Hog Mountain Goldmine
The largest occurrence of gold in Alabama was found in the Hog Mountain District of Tallapoosa County in 1839. It has produced about 25,000 ounces of gold, or about half of Alabama’s total gold production. Other major districts include the Eagle Creek and Goldville districts of Tallapoosa County and the Arbacoochee district of Cleburne County.
Tallapoosa County composed four principal gold districts:
- Goldville
- Hog Mountain
- Eagle Creek and
- Devil’s Backbone
Miners worked out for placer gold deposits in the shoal sands and stream gravels in watercourses, like in the streams of Owl Hollow Valley, Long Branch Creek, Channahatchee Creek, Kowaliga Creek, Copper Creek and the headwaters of the Peru Creek. Several of these streams are now part and lie under the waters of Lake Martin, a reservoir formed through the construction of the Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River.
Instead of nuggets, most of the gold in Alabama occurs as small grains that are difficult to extract directly from the rock.
Nearby Cities, Towns & CDPs
| Goldville, AL (3.9 miles E) Hackneyville, AL (4.7 miles W) New Site, AL (5.1 miles ESE) Millerville, AL (9.3 miles NNW) Alexander City, AL (10.7 miles SW) |
Goodwater, AL (11.7 miles W) Daviston, AL (12.3 miles E) Kellyton, AL (12.4 miles WSW) Jacksons Gap, AL (13.1 miles S) Ashland, AL (14 miles N) |
Other Small Populated Places
| Cowpens, AL (3.1 miles SSE) Old Providence, AL (4.3 miles WNW) Perryville, AL (4.5 miles SE) Fosheeton, AL (5.3 miles SSE) Liberty, AL (6 miles WNW) |
Bluff Springs, AL (6.4 miles NNE) Pinkneyville, AL (6.7 miles WNW) Simpson, AL (7.5 miles E) Duncan, AL (7.5 miles SSW) Sunny Level, AL (7.9 miles SW) |
Tallapoosa County Alabama Index