The Barnhardt Shaft

The Barnhardt Shaft. . Pioneer miner George Barnhardt (1791-1871) had learned mining while managing John Reed's mine, the first gold mine in the state. Barnhardt married Reed's daughter Martha (1803-1863) and became one of Gold Hill's most successful mine operators. After only a few months of work at Gold Hill in 1843, his company sent $2500 in Gold to the US mint in Charlotte.

"a blast was to be fired. We waited a few seconds in suspense, the match had failed, but another instant brought a convulsive shock, and a loud report as of rolling thunders. The noise, though almost deafening below, cannot be heard above ground." , _Carolina Watchman, October 2, 1851, "The steam mills seem to partake of the general feeling of confidence and puff puff as deliberately and grand as if they knew every breath was worth a dollar." , _Carolina Watchman, September 14, 1854

Most of the early partnerships, like that of Barnhardt, were quite profitable. About one third of the gold coined at Charlotte came from Gold Hill., The Barnhardt and Earnhardt Shafts were the core properties in building the reputation of Gold Hill as the South's most successful gold mining district. Operated intermittently for decades by various companies, the Barnhardt Shaft eventually reached a depth of more than 400ft., Horse powered whims provided vertical access to deep shafts such as the Barnhardt Shaft. Heavy ropes wound around the whims raised and lowered metal buckets called "kibbles", which carried men, ore and equipment., Miners used gun powder to blast ore loose from the walls of tunnels driven off from the shafts. Raising the ore to the surface in kibbles the men then had to break and grind it to a powder small enough to separate the gold. A favorite machine for this was the Chilean Mill (an example of which can be found in Gold Hill Mines Historic Park), which crushed ore pieces beneath two rolling granite stones running on a similar base. Chilean Mills, like other machinery at Gold Hill, used steam power by the 1850's., (Captions) , George and Martha Barnhardt, This $2.50 gold coin from Charlotte has the mint mark "C" under the eagle. , Comish Kibbles (Ore Buckets) Similar to the ones displayed in the park nearby, Porte Crayon drew this miner, wheelbarrow and kibble at the top of a Gold Hill shaft in 1857 for Harper's Weekly Magazine, Barnhardt Mine Overview from the Miller Mine Shaft c. 1895