Reed Gold Mine
A Simple Man
John Reed (Johannes Reith) was a Hessian soldier who left the British army near the conclusion of the Revolutionary War and came to settle near fellow Germans living in the lower Piedmont of North Carolina. Most of the people dwelt on modest family-run farms in rural areas, where they raised small grain crops such as corn and wheat.
The life of farmer John Reed would have been long forgotten had it not been for a chance event one Sunday in 1799. On that day, Reed's son Conrad found a large yellow rock in Little Meadow Creek on the Reed farm in Cabarrus County. This rock reportedly weighed 17 pounds and for three years was used as a doorstop at the Reed house.
In 1802 a Fayetteville jeweler identified the gold nugget. He purchased it for the asked price of $3.50—one-tenth of one percent of its true value.
The following year John Reed began the Reed mining operation by forming a partnership with three local men. The partners supplied equipment and workers to dig for gold in the creek bed, while Reed provided the land. The returns were to be divided equally. The men mined mainly in the off-season from farming, giving first priority to raising their crops. Before the end of the first year, a slave named Peter had unearthed a 28-pound nugget. Using only pans and rockers to wash the creek gravel, the part-time miners recovered an estimated yield of one hundred thousand dollars by 1824.
The Fever Spreads
Hearing of Reed's good fortune, other Piedmont farmers began exploring their creeks and finding gold. Men and women, both young and old, worked in the gold fields. Foreigners joined them, including the skilled Cornishmen from England.
"Placer," or creek, gold mining led to underground mining when it was learned in 1825 that the metal also existed in veins of white quartz rock. The search for underground or "lode" gold required much more money, labor, and machinery. Underground work at Reed was not begun until 1831. Four years later a family squabble resulted in a court injunction that closed the mine for a decade.
John Reed was a wealthy man when he died in 1845. Soon the Reed mine was sold at public auction.
The mine was eventually purchased in 1895 by Oliver S. Kelly and his son O. Warren Kelly. They started exploring the older workings on Lower Hill, then worked towards Upper Hill. A 10-Stamp California style mill was purchased by the Mecklenburg Iron Works of Charlotte by 1898 and placed along Little Meadow Creek to crush and process the quartz. The Upper Hill workings were deepened first to the 100 foot level and finally reaching 150 feet looking for quartz veins. Unfortunately the gold they hoped to find never materialized and the Kelly family ended all underground mining in 1912, abandoning their efforts at Reed.
Historic Site
Portions of the underground tunnels at the Reed mine have been restored for guided tours. A visitor center contains exhibits of gold and historical mining equipment. An orientation film highlights the first gold discovery, and tours of a restored ore-crushing stamp mill are offered. A picnic area is available, and trails wind through the historic mining area.
The Reed Expansion Committee, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of North Carolina's gold mining heritage, supports many ongoing projects at Reed Gold Mine.
– Originally published in NC Historic Sites. Reused for educational purposes.