North American Gold Rushes Trivia Quiz

Answer: North Carolina

A former Hessian soldier settled in the area that today is known as Concorde, North Carolina. His name was Johannes Reidt (whose Anglicized name became John Reed).
John Reed's son, Conrad, found a good sized gold nugget, but not knowing what it was, used it as a doorstop until 1802. At that time a jeweler identified it as gold, and Reed started a small mining operation. The following year, a slave simply known as "Peter" found a nugget of nearly twice the size; a 28 pounder!
These finds triggered America's first major gold rush, attracting others to his and surrounding lands in efforts to find gold. John Reed died as a very wealthy man in 1845.

Answer: Georgia

The Georgia Gold Rush began near Dahlonega, Georgia, in Cherokee Indian Territory. The rush soon spread to surrounding hills and mountains throughout north Georgia. Placer deposits, like those found in North Carolina were the primary source of gold. These deposits required some digging, but "panning" for gold was the usual method used to extract gold from the sandy alluvial soil, especially around creeks and streams.

Answer: carpenter and sawmill operator

James W. Marshall, a native of New Jersey, had been employed by Johann (John) Sutter to construct a sawmill for him. In exchange for constructing this mill, Marshall was to receive a portion of the lumber produced. Late one night, in an effort to divert water away from the waterwheel of the mill, this was accomplished, and on the following morning, January 24, 1848, Marshall discovered gold deposits in the channel bed below the mill.

The end result of this discovery was that word of the discovery got out, and people arrived in the thousands to search for more. Marshall grew penniless, and eventually had to file for bankruptcy, since all the workers on the mill had left to find their own gold, and neither he nor John Sutter ever derived any benefit from California's Gold Rush.

Answer: Klondike region of Yukon, Canada

Once gold was discovered in the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory (now simply, Yukon), a virtual stampede of gold prospectors arrived or at least attempted to arrive. Many of them didn't quite make it, as the climate and living conditions were not conducive to survival. Many who did make it to the gold-laden areas later gave up, due to unsuccessful ventures.

The rush was essentially over by 1899, but after heavy equipment had been brought to the fore, operations continued until the output of the mines peaked in 1903.

Answer: Nome, Alaska

Just as the Klondike Gold Rush was winding down, (and perhaps adding to its demise), gold was found in Nome, Alaska in 1900. Many of the folks who had been in the Klondike simply headed westward toward the easier pickings of gold, which was reported to be just lying around, waiting to be picked up off the beach!

The gold was literally strewn along a stretch of beach, dozens of miles long, prompting previous Klondike searchers, citizens from Seattle and San Francisco, and folks from as far away as Australia to come join in the search.

Nome grew and prospered, and it wasn't until 1909 that the rush was over. Life settled down, but gold is still occasionally found in the area.

Answer: Fairbanks

A man named Felix Pedro discovered gold north of the Fairbanks area, after years of searching for the precious metal. This rush, in Alaska's Interior, came about during the summer months, when the weather was at least decent and above zero. Alaska's Interior region experiences a wide range of temperatures, from an average winter temperature of -12 (F) to a summer average of 62 (F); however even more drastic temps have been recorded; -65 (F) in mid-winter to 99 (F) in summer.

Much of the gold found around Fairbanks involved using sluice-gates, through which water was forced, leaving sediment (and hopefully) gold behind.

Answer: Timmins, Northern Ontario Canada

The Porcupine Gold Rush took its name from the nearby Porcupine Lake area. Although there were hints of a find in the area before the rush actually set in, a man by the name of Reuben D'Aigle was the first to deliberately begin searching for gold. He had gotten to Fairbanks, Alaska a bit late for that rush, but had nonetheless become wealthy from it.

Others soon followed, and the rush was ON by 1910!
Even though the main part of the gold rush was over by 1911, mining continued on into the 1940's and 50's with the last mine closing in 1968.

(Coincidentally, one of our team members lives in Timmins... Please send me 4 ounces, David!)

Answer: Fraser Canyon Gold Rush

The Fraser Canyon gold rush of 1858 had some serious consequences. Some French miners allegedly raped a member of the Nlaka'pamux tribe, in the newly-founded colony of British Columbia, and a war ensued. Countless people were killed - miners and native tribes people alike, with no final count ever being firmly established.

The war ended only after the governor of the territory, Governor James Douglas, pleaded for peace between all factions.

Answer: Mormons

The gold was found in 1850 in Gold Canyon by Mormon immigrants who comprised "The Mormon Batallion", a military unit that was instrumental in helping to secure the desert southwest for the United States. The first gold they secured was found by the simple manner of panning, but later they began mining operations. They soon constructed the town of Johntown, and in 1857, the miners had found gold in Six-Mile Canyon, located about five miles from Gold Canyon.

The Comstock Lode of silver was found in this same area, just two years later in 1859, by two other miners, Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin.

Answer: Wyoming

Prior to the actual "official" discovery, a man from Georgia was supposed to have discovered gold, but native American Indians killed him. A group of Mormon miners had also reportedly discovered the precious metal, but their minor strikes attracted little attention.

In 1864, however, the 11th Ohio Calvary became convinced of the abundance of gold, and joining in with the existing miners, soon found all types of gold; from that of a fine powdery type to very coarse grains and small nuggets.

This area proved to be quite a lucrative find, with the majority of operations running strong until the 1890's, but with some production still continuing until the late 1970's!