The Savannah & Memphis Railroad brought opportunity to towns and communities to connect with the larger world of commerce and entertainment. Local merchants could order and receive shipments of dry goods and farming and mining equipment to sale at their stores. The railroad made it possible for the mine owners to have the latest equipment shipped to Alexander City, where they could load machines and supplies into wagons for delivery to mining sites. As mining activity increased in Tallapoosa County, companies such as the Hillabee Gold Mining Company regularly shipped ore samples to the St. Louis mint for evaluation. Potential investors, engineers and miners rode the passenger trains into Alexander City and rode buggies into rural Tallapoosa County to inspect the numerous gold mines and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
The years during and immediately following the Civil War consumed the energy, resources and economy of the South. Gold mining activity consisted of the occasional panning by farmers to supplement their farm income. They traded their “pinches” of gold locally for farm supplies and household staples. No record exists of the amount of gold individuals retrieved from the streams and hills in the gold rush, but through the years, rumors persisted that the old mining sites were still rich with gold. Those rumors reached beyond the hills of Tallapoosa County and stimulated interest in Alabama gold as far away as New York and London.
During this time, the Vidette reported an interest expressed by potential investors in the county’s mining potential.
Weights and a stand used to weigh gold in the Herzfeld-Frohsin store, founded in 1891 in Alexander City. Courtesy of Tallapoosa County Historical Museum.
Men in the financial capital of the United States were aware of the gold in Tallapoosa County. A letter to Colonel Dean from E.M. Morgan of R.A. Ammons and Company, bankers and brokers of #2 Wall Street, New York dated December 2, 1887 states “Regarding that Birdsong and Jones property. Mr. Roudebush leaves tomorrow for London and from cables and letters which we have received we are confident that the property will be taken by some people over there.”55
GUNFIGHTS AND GOLD MINING
Even in the 1880s, elements of the Old Southwest frontier remained. The White Elephant and Allen’s were two saloons where men gathered to socialize and promote the local whiskey industry. Determined to establish law and order, citizens donated money to build the first courthouse in Alexander City in 1889. Fights and shootouts in the saloons made the local paper. The following account is of a dispute and gunfight between two friends and well-respected men:
A shooting affray occurred on Tues., 7:00 pm at Allen’s Saloon between two men who were considered to be friends, Dr. H.J. Cameron in charge of mineral developments at the Romanoff Land and Mining Company and Dr. P.D. Mahoney, a well-known oculist, from Covington Georgia. The two men exchanged about nine shots. Both were taken to the Polk Hotel, and their lives were saved by local doctors. The reason for the shooting was not known.56
The editor of the Vidette R.A. Posey reported renewed interest in gold mining in Tallapoosa County:
Moore’s Branch was named for A.H. Moore, who mined on Hog Mountain in the 1880s before T.H. Aldrich purchased the property. Courtesy of Peggy Jackson Walls.
In 1888, Colonel Moore at the Hog Mountain gold mine was rapidly turning out what he called the “finest specimens of gold.” He had been, he said, in the gold business all his life and made it a profession, and nowhere were there finer mines or ores richer with gold than those in Tallapoosa County.
There were rumors of capitalists from New York coming to invest in gold production here. The area boasted, “We have hidden beneath our hills and mountains treasures that will in the near future be developed and make this the ‘Gold Country’ of the South. Alexander City, nearest to the most productive mines, began calling itself the ‘Gold City.’”57
The January 9, 1890 Vidette concluded, “The outlook for a building boom in the Gold City, the coming spring is very promising.” In the same issue, an ad for gold mining machinery reads:
I will sell on Wednesday the 22nd day of Jan 1890 at the 10 Acre Gold Mine in Tallapoosa County, Ala., to the highest bidder for cash, a ten stamp battery, copper plates and fixtures, together with an engine and boiler. This property is known as the A.H. Moore machinery and is sold to satisfy a note for the purchase money. This December the 26th, 1886. John Cross. John A. Terrell, Atty.”
A note about business improvements in Alexander City appears besides A.H. Moore’s sale notice.
