Auraria, Georgia
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Location of Auraria, Georgia
Auraria is a ghost town in Lumpkin County, Georgia, southwest of Dahlonega.
In 1828, a man walked Findley Ridge and kicked a rock -- and discovered it was full of gold. This was in Cherokee Indian territory, and part of present day Lumpkin County, Georgia. Settlers came in the Indian lands searching for gold. The indians were dismayed at the influx of unauthorized settlers. Cherokee Indian leader Major Ridge, along with his son John Ridge and Stand Watie met with the United States and seceeded the land in Georgia for land in Oklahoma. Most of the Cherokee Nation (under John Ross) protested the decision, but the Supreme Court under John Marshall forced the treaty on the Cherokees and the Cherokee removal from Georgia began (this is known as the Trail of Tears). The land east of Auraria was purchased by Vice President John Calhoun, and he established the Calhoun Mine there. The banks of Etowah River, Camp Creek, and Cane Creek had many mines (Barlow Mine, Battle Creek Mine, Ralston Mine, Whim Hill Mine, Hedwig-Chicago Mine, Gold Hill Mine Etowah Mine, ....).
Due to politics and land ownership, another nearby city was established, Dahlonega, Georgia. Due to location and political influence, Dahlonega received a Federal Mint for gold coins. This operated until 1861. About 1849, gold was discovered in California, then Colorado. The gold mining in Georgia decreased as miners went west looking for uncharted prospecting. Men from Auraria left for Kansas Territory and formed the settlement of Auraria near present-day Denver. Gold mining operations all but ceased; Auroraria's population quickly dwindled, and the town quickly deteriorated. Auraria, the first boom town for gold, suddenly became America's first ghost town.
After the California gold rush in 1849, Auraria faded into history. After the American Civil War, the remaining commercial gold mining moved, primarily to the north and east of Dahlonega. By the end of World War II, most buildings were deteriorated or gone.
Present Day
There are still a few old buildings standing: the collapsing Graham Hotel (in ruins, VERY unsafe to enter), a store (Woody's, at Castleberry Bridge Road) that remained open till the early 1980s, a red house that was once a bank, another house across the street from that, and a couple of foundations. They stand in lone testament to the 19th century gold rush.
To get there: Go to Dahlonega Square. Follow the west road to Dawsonville, pass the college (the gold dome building is built on the foundation of the old Mint). Turn left at the bottom of that hill and go about 3 miles. The old red house on the left is the bank; after that, the collapsing building is the old Hotel and just beyond there on the left is the old Woody's store. The road to the right (Hutchenson Bridge Road) leads down to the Etowah River.
Auraria, Kansas Territory (founded in 1858 by Georgia settlers in present-day Denver, Colorado) derived its name from this town.