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Album  1
Gold Hill - The Golden Days

      

    
Law and Order returns to the once rough and rowdy mining town as evidenced by the photo of Main Street, Gold Hill taken around 1900.  
The Gold Hill Mining Office stood as a tribute to the wealth and power in the thriving town.
The Barnhardt Shaft was opened in 1842 and reached a depth of 500 ft.
A tunnel at the 500 ft. level joins the Randolph Shaft.  
The Randolph Shaft Headframe towers in the distance behind the Mining Office. The Earnhardt Shaft Headframe became known as the Center Shaft of the Randolph.  The Earnhardt was dug in 1843 to a depth of 500 feet.  The Randolph was dug in 1855 to a depth of an estimated 850 ft.  The Building in the foreground housed the Stamp Mill and  Shaker Tables. The smokestacks of the Smelter Houses are also visible.

        

       
Union Gold and Copper Co. continued to produce copper until 1907.
The Huge Cornish Pump pictured above in the Pump House at the Randolph Shaft ran 24 hours a day to keep the mines de-watered and safe for the miners.
The Stamp Mills at the Barnhardt and Randolph Mines also ran continously crushing the ore to a fine gravel.
The earliest methods of crushing the ore was by the Chilean Ore Mill.  An even more primitive method was called a single drag mill.  It looked similar to the one pictured here, but had only a single upright wheel which rolled on the base stone.  The single Drag Mill was operated by horse or Mule power.   The mill pictured here was turned by steam power.
After the ore was crushed, it was shoveled into the Log Rockers where the dirt and rock was washed away. The gold was collected in the mercury lining the bottom of the rockers. The amalgamation process was dangerous due to the use of mercury.
The miners in the above photo (circa. 1880) were posed ready for work at the Randolph. They were 'Men of Character', a special breed of men from varying backgrounds.  The workforce was made up of German, Irish, Cornish and African Americans to name a few.

      
The Gold Hill Hotel was the first hotel in the region to have lights, heat and running water, all powered by steam generators from the mines. There is no doubt that the Ballroom of the grand hotel was decorated in the finest furnishings of the day. Its' guests' dined on linen covered tables and fine porcelain china.
The family of Richard Eames is pictured on the porch and lawn of the Eames-Newman Mansion. The mansion was built by the New Gold Hill LTD. Mining Company of London, England, following the Civil War. Mr. Eames managed the mines until around the late1890's.  The home was later occupied by Walter George Newman.  Gold Hill homes were known to be the  most expensive and lavish in the region, and were valued at an estimated $50-60,000.  The material prosperity of this small elite class suggested that at least some of the townspeople were indeed rich beyond measure.  The town held the reputation of economic and social importance.
So much so that in 1848, a newspaper editor from Asheboro, NC wrote to a friend of a great ball to be held at Gold Hill, "to which all the young people in the region have tickets. It is expected to be a grand affair." The young editor was so awed at the imposing guest list, however, that he regretfully added: "I shall not attend as I am too poor to shine honorably in a company so fair and fashionable."
It was also during this same time that the Mayor of Charlotte, NC announced that he had hopes for Charlotte, that, "One day Charlotte will be as big and prosperous as Gold Hill."