Reed Gold Mine

Excellent for an afternoon outing. Kids had a great time. Even the teens liked it. A few kids found flecks of gold and got to keep it. Will be going back.

This place was fun and very educational. The kids loved it as well as my wife and I. The mine was awesome. The panning was tough work. If you’re lucky, you may pull out a fleck.

Beautiful place, friendly staff, close to Charlotte, and virtually free ($ 6 for 2 pans). From the small museum, we walked down a short path to the mine which was chilly but refreshing on a warm summer day. When we exited the mine, we took a hike/​tour of the property. To end our visit, we did some panning for gold. Overall, it was a very neat experience for us (two adults and kids ages 2 and 4).

Fun family time. Not a bad drive from Charlotte. Very inexpensive. The mines must be amazing on a hot summer day. The history is interesting but a little vague. Alot of the things that you see in the mine and the museum has nothing to do with this actual mine.

Great mine to see in a lucious wooded area! The tour is self guided and free and goes into the actual underground mine. The indoor exhibit is very informative and interesting as well. We enjoyed the quaint reel to reel projector movie depicting the history of the Reed Mine. My kids panned for gold and actually founda little! Much better than the Emerald mine in Blowing Rock!

Great place to visit. Really enjoyed the movie, historical displays and the mine tour. And it was all free! Well worth the trip and very interesting.

With the wife’s family being from Albermarle, I have passed Reed Gold Mine dozens of times but never visited. I knew the history of it, which is that this is where the first documented discovery of gold in the US occurred in 1799. A boy found a huge nugget in a creek, dad sold it for $ 3.50, and it was actually worth $ 3600. Finally, on our way back from Tiger World we decided to stop here. Note that Reed Gold Mine is only about 15 – 20 minutes off of the Highway 51 or ²⁴⁄₂₇ exit from 485. It’s probably a lot closer than you think if you haven’t been. The address is Midland, but I believe the area is known as Georgeville.
We got there late in the day at about 4pm and they close at 5. The admission is free to the museum and the mine tour. If you want to pan for gold, it’s a mere $ 2 per pan. Panning is actually hard work. You get a heavy pan filled with rocks and hold it under running water while moving it around. The idea is to leave a little bit of water in the ban since gold is 8 times heavier than water and will sink to the bottom. While we didn’t find any gold, some kids near us found a few specs.
We did a self guided tour of the mine which was pretty neat. It showed not only the history of this mine, but mining in general. They offer a laminated map with information about numbered points so as not to waste paper. The mine has a bit of an eery feeling as do some of the thins on the hill above it. The mine is also 60 degrees or so year round, so it was nice and cool.
They also have a small museum with some exhibits which we did not have time to see, but definitely will next time. Reed Gold Mine definitely show cases a part of this area’s history, and I wonder why more things aren’t named after things related to gold like the UNCC 49’ers are.

I brought the family to Reed Gold Mine today, and had a very enjoyable day. This is the site of the first documented gold find in the US (in 1799), and the first US gold mine.
You begin your visit in the visitor’s center. One very friendly woman explained all about the property, tour, gold panning, etc. There is no charge for anything except souvenirs, and gold panning, which is only $ 2 per pan (you need to pay in the visitor’s center, but the panning area is a little bit down the way). More on that later.
As we got there, the movie was beginning. It was informative, but not very loud, quite dated, and the audio/​video were out of sync. I think it was still worth viewing, however, as it explained a lot about the history of the property.
We did not view the museum exhibits, as my children were anxious to get underground, in the mine. We picked up one of the self-​guided tour sheets, and were off. There are about 8 stops underground, where you can view shafts, some mining equipment, etc. It’s quite cool underground, and although very refreshing in the summer, I can imagine that it wouldn’t be very nice in winter.
Exiting the top of the mine, you come upon a recreation of the foundation of the engine house, and then the stamp mill, which houses huge machinery used for crushing rock to find the gold ore. Somehow, we ended up taking the «Lower Hill Trail», which does include some inclines and also a few steps. There are a few things to see along this part of the trail, but mainly it is just a beautiful walk. There weren’t many people on the trail (maybe a mile for that section), and there were lots of benches in the shade.
Our final step was to visit the gold panning area. We traded the tickets purchased in the visitor’s center for pans of dirt and rock. The troughs are built high enough that you don’t have to bend over (huge plus) AND are shaded (even bigger plus). There were 2 guys helping in this area, to show you how to rinse out your bowl, showing you each step, and looking to see if you have any gold. During the time that we were there, I would say about half had at least a little fleck (which they then placed in a small tube of water for you to take home) although some pieces were a little larger. You’re not in this to get rich, of course, it is for fun, and the kids LOVED it.
NOTES: Several areas of the mine tour are wheelchair accessible, but there is a lot of gravel, and are steep steps leading out of the mine. This might be avoided by exiting back through the entrance. I would call in advance, though.
P. S. If you are a teacher, or homeschooler type, there is a large .pdf teacher’s guide which can be downloaded from the website, and has a LOT of information on it, as well as suggested tie-​in activities.