Relive America’s first major gold rush as you walk through the Dahlonega Gold Museum. Twenty years before the 1849 gold rush in California, prospectors flocked to North Georgia. The museum sits inside the 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse in Dahlonega. It is one of the oldest courthouse buildings in Georgia. In addition to exploring the historic courthouse, visitors can see rare coins, a nugget weighing more than five ounces, and a hydraulic cannon.
Georgia’s Gold Rush had devastating impacts on the Cherokee, ultimately leading to their forced removal from their lands on the Trail of Tears.
The sudden influx of miners into the Cherokee Nation was known even at the time as the Great Intrusion. One writer said in the Cherokee Phoenix, “Our neighbors who regard no law and pay no respects to the laws of humanity are now reaping a plentiful harvest. . . . We are an abused people.” But there was little the Cherokees could do; it seemed the louder they protested, the more eagerly the miners came.” – New Georgia Encyclopedia
Click here for CURRENT PARK ALERTS to review before you visit.
HOURS:
Monday- Saturday 9 a.m.- 4:45 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
ADMISSION: $6 Youth/ $8.50 Adult/ $8 Seniors/ Children 6 & under free
PHONE: 706-864-2257
ADDRESS: 1 Public Square, Dahlonega, GA 30533
ACESSIBILITY: According to the museum’s webpage, the National Register of Historic Places guidelines prevent the addition of an elevator, so the second-floor exhibits are not wheelchair accessible.
