Reed Gold Mine

Useful Information

Location:	In Midland.
Open:	NOV to MAR Tue-Sat 10-16. APR to OCT daily 9-17. [2006]
Fee:	free [2006]
Classification:
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Reed Gold Mine, 9621 Reed Mine Rd., Midland, NC 28107, Tel: +1-704-721-4653, Fax: +1-704-721-4657. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1799	first gold discovered by Conrad Reed.
1802	identified as a gold nugget by a Fayetteville jeweler.

Description

Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented discovery of gold in the United States. It is named after the farmer son Conrad Reed, who found a large yellow rock one Sunday in 1799. John Reed, his father, owned the Reed farm in Little Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County. He was a Hessian soldier who left the British army near the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. As he was a German, originaly his name was Johannes Reith, he settled near fellow Germans in the lower Piedmont of North Carolina.

The discovery of gold was at first not realized. The Reeds were just farmers and did not recognize it as valuable. The yellow rock, which weighted 17 pounds, was used as a doorstopper for three years. Then it was identified as a gold nugget by a Fayetteville jeweler. He asked for the price and purchased gold worth $3,500 for $3.50.