Ok, so these Montana gold mines are not really lost. After all, the government employee that wrote this document seems to know right where these gold mines are, but do you.

This isn’t a huge document and I’m not quite certain who prepared it, but it is a nice list of old gold mines in Montana.

So, check out lost-mines-in-montana

Strike It Rich!

This is an absolutely great document if you live anywhere in the Virginia or anywhere in that part of the country, because this is a 1975 report by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Division of Minerals on the location of old gold mines.

This is LITERALLY a treasure map that gives turn by turn directions to numerous old gold mines.  Man, it can’t get any easier than this!

Anyhow, if you go out looking for any of those lost gold mines be sure not to trespass or break any other laws.   However, there is an excellent chance that many of the landowners in that part of the country don’t have a clue that there are old gold mines anywhere near their property, so you might be able to work something out.

So, check out lost-virginia-gold-mines

Strike It Rich!

I’m always intrigued by stories of Spanish mines, because there are stories of Spanish and Mexican mines stretching from North Georgia to California.  Some of these are obviously more myth than fact, but some, like one in Southern Colorado, apparently existed, but has been completely lost to history.

There is no doubt that the Spanish were able to establish and run successful mines from Columbus on, but nailing down the location of Spanish mines in the United States is always problematic and I am always dubious about these “lost” mines.  For one thing, knowing how much the Spanish conquistadors loved gold, it is hard to imagine that they would not have been able to fight and defeat the native peoples anywhere that they really discovered rich Gold deposits.   Conquistadors didn’t take kindly to lost gold flakes much less lost gold mines.   

However, this classic essay on the early days of the California gold rush by Donald Cutler discusses how little attention the pre-Sutter gold strikes in Mexican California actually generated.   I knew that their had been some significant finds in what is today Los Angeles County, but I never realized how large the strikes actually were. 

 Anyhow, here is the-discovery-of-gold-in-california 

 Strike It Rich!

Charlie