Gold was first discovered in the Dahlonega area in 1828, twenty years before the Gold Rush to California. When it was discovered it was completely by accident...

Deer hunter, Benjamin Parks, tripped over a rock 2 ½ miles south of what is now Dahlonega, upon inspecting the rock, he discovered that it was full of gold! Within one year’s time some 15,000 miners heard about that and rushed to find some gold for themselves. At that time there was so much gold in and around Dahlonega that it laid on top of the ground, washing off the mountainsides for centuries.

Dahlonega is home to one of the largest quartz veins containing gold in the world. This quartz vein measures 22" thick.