in October 2017.


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

Dahlonega is twinned with: *
Myślenice Myślenice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). Population: 20,261 (2007). The town is divided into six districts. One of them, Zarabie, is a popula ...
, Poland


References


Further reading

*"Gold-Mining in Georgia." ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' 59, Issue 352 (September 1879): 517–519. Availabl
here
*''I Remember Dahlonega: Memories of Growing Up in Lumpkin County,'' by Anne Dismukes Amerson (Chestatee Publishing: 1993) * *Williams, David, "'Such Excitement You Never Saw': Gold Mining in Nineteenth-Century Georgia", ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 76, No. 3 (Fall 1992), pp. 695–707, Georgia Historical Society. Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40582597


External links


City of Dahlonega official website

Dahlonega Georgia Merchants Association''The Dahlonega Nugget''
newspaper
"Thar's Gold in Them Thar Hills": Gold and Gold Mining in Georgia, 1830s–1940sBear on the Square Mountain Festival
{{authority control Cities in Lumpkin County, Georgia Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)