By Sylvia Gailey Head
The oldest and best known mine in Lumpkin County is the
Calhoun,
first called the Obar
since Robert Obar owned the 239 acres
where it was discovered. However, it was then in Hall County, created in l8l8
from Indian lands. Lumpkin was also created from Indian lands, and a strip of
Hall containing the
Calhoun Mine, sixteen years later. This
was where Benjamin Parks kicked up gold while deer hunting and went to Obar
asking for a prospector's lease. Obar laughed at him but signed an agreement
giving the owner one fourth of any gold found. Parks, when he was 93 years old,
told the story of this deal to a reporter of the
Atlanta Constitution
saying, "I went over to the spot, with a pan, and turning over some earth, it
looked like the yellow of an egg. It was more than my eyes could believe." When
Obar heard of this he, with three members of his family, came demanding, "I want
the mine." Following a refusal Parks said, "Mrs. Obarr broke the sluice gates,
to let out the water. A laborer was in the ditch and the woman threw rocks in
the water in order to splash him. Failing to make him aggressive she burst into
tears. When her son advanced to attack him, I caught him by the collar and threw
him back. Then the party went off, swore out warrants against us, and had us all
arrested. All this was done for intimidation, but it failed to work; and the
next thing I heard was that Obarr had sold the place to Judge Underwood, who in
turn, sold it to Senator John C. Calhoun and then I lost a fortune. Senator
Calhoun wanted to buy my lease, and I sold it to him for what I thought was a
good price. The very next month after the sale, he took out 24,000 pennyweights
of gold, and then I was inclined to be mad with him as Obarr had been with me."
Deed records show that on 7/24/l828, Obar bought his land from Edwin Pettigrew for one hundred dollars in hand. On l/9/1830, he sold it to four men in Gainesville for sixteen hundred. John C. Calhoun paid six thousand for the same land.
Calhoun graduated from Yale, studied law in Charleston, S.C. and Litchfield, Conn. and served the nation for over forty years as State Legislator, member of U.S. Legislature, Secretary of War, Vice President, Secretary of State, and then became a very powerful U. S. Senator.
Much has been written about
the richness of the Calhoun mine but a letter written by his son-in-law, Thomas
Green Clemson, to Patrick, John C's son, is the best source of information. It
is quoted in part here: "The O'Bar lot was purchased by your brother, A.P.
Calhoun, and your father took it off his hands and occasionally worked its
deposits, particularly when cotton was low. In the interim it was leased out and
I have often heard him say that the cost of the property had been refunded to
him before the discovery of the rich vein which is in part the origin of the
deposits.
"When I received a letter from your father, then in Washington, requesting me to
go to the mine and take charge of it as he understood that it was yielding
wonderfully and his interests were suffering.
"I got there about a month after the discovery.
"It is impossible for anyone to say how much gold was taken from the mine that
month. Those who were residents in the neighborhood said at the time that the
amount pillaged was greater than would be believed and Mr. Singleton,
superintendent of the mint at Dahlonega, told me that the receipts of gold that
month were greatly increased.
Part 2 will be continued in the Apr-Jun 2008 Journal.