A Golden Opportunity Once in Fauquier County
L
By John T. Toler
ying beneath the soil of the Virginia Piedmont is the Gold-Pyrite Belt, extending from Maryland to Alabama. As early as 1782, it was known that gold could be found in the Commonwealth, and in 1818, the Union Mining Company Inc. leased 133 acres in Fauquier County near present-day Goldvein and began operations. Between 1830 and 1940, nineteen gold mines existed in Southern Fauquier, including the Liberty Mine (1834) off present-day Sumerduck Road, and the Wyckoff Gold Mine (1853) north of Morrisville. They were among the larger operations that invested in heavy machinery, built workshops and infrastructure, and hired immigrant miners, usually from Cornwall and Wales. The most successful gold mine in Fauquier was the Franklin Mine on Deep Run near Morrisville. It opened in 1825 as an “open cut” or strip mine, recovering gold near the surface. Later, shafts were dug to reach the veins of gold found in quartz stone.
Courtesy of Fauquier County Parks and Recreation Department
Miners prepare to leave the main level shaft at the Franklin Mine near Morrisville in August, 1933.
The Franklin Mine was sold in 1841 to settle debts – including back pay to 50 miners. But by 1850, the new owners were turning a profit and invested in a steam engine and boiler, ore crushers and mining equipment. But a disastrous fire in 1851 destroyed two new buildings that housed engines and machinery.
Fletcher Slater understands that each borrower is unique, and as your Mortgage Loan Originator, his goal is to present a mortgage package that works for you – keeping your needs at the heart of the mortgage process.
Contact Fletcher today so he can help you reach your home financing dreams!
Gold mining in Virginia ceased during the Civil War, but some mines reopened after the conflict. In 1868-69, two new gold veins were discovered at the Franklin Mine, and shafts were dug to reach the ore. In one 40-foot shaft, a pocket of gold was found yielding a record $700 in gold in three days. In order to get the most use from their steam engine, the owners added a sawmill capable of finishing 5,000 feet of lumber per day. However, by 1876, business had slowed, and in 1877, nearby Deep Run overflowed, flooding and caving-in the shafts. Still, there was more gold to be found. Between 1901 and 1913, new shafts were dug, but from 1914 until July 1933 – when the property was leased to the Interstate Service Corporation of Harrisonburg – only prospecting was done at the site. By November, 1933, the new Franklin Mining and Milling Corporation was underway. The new corporation was professionally managed, with standardized working conditions, and workmen’s compensation insurance. A bunk house and dining house were built. These were the years of the Great Depression, and an average miners’ pay was 40 cents per hour for an eighthour shift. Even so, 50-75 men were on a waiting list to work in the mine. In 1934, the original lease was canceled, and a 99-year lease on the property was signed with
Fletcher Slater Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS #1817777
c: (540) 878-9034 e: fletcher.slater@homebridge.com 210 East Federal ST., 200-A Middleburg, VA 20117
www.homebridge.com/FletcherSlater
26
MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Summer 2022