The Proprietors of the “White Elephant Saloon,” Messers Clark & Howell have had erected this week, a substantial awning in front of their saloon. We are informed no liquor [business] that have applied for license for the year 1890, in this county has been refused. This is right, give us more of the “good stuff” and a little better quality.
PROGRESS AND SETBACKS
While panning in the creeks remained a common activity for farmers and individual prospectors, larger enterprises were being planned for the Hog Mountain mine. The Alexander City newspaper forecasted a positive result from the implementation and use of new equipment and materials arriving at the train depot en route to Hog Mountain:
The view ahead for Alexander City from the beginning of the 20th century was good. The Romanoff Land and Mining Company had entered into a contract with Mecklinburg Iron Company to erect at the Hog Mountain mines a $10,000 plant with modern machinery that it claimed would save a much larger percent of the gold found than had been possible with the older cruder methods. Several carloads of machinery and building materials came in via the railroad and were transported from Alexander City to the mines.58
In 1899, electricity came to Alexander City, with around three hundred homes subscribing for power. In downtown Alexander City, a light was installed on the town square, one at the courthouse, one on Church Street and one at the Alliance Warehouse. The accessibility of power in Alexander City had another important consequence. It was now possible to run lines to the Hog Mountain mine to supply the power needed for operating the new machinery. The Alexander City Council had plans for a waterworks and better firefighting equipment when a small fire started that burned the town to the ground. By the time the first bucket of water was splashed on the fire, the wind had changed and swept the flames through downtown, burning the wooden structures: the depot, the boxcars on the tracks, the tracks, the livery stables and the animals in them, the wooden sidewalks, the Alexander City Bank, the Citizens Banks, the courthouse, the hotel, the post office, the newspaper office, stores, churches and nearby homes. Within a week, stores were set up in temporary booths much like a street fair and ready for business. People from surrounding counties and cities—even from as far away as Columbus and Atlanta—sent money to help rebuild the town. Farmers came with their teams of horses on scheduled days to help clean up debris. The town was rebuilt in about four months with a renewed vision for its future as a thriving, prosperous city.
Alexander City became famous, not as “gold city,” but as a thriving mill town, home first to the Alexander City Mill. In 1902, Russell Manufacturing Company was established, followed in 1919 by Avondale Mills, which bought the old Alexander City Mill. For over a century, Russell and Avondale Mills provided thousands of jobs to people in Alexander City and in outlying communities. Business was booming on both sides of the railroad track after the town was rebuilt. People were encouraged to spend their money locally to support the town, its schools and churches. The railroad and businesses in Alexander City were essential to the gold mining industry in Tallapoosa County and the mines’ success, in turn, strengthened the town. Local newspapers promoted the gold mines with updates of any activity within the county. The following report in 1904 read:
The ever present gold mining activity was back in the news with a report by Dr. H.J. Cameron, president and general manager of the Hillabee Gold Mining Company, which had been operating a 10 stamp mill and mining gold ore in paying quantities for the past two years. Dr. Cameron, a mining engineer, who lived in
Alexander City and had worked in Mexico, France and other foreign countries, said that there were thousands of acres of land in Tallapoosa, Clay and Cleburne counties that could be mined with paying results. A party of the directors of Schloss Coal and Iron Company of Birmingham came into town by special train in the early summer of 1904 to spend the day in the gold field of Tallapoosa County. There was activity at the Ely pit near the Hog Mountain croppings, and nearby openings made by T.H. Aldrich were promising. It was said that from these openings there “will be gold ore in such riches as to turn the eyes of the whole industrial section this way.” And there arrived by freight the heaviest load of machinery ever carried out of Alexander City. Will Jarvis of Cow Pens and three other drivers of a six-yoke team hauled the heavy machinery, which was a big tube mill weighing ten tons for the Hog Mountain gold mine, the 15 miles to the mine. Over $700 in one week was paid for freight bringing mining machinery to Alexander city for delivery to the mines. The Birmingham News reported the total output of gold in 1905 in Alabama was $45,500, an increase of $16,500 over the previous year, and nearly all of this amount was mined by T.H. Aldrich, Sr. and Jr. from their property in Tallapoosa County, fifteen miles north of Alexander City.59
The scarcity of local labor created a problem in the mining operations and resulted in hiring foreign workers. In March 1906, a party of six Italians arrived in Alexander City by train and were conveyed to the gold mines at Cow Pens. These were perhaps the first Italian laborers ever brought to this section, but it was expected there would be many others.
