Groundspeak Portal

We live in Gold Rush country. When it comes to Gold Rush, most people probably think of California 1849. But that was neither the first nor the last gold rush. Wikipedia lists 43 distinctive gold rushes from the Minas Gerais (Brazil) rush in 1695 to the Great Mongolian Gold Rush in 2001. That list is probably still incomplete and furthermore, it could be expanded to Silver (Nevada), Diamonds (South Africa), Opals (Australia) and anything else shiny.  Subjects could be plaques, museums etc. Let us know what you think.

Generally I like it.

Sounds like it has potential.  Certainly global.  Hey, if you include lead, then there might be a couple I could do in Wisconsin (it was valuable in the early 1800's).  I'd have to look to see if the historical markers talk about a "rush".  Certainly was a lot of lead mining back in the early days of the territory.  The state nickname of Badger comes not the animal, but from the miners who lived in "badger huts" which were holes in the ground surrounded with a one or two foot wall with a sod roof.

In the Moravian Diaries, they talk about finding gold in North Carolina in the late 1700's.

globetrotters.us:

In the Moravian Diaries, they talk about finding gold in North Carolina in the late 1700's.

There's still a lot of gold panning happening here in NC in the piedmont region, not too far from the Moravian settlements.



How would the group describe "rush", influx of people makes sense, but how many over how long a time period?  Or is just a sudden interest in a geographical area where the resident's attention turned to gold enough?  Or if there's a sign? 

The sign idea is OK, but if other references are available without a sign please consider those too!

yramc600:

[

The sign idea is OK, but if other references are available without a sign please consider those too!

I agree, other types of proofs should be considered.

> How would the group describe "rush", influx of people makes sense,
> but how many over how long a time period?

There is no real definition. Wikipedia describes a Gold rush as "a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold"

> The sign idea is OK, but if other references are available without
> a sign please consider those too!

Of course! Anything reliably related to a Rush (like the port of San Francisco) could be included. however a reference (A sign, an online reference or a scan of a guide book page) should be required.

I'd draw the line at secondary sites. For example, the logging towns in Northern California came to be as a direct result of the California Gold Rush due to the increase demand of building material, but something like that should not be included.

As far as materials other than gold go, I'd restrict it to metals (gold, silver, copper, lead etc. has there ever been something like a platinium rush?) and gems (diamonds etc.). I'm not sure about oil. discoveries of large oil deposits certainly had the same impact on society as discoveries of gold but I'm afraid of getting too broad here.

Well, let us know what you think.

As far as materials other than gold go...

I certainly hope you consider Mercury (Hg)  ;)

Every blue blooded Californian knows that the '49 Gold Rush would not have been possible without Quicksilver:

The New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in Santa Clara County, California is the oldest and most productive quicksilver (i.e., mercury) mine in the United States^[4]. The site was known to the Ohlone Indians for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler discovered the ores in 1820. By the time they were identified as mercury, the mine was perfectly timed to supply the California Gold Rush.^[5] The mine ran intermittently after 1927 and eventually closed. It was purchased by the county and is now part of Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

....Besides, I live only 30 minutes from what was the largest Quicksilver mine in the U.S. :)

Wikipedia Reference:

New Almaden

would phosphate fall into this category, here in maury county--columbia, tn we had a big phospate mining in the 1800's. i cannot find anything in waymarking to mark this with. just wondering if this would fall in here.

we also had a saltpeter cave in maury county. anyone know how this would fall into a category, we take our cub scouts thru this cave at the start of the school year for their first outing.  pretty cool cave but the history is what its neat.  this cave in on private property and you have to have permission to actually go thru the cave and schedule it. may not be able to waymark but people may find it interesting who spelunk and wish to go thru a easy cave. any ideas on  how to put this into here.

dillonsdaddy:

would phosphate fall into this category, here in maury county--columbia, tn we had a big phospate mining in the 1800's. i cannot find anything in waymarking to mark this with. just wondering if this would fall in here.

I would think that mines would go in the Mines category.

dillonsdaddy:

we also had a saltpeter cave in maury county. anyone know how this would fall into a category, we take our cub scouts thru this cave at the start of the school year for their first outing.  pretty cool cave but the history is what its neat.  this cave in on private property and you have to have permission to actually go thru the cave and schedule it. may not be able to waymark but people may find it interesting who spelunk and wish to go thru a easy cave. any ideas on  how to put this into here.

If this is a natural cave then Natural Cave Entrances.  If it is man made cave  (ie a mine) then Artificial Cave Entrances .

Borax was heavily mined in the CA desert and I think there is a 20-mule team monument for it. Should minerals be part of the list, in addition to precious metals, stones & gems?  Of course the hard part would be finding a source that stated it was a "rush", unless something like this site would be sufficient http://www.desertusa.com/mag05/jul/borax.html  Is this the type of listing (see image from link) that you had in mind?

Bernd das Brot Team:

We live in Gold Rush country. When it comes to Gold Rush, most people probably think of California 1849. But that was neither the first nor the last gold rush. Wikipedia lists 43 distinctive gold rushes from the Minas Gerais (Brazil) rush in 1695 to the Great Mongolian Gold Rush in 2001. That list is probably still incomplete and furthermore, it could be expanded to Silver (Nevada), Diamonds (South Africa), Opals (Australia) and anything else shiny.  Subjects could be plaques, museums etc. Let us know what you think.

Okay so now we have quicksilver, borax, saltpeter, lead - how about "black gold - oil that is!?"

