Eldorado is a community in Madoc Township, in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, with a 2019 population of 50. In 1866, it was the location of Ontario's first

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

after Marcus Herbert Powell found gold on John Richardson's farm.
ONTARIO'S FIRST GOLD MINE
' (public sign), John Street and Highway 62, Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario

Location

Eldorado is located six miles away from the centre of Madoc.

History

Municipal employee and part-time prospector Marcus Herbert Powell found gold on August 15, 1866, on a farm owned by John Richardson's. The town of Eldorado was founded in 1867. The same year the Richardson Mine went into operation. Despite higher expectations, Powell extracted about 100 ounces of gold, worth $1,500 to $2,000 at the time, but no further gold was found. Various other mines that had quickly opened, quickly closed.

Demographics

In 2019 the population of Eldorado was 50, down from 4,000 during the gold rush. In contemporary times, it is considered to be a ghost town.

References

{{coord, 44, 35, 16, N, 77, 31, 10, W, type:city_region:CA-ON_source:CGNDB, display=title Communities in Hastings County 1867 establishments in Ontario Ghost towns in Ontario