The GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows, which are open to the public, were started decades ago by GPAA founder George Massie to introduce people to gold prospecting and to teach them how and where to find their own gold. Besides being a lot of fun, the purpose of the gold shows is to remind everyone that gold prospecting and small-scale gold mining are still a way of life for hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. Gold mining is an integral part of American culture, heritage, world history and our economy.
Category: Fun Trips Page 7 of 10
Host Kevin Hoagland travels to the Alabama Gold Camp in Cragford, Alabama where he has the unique experience of running one of the largest wash plants on the east coast. From there he takes a step back and meets up with the Coker Creek Chapter of the GPAA who is all about the home built prospecting equipment. For more information about Gold Trails, visit goldprospectors.org/GoldTrails
DEATH VALLEY JUNCTION, Calif. — The Amargosa Hotel was once a hub of activity. The Spanish Colonial-style buildings were filled with workers from the Pacific Coast Borax Co.
Once the mine shut down, the people left, leaving the U-shaped hotel and the opera house attached to it at the center of what is now considered a ghost town.
“There wasn’t much reason for people to stick around, other than to stay at the hotel or visit the opera house,” the Amargosa’s Bob Muldowney said during a tour of the opera house. “Now, that’s all that’s left.”
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Saddle up and see the ghost towns of the Southwest | Dallas Morning News.
OLD HUNDRED GOLD MINE TOURS
The history of the Old Hundred Gold Mine begins in the spring of 1872 when the first of the three Neigold brothers arrived from Germany and staked their claim on the “Number Seven” vein. Reinhard, Gustave, and Otto Neigold spent the next 30 years prospecting and developing the veins on Galena Mountain. They even had their own town called Neigoldstown along the busy Stony Pass trail that led into Silverton. Educated and sophisticated, the Neigolds entertained the frontier mining camp with music, song, operas, and plays during the long winter months.
Gradually a large block of claims was assembled on the rugged side of Galena Mountain containing several good veins. One of the claims located in 1898 was named the “Old Hundred” probably after the popular German hymn, “Old Hundreth.” By then the brothers had formed the Midland Mining Company which had plans to drive a long tunnel at the base of Galena Mountain to tap the rich veins deep inside the mountain. Work was done on several levels and good gold ore was found in the highest vein, the Number Seven, at an elevation of 12,750 feet above sea level. But the Neigolds did not have the large sums of money needed to develop the mine and put the property up for sale.
Story from The Chicago Tribune
Kids love ghost stories. They love ghost tours on which they discover the hotel room next door is supposedly haunted even more.
Then they go to bed and the idea becomes a lot less lovable in the dark.
But the resulting sleeplessness just shows you how good the ghost tours are at Columbia State Historic Park in Columbia, east of San Francisco.
That’s not the only surprise awaiting first-time visitors to the town that seemingly stopped aging in the 19th century. Folks dress in period clothes. Many buildings have been rooted in place for more than a century. The only vehicle allowed downtown is the stagecoach and a stagecoach ride is a must. Hotel rooms are as close as possible to what they were in the 1800s, without asking guests to forgo electricity and indoor plumbing.
And there’s gold in that thar town.
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