I'd be very careful about expanding this one too much, or it could end up quite a hodge-podge of things.  Maybe silver and gold, perhaps even precious metals and gems.

There are a couple of things to define very carefully, whatever way you want to go with this.  First, it seems you'd want to distinguish true "rushes" from general mining activity, keeping in mind that there are categories from things like Mines, Active Quarries, and Caves.  What defines a gold rush or something similar?

Second, what kind of sites qualify as a waymark?  Does it need a plaque, sign, or other identification?  Other documentation?  Believe me, there will always be someone who will test the fringes of a category like this.  What about museums?  I know that there is a museum in Jackson County, Oregon that has a lot about the gold rush in that area.

Basically, this is a great concept, so I'd pursue it.  California's gold country is fascinating and does extend a bit beyond the borders.  Loved visiting it.  The one thing in favor of expanding the concept is to make it more international.  You could have variables for location, type of metal or gem, etc., to help keep things organized a bit.

Silverquill mentioned some excellent points that you'll want to work out before peer review.  It just depends on if you want to be specific on towns where there was a gold rush, or if you're looking for "evidence of mining locations."  My example above re: the Borax goes to show there is a wide range of places/signs/plaques to waymark that wouldn't really fit in the Mines or Active Quarries categories. To document things right, maybe more than one category needs to be created??

Wow, a lot of input! Thanks to everybody.

Summary: This should definitely be about RUSH, not just any mining activity. And rush shuld be defined a a mojor impact on the area, meaning a town that wouldn't be there otherwise.

Good example of what would not qualify is dopeyduck's Borax mine (sorry). I've been there. Yes, its big and yes one family got rich, but the place is still a village of less than 100 souls, now compare that to San Francisco in 1848 (1,000 inhabitants) vs. San Francisco in 1859 (25,000 inhabitants). That's a rush.

Also, it should be about the primary material found (e.g. the gold in the Sierra Nevada, not secondary material needed to mine the primary target (e.g. wood needed for mines). Therefore, Touchstone's mercury would not qualify (sorry again) because if it weren't for the gold, no one would care about the mercury.

I think we have to include oil. Without the oil boom certain countries probably wouldn't exist.

Here are some numbers for gold rushes:

Brazil Gold Rush (1690), 400,000 Portuguese and half a million African slaves
California Gold Rush (1848–1855), 300,000 people
Great Mongolian Gold Rush (2004), 30,000 people
Or the latest Amazon Gold Rush, making more than 10,000 people move into the rain forest in less than a month.

So how about this as a definition: A discovery of a natural resource (mineral, metal or fosil fuel) that made at least 10,000 people move into a small area over a short period of time (less than a year).

I made the mineral, metal or fossil fuel distinction to avoid land rushes and rushes for fishing grounds (yes, they happened, I once wrote a thesis on the Oregon Salmon War).

Again, thanks for all the input and let us know what you think of our definition.

I like that you have a clear focus and definition of what you're looking for, but I still have some questions.  What would be waymarked? It sounds like you are looking for the town itself, versus a marker or plaque.

So are you thinking more like Bodie and Virginia City? I don't know if they had 10,000 people off the top of my head, but I'm sure those cities wouldn't have been there w/o the gold. I looked at the first few googled sites for Bodie and each of them said there was a gold rush, but none stated the amount of people.  So that could be a hurdle.

I understand that your SanFran example was just a demonstration of how to discern what a Rush is. Personally, I define a Rush as three guys from Toronto. Are we allowed to waymark anything that's related to the Gold Rush, such as plaques, historical sites, tourist traps, or significant spots along the way (eg. popular spot for stopping on the route to California, etc) as long as there is a documented source to support this assertion to qualify the waymark? I'm looking forward to seeing this category! I think you're going to do a great job!

Bernd das Brot Team:

So how about this as a definition: A discovery of a natural resource (mineral, metal or fosil fuel) that made at least 10,000 people move into a small area over a short period of time (less than a year).

I made the mineral, metal or fossil fuel distinction to avoid land rushes and rushes for fishing grounds (yes, they happened, I once wrote a thesis on the Oregon Salmon War).

Here is an example for you to set your boundaries (and also tell me whether I should post some waymarks from Wisconsin in you category):

In 1825 the non-native population of what is now southwest Wisconsin was app. 200.  In 1826 it had grown to 4000.  A few years later it was 10,000.  This occurred because of treaties with the Native Americans which lead to a "Lead Rush".  More details are available in this book.

This does not match your stated qualifications since the 10,000 people occurred over "a few years" instead of less than a year.

No big deal to me, but it tells me whether to put your category in the "can't do it anytime soon without travel out of my normal footprint or to put it into "boy, I've got several waymarks I need to cross list in this category."

Good luck on the category either way!

onfire4jesus:

In 1825 the non-native population of what is now southwest Wisconsin was app. 200.  In 1826 it had grown to 4000.  A few years later it was 10,000.  This occurred because of treaties with the Native Americans which lead to a "Lead Rush".  ...

This does not match your stated qualifications since the 10,000 people occurred over "a few years" instead of less than a year.

The 10,000 was just an idea. I think we should leave it open like "a significant increase in population over a short period of time" - I'd definitely like to have this Lead Rush in the category.

As for what to waymark, I would say, anything that mentions this "significant increase in population over a short period of time." So, (to use my California example again) the Port of San Francisco wouldn't do, but a plaque mentioning the thousands of ships during the gold rush would. The town of Mariposa would't count, but the Mariposa mining Museum with an excellent exhibition about the Gold Rush would.