The Dutch Bend mines were a popular place for many outings. According to the townspeople, there was a no more picturesque spot in Alabama, and it was fashionable to entertain guests with a picnic or overnight camping. Camping trips were a regular event:
This ten-ton tube equipment headed to Hog Mountain was drawn by oxen to use at the gold mine. Courtesy of Peggy Jackson Walls.
This image of miners was published in 1994 by Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. in the book Images of Tallapoosa County. Courtesy of Kenneth Boone, Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc.
Farmers bring their cotton crops to the gin in downtown Hackneyville, 1910. Courtesy of David and Karen Daniel.
One July, when the weather was perfect, a jolly party in honor of visiting Vollie Askew and her sister of West Point spent two days camping at Dutch Bend. The group included L.B. Coley, W.L. Radney, T.S. Christian, Jr., and Charles Dean. On another occasion, busy Dr. T.H. Street went up to Dutch Bend with his wife and some guests for two weeks of rest and relaxation.60
Dr. Street was the doctor for the Hillabee Gold Mining Company, but his younger associate Dr. James Cameron made many trips to the Hog Mountain mine and surrounding communities to take care of the miners and their families.
With gold mining activity at their backdoor, most farmers depended on cotton for a regular income. There was a gin in downtown Hackneyville in 1910 where farmers brought their cotton to be processed. Farmers took their cotton yield to Alexander City and to the nearest farm markets. Built in 1840, the Central Plank Road started in Montgomery and passed through Wetumpka into Tallapoosa County. The old plank road was traveled regularly by farmers taking their goods to the marketplace in Wetumpka.
Four gold mining districts in Tallapoosa County were the Devil’s Backbone, Eagle Creek, Goldville and Hog Mountain. Courtesy of John F. Farrow.
5
Tallapoosa County: “Gold Country”
THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE DISTRICT
The Devil’s Backbone District in the Weodowee formation extends as far west of the Tallapoosa River as Elmore County. East of the river, the belt continues in a northeast direction into Chambers County. Rocks in the belt are primarily slate, phyllite, quartzite and schist of sedimentary origin. In the middle section, the beds dip at steep angles toward the southeast with heavy sections of quartzites exposed in a ridge known as the Devil’s Backbone. Antebellum miners worked in the auriferous gravels along the streams, without gaining any large amounts of gold and now are covered by Lake Martin. In 1845, state geologist Michael Tuomey inspected the Silver Hill Gold Mine, located on Copper Creek. He reported a yield of ninety-six dollars per ton of ore, noting the main vein was about two feet thick on the surface and richest at twelve feet. Tuomey observed equipment of six stamps and a badly constructed Burke Rocker.
In 1891, state geologist William B. Phillips inspected the Silver Hill mine and reported the mine was currently being operated by Major Parmalee, who later moved the mining equipment to the Gregory Hill Gold mine and operated a fifteen-stamp mill there. Parmalee reported removing $80,000 in gold value out of Silver Hill, Dent Hill and Gregory Hill at a cost of $100,000.61 Major Parmalee operated mines in the Devil’s Backbone District for a decade or more from the early 1880s through the 1890s.
The sketch outlines locations of Blue Hill, Gregory and Silver Hill Mines in southern Tallapoosa County. Courtesy of John F. Farrow.
From the sparse sources available from this period, Phillips’s reports of the scattered mining activity in Tallapoosa County provide insight into mining methods, equipment and the ingenuity of the mine owners and engineers. Almost no resources exist beyond the geological surveys and engineering reports created primarily for other geologists and engineers. Although they were not created for general audiences or casual readers, Phillips’s inspections and subsequent surveys record the gold mining activity taking place during the last two decades of the nineteen century.
