On the Trail of Gold

On the Trail of Gold. . Drawn by the gold to be found in our rivers, thousands of fortune seekers kindled a North Carolina Gold Rush to these foothills in the 1820s. Among them was the German jeweler Christopher Bechtler who bought this land in 1830 and began his own – not very successful – search for gold. , A year later, other gold miners urged him to create a market for raw gold by opening a private mint. By 1837, Bechtler had minted $2.4 million in coins, including the first $1 gold coin in the U.S. , The Bechtler Mint site is the western anchor on North Carolina's “golden crescent” that extends to the Reed Gold Mine east of Charlotte. Since Bechtler's death in 1842, his land has passed through many hands, once selling to speculators for over $1 million and once selling at auction for less than $100. Farmers, loggers and curio-seekers have churned up its soil and erased many features. , The Bechtler site was not protected until 1990 when the Rutherford County Historical Society negotiated its donation to Rutherford County. In 1997, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing that Christopher Bechtler's gold-working skills transformed the economic life of the South. , The North Carolina mountains and foothills were designated the Blue Ridge Notional Heritage Area in recognition of the natural beauty and living traditions of music, craft, agriculture and Cherokee culture. This location is part of a regional trail of distinctive heritage sites. Ask for information at area visitor centers. , [Captions (left to right)] , . Christopher Bechtler possessed the metal working skills to turn gold into coins and ingots. , . German immigrant Christopher Bechtler established a successful private mint on this site in 1831, giving southern miners a much-needed alternative to the far-away U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.