Ohio History Journal

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THE BELLVILLE GOLD REGION

THE BELLVILLE GOLD REGION.

 

 

 

A. J. BAUGHMAN.

Some Mansfield men who have had mining experiences in

the West and in the Klondike, recently visited the gold region

north of Bellville, Ohio, and although the visits were made more

out of curiosity than from business motives, curiosity has been

aroused as to whether prospecting will be resumed, and some

who are not familiar with the history of the locality, ask "Has

gold ever been found in that region?" Yes, it has been found

there whenever sought for the past fifty years. It was first

discovered in 1853, by Dr. James C. Lee, then a returned Cali-

fornian. Dr. Lee was an upright citizen who made Bellville

his home the greater part of his life. The doctor owned a tract

of land up Deadman's run, in the Dew Drop locality, and in that

native ravine, he found gold, as others have, there and else-

where, from time to time, or rather whenever the precious metal

was sought for.

The discovery of gold in that region caused considerable

excitement at first, and returned miners visited the place and

prospected for "color," which they found in nearly every pan of

dirt. Leases were taken on all the land and mining in a small

way has at different times been carried on, but never with paying

results. However, the mining experiments made there were

never of a thorough or systematic character, and the question,

"Will it pay?" is still an open one, upon which people can theo-

rize, pro and con.

The Bellville gold is of a fine quality- four karats finer

than that of the Klondike. It is usually found in small particles,

but a few instances have been reported where nuggets valued at

from one to five dollars have been taken out. Several attempts

at mining have been made, one of which was by a Mr. Tims, of

West Virginia, who undertook to sink a shaft at Long's ra-

vine, but struck a strong vein of water, and as pumping had to

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