The Reed Gold Mine is located in Midland,

Cabarrus County Cabarrus County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and is the site of the first documented commercial gold find in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It has been designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

because of its importance and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

In 1799, Conrad Reed, the son of farmer and former Hessian soldier John Reed (né Johannes Reidt) born June 6, 1757, found a 17-pound yellow "rock" in Little Meadow Creek on the family farm in

Cabarrus County, North Carolina Cabarrus County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina ...

.Williams, David, 1993, The Georgia Gold Rush: Twenty-Niners, Cherokees, and Gold Fever, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, For three years, the rock served as a bulky doorstop. In 1802, a jeweler from Fayetteville identified the rock as a large

gold nugget A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of Native metal, native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placer deposit, placers. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits wher ...

. He told John Reed to name his price. Reed, not understanding the true value of gold, asked for what he thought was the hefty price of $3.50, or a week's worth of wages. The large nugget's true value was around $3,600. About 1803, John Reed organized a small gold mining operation. Soon afterward a slave named Peter found a 28-pound nugget. Reed continued with

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...

for a number of years. In 1831 he began underground mining. John Reed died at age 88 on May 28, 1845, rich from the gold found on his property. Some years later, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

decreased mining activity because of labor and resources being pulled into the war. The last large nugget uncovered by placer mining was discovered in 1896. The last underground mining took place at the Reed Mine in 1912. To handle the large amount of gold found in the region and state from the 19th into the early 20th century, the

Charlotte Mint The Charlotte Mint was the first United States branch mint. It was located in Charlotte, North Carolina and specialized in gold coinage. History Following the first documented discovery of gold in the United States, the country's first gold min ...

was built in nearby

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. Today, the Reed Mine is a state historic site that belongs to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and open to the public. Visitors can tour a museum with extensive displays about North Carolina gold mining. In addition, they can explore several hundred feet of restored gold mine tunnels.

About John Reed

Johannes Reith, a Hessian soldier from Raboldshausen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, served during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

in Company C (Col. Friedrich von Porbeck) of the Garrison Regiment von Wissenbach. On June 21, 1782 he deserted his post outside

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

and took his arms and equipment. He left the British army and came to settle in the lower part of North Carolina. He went to 'upper'

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it th ...

, later Cabarrus County, where he settled in the ethnic German community. He Anglicized his name to John Reed. Later he married Sarah Kiser, daughter of Peter Kiser and Fanny Garmon.

References

External links

Reed Gold Mine
- official site
American Society of Mechanical Engineers History & Heritage Landmarks Page
{{coord, 35.28542, N, 80.46996, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Protected areas of Cabarrus County, North Carolina Geology of North Carolina Gold mines in the United States American gold rushes National Historic Landmarks in North Carolina 1799 establishments in North Carolina Surface mines in the United States Museums in Cabarrus County, North Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Mining museums in North Carolina Industry museums in North Carolina Mines in North Carolina North Carolina State Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places in Cabarrus County, North Carolina Open-air museums in North Carolina

History

About John Reed

See also

References

External links