Guide · Gold rushes
Gold rushes
The gold rushes of America: where the gold was found, who came for it, and what is left of it today.The article answers its question first, then gives the detail and the sources.
The story starts half a century before California. In 1799 Conrad Reed found a 17-pound rock in a North Carolina creek, the first documented gold find in the United States, and North Carolina led the country in gold production until 1848.The article below tells that story: where the gold lay, who came for it, what it cost them and what stands on the ground today.
Quick answers
Where was gold first found in the United States?
On the Reed farm in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, where Conrad Reed found a yellow rock of about 17 pounds in Little Meadow Creek in 1799. The State of North Carolina calls it the first documented gold find in the United States.
Which state led US gold production before California?
North Carolina. The Reed farm became the Reed Gold Mine, and North Carolina led the country in gold production until 1848, when California took the lead.
More on the same subject: gold facts.