Hide Article Text (OCR)
I'M THINKINGGold MinesBY AN OLD REPORTERNASH COUNTY GOLD MINUS, trom Louisburg, Tiie Mami-Arring-Nnsh County lies partly in the l(n property at, Argo in Numi fricamom anu paru.y m me coastal £ovmly svas another fairly pruuuc-ss*J *t-s « “. ^ j * I * • i • » , t wont v stamp rum run u mwiii mhope, and Bailey. Along udn pan.s ... * y r , * u,,Kl7.ol Warren ami jfcai xhn tne pied “ 011 ■ 1,K;monl portion of .Nash contains W* ^N.mN.eui'wiM HHGsIs term Luo (Bfclcm ,n1 ' J ,* i 1 |j , . . ,i _ • lin . itlH nUul line hUl^uU. infsajTa.vt. ™ s-■« «■«§ i «ssf* wrs3ss-„SS«-ssv « s?»rsCounty linn. U is »'« ko »1«« *** K?? “*'™ S'gold mining aciivilins ai.'Ui:,Il.v 11 , , v , fstarted, Mrs. William Horn Batlle *^cven jniies west ol \\mtnkeio m—born Lucy Plunimcr, wrote an l’urecw contained a \alua-interest in« letter to her husband ble v?m ()1 sulnmircl ore anu atthen in Tennessee dated Louis- cme ^me wa s fought to be vox./ hurt* \u*r « i/m lt;;)■.« ivrntp- ! promising. Gold ore was lountl inft? SwUsj'Se^ tr-r* .'|'.'UC. - I'dbelow They are ectliim rich ex- Al'Ulur ArnnsUm plantation buttremcly last. Tom was from there *{1CI G }JS no i,0?? wi (any,ahnut in rl-ivs -urn lie said that d(me iicre- G()i(i was a^° *lt;mncl 011they madeabout $1000 in 7 d‘S Wooaaru ana HccisepeU, pro-and Mr. Alston one day not Ion rocker. 1 hopethat you and brother William will , . . .mnrf» ihnrm.a’nlv .^vaminp Jy* )be ve,J) bOJilg VCiV strong andmine There mav hewealth sonic '»■ ^ ***** ^ *ncy where for us yet. From the word-iiig of Mrs. Baltic's letter it. seems anu said to contain a tughthat she was talking about the Percentage ol the precious metalg Nash-Warren mining section. The Gonsiuerable surface washing tot letter is interesting as it indicates ^°ld, was done in the Spring Hope a lot of activity in actual mining section twenty miles west of and reflects the local interest in it. Rocky Mount about Inis time and Mrs. Battle's brother, Kemp Plum- ,y‘i' amounts of gold were obtain-iner, Sr. kept a store at RamsonfS «l i« lt;his way. On the whole, gold Bridge and at one time during this mining m Nash was carried on m period owned the famous Portis a desultory manner. Bike a fever gold mine in that locality and curve, there were altenialing per-worked it at considerable profit, jodg of . great activity and entlms-W. 0. Crosby in his book Ore De- lysm. Several millions were ex-posits In The Eastern Gold Belt draeted from the mines through lists oniy three mines of any im- ‘he years but it would seem that portance, in the Alston mine in ‘he only people who realty profited Warren, the Portis-Sturgess mine, ‘'om the transaction were those lying partly in Nash and partly in who sold the gold properties at the Franklin and the North Carolina Oiffl moment. It. nas been saidin the inter-deposits were worked at various 9S^CCJ. 110^ finou^h^to make min-places in the county. The Alston nvg it worth wnile, Ihc fast era of mine in Warren dates from 1847 activity in the mines occurred m when a nuggett of gold was found the last decade of the HHh century, soci- on the plantation of Edward AIs- Muung had become a science and o-do ton in the southeastern part of no doubt it was felt that with new and the countv. In the 1890's interest improvements in machinery and ard, in the gold mines reached a new with new appliances for mining, afid pitch and several new mines were *be 0 as tern gold belt fields were heir opened up throughout Nash Coun- worth one more try. in the present light f.y. a good deal of mining was done a new hherest in the old lake and many people seemed enthusi- mines has arisen and persons are ;es* astic about the prospects of sue- prospecting for uranium in that By cess. W.C. Campbell, the editor of area Turner’s history of • EdgeM and “The Argonaut” had a financial combe describes a small gold we*: interest m \one of the miue in the West Edgecombe sec-PP^ wrote about the gold mines fre- tlon- some distance from the main quenily in his paper. The Portis- sold belt itself. On Cokey Swamp. the sturgess mine was the largest and near the farms of Dancy and Grif-gen- best known of these undertakings, fin. signs were discovered in 1794 ivily This is located on the south side of of a large Pit tools where ore rin- the road leading west from Kan- had been taken out of the ground. *rch som’s bridge to wood, where the A.D. Sturdivant who rented this can large pits mav still be seen. The farm in that year discovered the ace^ site is fast owing up in pine, signs through a slave and went to the At the entrance to the mine is an the place in Ihe swamp. Here he old house, formerly the residence folmd a mattock and some other of the Sturgess family of Balti- 'mining instruments and Mug only more who owned the mine at one a short time before finding some time. In 1891 it was reported that pieces of gold. The ore was in Yfr over two million dollars in gold large lumps of different sizes, 11 had been taken from the mine, It some of yellow and others of white P°s“ is said that the mine closed be- colors and very heavy. The vein eie* cause of a lack of good water sup- appeared not more than three feet nng ply. The machinery used in the op- in diameter and was surrounded of orations was hauled bv wagons by rotten wood indicating a shaft, vii-- *r raiiKim anu me iMirui vcuomiciPlacer mine located just below the ‘hat there was enough sold ii; Portis mine. However, smaller Nash mines to keep people i
Newspaper Details
Rocky Mount Evening Telegram
Rocky Mount, North Carolina, US
Sun, Jun 12, 1955
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Wilson C.
NC, USA 16 Jul 2022
Other Publications Near Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Evening Telegram
Rocky Mount Evening Telegram
Rocky Mount Weekly News
Rocky Mount Phoenix
