{"nrhp_refnum":"73002292","name":"Calhoun Mine","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"3 mi. S of Dahlonega off GA 60","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dahlonega","county":"Lumpkin County","state":"GA","lat":34.56147549950006,"lon":-83.98658082759984,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-11-07","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1973-11-07","areas_of_significance":["Industry","Native American","Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A gold mine site made up of cuts and tunnels on a ridge above the Chestatee River, about three miles south of Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, Georgia, worked from the 1828 gold discovery until as late as 1946.","why_significant":"The mine is presented as the emblem of Georgia's gold discovery, which drew thousands of miners onto Cherokee land. This gold rush was a leading cause of pressure to remove the Cherokee from Georgia and from the eastern homeland. The form also links the property to John C. Calhoun, whose heirs held an interest until the 1880s.","narrative":"Three miles south of Dahlonega, Georgia, the Calhoun Mine climbs a ridge above the Chestatee River as a series of cuts and tunnels. The Calhoun cut runs about 150 feet into the ridge, two south tunnels run roughly 130 feet each, and later workings include the 160-foot Dugas tunnel and the 500-foot Abbot Tunnel, driven after World War II. Today only portals, diggings and overgrown cuts mark the site. Benjamin Parks found gold here in 1828. The property later passed from Reverend Robert Obarr to Judge Underwood and then to John C. Calhoun, whose descendants kept part interest until the 1880s. Because the mine lay just across the river from Cherokee country, miners soon crossed onto Cherokee land. The resulting conflict, Georgia's extension of state law over the territory in 1830, and the pressure on the Cherokee to leave are the reasons the mine is recognized as a symbol of the gold rush and Cherokee removal.","period_of_significance":"19th Century; specific date 1828","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, altered, on its original site, with preservation work in progress; the tunnels and shafts remain intact but the original cuts are partly filled and overgrown. Present use is listed as no use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.321735-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/73002292_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002292/6a8fd770e1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002292/6a8fd770e1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"National Park Service","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CalhounMine1972NPS.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">National Park Service</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CalhounMine1972NPS.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93206783","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calhoun_Mine","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5019785"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/lumpkin-county/calhoun-mine-73002292/"}