South Carolina Gold Rush - Parson's Mountain EarthCache
South Carolina Gold Rush - Parson's Mountain
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The California gold rush in the mid-1800s brought many to California in search of fame and fortune, but the first gold found in the United States was found much farther east, in North and South Carolina, earlier in the 1800s. While this gold rush didn’t last very long, people did make some money and the West was founded on that premise. Although gold or mining is not often found in the United States, there are pockets of gold that can be useful to mining companies. The town of McCormick was built on top of one such gold mine. The remains of that gold mine are the destination of this adventure!
The geological name for this location is actually Parsons Mountain Pyrophyllite Prospect. Located on Parson's Mountain in Abbeville county, it was known as the Dorn Mine, named for the Dorn family. The Dorn family had similar gold mines all over South Carolina and Georgia, and even Arizona.
Gold is most commonly found and/or mined in one of two kinds of deposits; Placer and Lode. Placer deposits are areas of free gold that have settled in pockets after being disturbed and moved by many years weather facilitated erosion. Lode is gold found in veins buried deep underground in quartz deposits. Placer gold is mined using panning, sluicing, or dredging. Lode is mined using conventional "deep shaft" hardrock.
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Alluvial means loose, unconsolidated (not cemented together into a solid rock) soil or sediments, which has been eroded, reshaped by water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine setting.
Lode on the other hand is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. Metalliferous simply means containing a metallic element. Often used to describe ores that are mined commercially.
To get credit for your gold mining adventure please answer the following questions in an email to me(Do not post pictures of the answers, or say the answers in your log in any way):
1. Based on the descriptions, and the methods you can see were used at the site, do you think this is a "placer" mine or a "lode" mine? Explain how you came to this conclution.
2. According to the sign at the posted coordinates, what year was the well-known Dorn mine underway?
3. There are three shafts with chainlink fences surrounding them. How deep do you estimate the middle shaft to be?
4. (Optional) If you feel so inclined, include a picture of yourself with your GPS, enjoying this scenic location! (Please make sure not to include any answers in your picture!)
There are many places you can park to hike the wonderful trails around Parson's Mountain. The closest parking is at the coordinates listed on this page. It is just a roadside pull off you can park and get right onto the trail. Take the clearly marked trail to the posted coordinates where you will see several remains of the Dorn mines. There is no physical cache at this location, all you must do is answer the questions, and submit them to me via email to receive credit for this cache. Anyone failing to submit answers within 1 week of posting their find will run the risk of having their log deleted.
Enjoy your visit to this beautiful area, and a piece of American history!
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