Abandoned Gold Mine in Uwharrie National Forest, NC
Abandoned Gold Mine in Uwharrie National Forest, NC
We visited the abandoned Russell Mine, sometimes mistaken for the Coggins Mine, located in the Uwharrie National Forest, near El Dorado in Montgomery County, North Carolina.
During the 1820s and 1830s North Carolina experienced a gold rush, and became the United State’s largest producer of gold until the California rush of 1849. The Russell Mine actually reached its height of production post Civil War. The mine was a surface and underground operation, with numerous excavations, and an underground shaft that extended over 100 feet below the surface. While gold was the primary commodity here, the mine also produced copper, zinc, and iron. Despite this, the Russell Mine was considered only marginally successful and was shut down by the turn of the 20th Century.
There are currently no active commercial gold mines in the Uwharrie Mountains, but there is still gold in them hills!
Visiting the Russell Mine site is not difficult. There is some limited parking along the highway and a somewhat defined path leading to the mine. Please note, however, that there are no signs or official trails. The area is not maintained. There are numerous holes “filled in” with leaves and debris, and walking around the mine site can be dangerous. To see the entire site, you will also need to cross the creek, which could be difficult at times of high water (you can always walk back to the road and cross the highway bridge). Consider this an off trail hike and exercise caution around the site. Thanks for watching!
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You made a very nice and interesting review! I love beautiful wild places!
That’s a cool place to explore but man, I bet that was hard work back then.
Interesting place… The early version of strip mining… Thanks for the history of the mine… Pretty area.
can someone tell me where to find this mine in the Uwharries??
I went out to the coordinates and could not find this part anywhere and I looked really hard lmao so if you could give me any tips that would be great and I would really appreciate it 🤙🏼
Interesting find. Did you guys find any gold? 😉
Looks like they did a ton of surface mining too.. real pretty area.
Sasquatch has been in that mine eating Bojangles ! It’s Bo time baby
Wow! Cool video!
Look like fort nocks is govermint property … or was it …fort Rocks ? 🙂
Cool old gold mine area! It would be fun to try panning for gold there.
Hey! Your in my backyard! The deepest vertical pit goes over 300 feet! You missed the rock wall remains of the old stamp mill… Cool video👍
Thanks for sharing.. The thought of treasure always gets my attention lol.. Full View and Like..
How are the trails for MTB riding?
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this video. Me a my wife have been suffering through various videos to find a good place to explore and try our luck at panning lol. Have you heard of any other really good places in the Uwharrie national forest that would be a great place to try and pan? any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks again.
Hey! I did that hike too! Loved it. I just completed Reed Mine too. Have you been there? That was a cool place to take a video where the tunnel was going into the mine area and I see it’s still full of water!
super interesting spot thanks for the tour and all the info/ had no idea there was gold in NC!
Cool vid dude!!
way cool 👍
Wonder how much that site yielded…
Where in Uwharrie do you go to find this area?
Looked like a fun time…thanks for sharing!
Well this was fun 😁
Dude!!! What a beautiful set of holes!!! Would be nice to find a nugget huh. Wish I could give out history on the mines I visit but the local agencies frown upon us being in them and just want to cover them and destroy history.
Safe adventures brother!!
Interesting place. It would be nice if you could find a speck of gold.
Back in the early 1970’s, a friend of mine was exploring an abandoned gold mine, I think it was in Randolph County, not sure about that. But he fell into a hole, he said it was about 10 feet deep and could not get out. He was there about 24 hrs and to his good luck, another explorer passed by and he yelled and the guy got him out.. so be VERY careful!
Great video. Interesting little history lesson.
Thanks for sharing and God bless.
To cool
New Subscriber and fellow prospector. Great video. 👍
I give this 5 out of 5 meows for coolness.
Man what a cool spot! The Uwharries have been on my bucket list for awhile now. I see you had Sniff-N-Daisies with you on this one,Lol.
Fascinating history buddy. To think it just stopped. Makes you wonder whether not the gold dried up completely or if there is still some left in there. Thanks for sharing. Mark
Good vid!
Very cool! ….why do the gated mines look the most interesting to me? Maybe some off camera exploring? LOL
I love Uwharrie! Where can I find this area? Is it near any of the off-road trails?
Where do I find the trail head? Does it have a name? Help me out I gotta see this!
That’s pretty cool man. The history of Virginia has always fascinated me. I actually came across a cave a few weeks ago. It was big enough to walk in and It went back about 30 feet. Really enjoyed it my friend and stay safe out there 🤙
Pretty neat place, sorry you didn’t strike it rich while you were there!
Thanks for posting!