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| | Reed Gold Mine |
 | | The first gold rush in the United States occurred a few years after the discovery, in 1799, of a hunk of "heavy yellow' metal in or along Little Meadow Creek (153k) in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, by Conrad John Reed, aged 12. |
 | | Two decades later, in the mid-1820's, as more sophisticated methods of mining were introduced to the region, shafts (202k) were sunk at nearby mines to tap veins of ore. Separating the gold from the quartz in which it was found required huge Chilean grinding stones, bigger rockers, and retorts. |
 | | In 1848 national attention was drawn to California and soon thereafter to the Rocky Mountains. |
| statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us /nc/ncsites/gold.htm (2239 words) |
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