Thomas Tyler “Tom T.” Farrow, gold miner and owner of the Farrow gold mines. Courtesy of Tallapoosee County Historical Museum.
In 1882, Major C.H. Parmalee from New York used various methods to mine ore at the Gregory Hill mine, first by tunneling and later by quarrying, due to the difficulty of separating slate and quartz in the tunneling method. In the 1880s, Major Parmalee also operated a fifteen-stamp mill on the south at Black Branch, north of Gregory Hill. Bill Phillips recalled witnessing the operation in the 1890s, when he was twelve years old. Phillips described the transportation of ore in two wagon-sized carts from Gregory Hill to the mill by gravity. “Ropes interconnected the front to rear of each cart to form a loop so that when one cart was loaded and the rider loosened the brake, it would go downhill to the mill and simultaneously pull the empty cart up the hill to be reloaded.”62
Judge C.J. Coley, probate judge, banker and humanitarian, provided another perspective to gold mining in Tallapoosa County through his friendship with the Farrow family and research as a trustee of the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery. Coley shared his research in articles and lectures to historical organizations, such as the Alabama Historical Association.
The Farrow mines in the Devil’s Backbone District were well known, having been in operation from the 1880s through the early 1920s. Thomas Taylor Farrow established the Farrow Gold Mining Company in the Suzanna community. He operated a five-stamp mill, where large metal plates, powered by water, crushed the rock taken from the Farrow mine. In April, 1894, The Engineering and Mining Journal published a report on gold mining in Tallapoosa County, describing the stamping process, “At Farrow Hill, the owner Mr. Thomas T. Farrow, has recently put in iron stamps to replace the ten wooden stamps he has been using in the past. The ore body on his property is not as highly graphic as at other mines in the area and bears more the characteristics of free milling…of the ore in the Southern states.”63
Located ten miles south of the county seat of Dadeville, the Farrow Gold Mining Company operated for 25 years following the War Between the States. Thomas Taylor Farrow built his own mine machinery, including a self-powered railroad system. Gold produced from the operations was minted in New Orleans, but to earn a dollar profit required spending three.64
“C.A. Farrow Dry Goods & Groceries” was in operation when horses and buggies were the main mode of transportation. Courtesy of Tallapoosee County Historical Museum.
Herren Brothers business, established 1890, was still in operation when the picture was taken
in 1910. Courtesy of Tallapoosee County Historical Museum.
A memorandum of gold bullion deposited on June 25, 1904. US Mint Service Form no. 42; courtesy of John F. Farrow.
EAGLE CREEK
Although gold mining in the Eagle Creek District was not as extensive as mining in southern Tallapoosa County or in the northeast districts of Goldville and Hog Mountain, numerous operations took place dating back to the 1840s. Geologist William Brewer reported finding tunnels and evidence of numerous mining operations on properties, such as the Hammock Mill, the Jennings property and the Greer property.
NEAL BRANCH MINING COMPANY
One of the last mines to operate in southern Tallapoosa County was the Neal Branch Mining Company, known as a “Mull Mill,” producing twenty-five to thirty tons of ore a day. Mr. Sharp was manager and Mr. Goss was the superintendent. William Coley Farrow also worked in the mine before it closed due to operation costs.
In 1892, state geologist William B. Phillips reported, “Two samples of 25 pounds from Gregory Hill were mixed and assayed yielding 0.3 ounce of gold and 0.1 ounce silver per ton.” A small amount of work had been done at Blue Hill by 1892. The Blue Hill sample showed an essay of 0.4 ounce of gold and 0.13 ounce of silver per ton. Significant mining activity took place in 1915 on the Ben Kidd property under the name of Gregory Hill Gold Mining Company beside the Neal Branch.
A letter to Thomas T. Farrow from 1879 in which the writer inquires about the potential of gold mines in southern Tallapoosa County. Courtesy of John F. Farrow.
Alabama Gold Page 6