Discovery of gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discovery of gold - Essay Example Several explorers came in search of gold and the subsequent major discoveries of gold deposits contributed to the rise of the region’s economy as well as industrial growth (The History of Gold Mining). The earliest reported discovery of the yellow metal was in the year 1803, when the explorer James Purcell found some nuggets of gold by the South Platte River (The History of Gold Mining). This was followed by other discoveries such as the 1820 expedition lead by Lieutenant John. C Fremont during which members of his exploration party discovered gold in about six different places in and around present day Colorado (A General History of Colorado). However, as the California gold rush happened during this period these findings did not gain much importance; nevertheless it provided an opportunity for gold-seeking groups to pass through the rocky mountain region of Colorado. As these prospectors returned with very little findings of gold in California, they decided to explore gold along the South Platte River, Cherry Creek and Clear Creek and were successful (Gold!Gold!Gold!). One such group from Georgia lead by William Russell became the first to discover small quantities of placer gol d. These people settled down in that region and collected gold deposits from the streams between the years 1858-59. However, rich deposits of gold were found by George Jackson in the year 1859 along the Clear Creek region. With this finding he began to mine the placer gold deposited in the region near Idaho springs where the Clear creek joins the Chicago creek. In the same year another gold-seeking prospector from Georgia, John Gregory discovered a quartz vein made of gold resulting in the first discovery of consolidated or lode gold. This paved the way for the establishment of the Blackhawk-Central city mining region near the Creek. Following this find several deposits of gold were found in many locations around present day Colorado leading