Alabama Gold: A History of the South's Last Mother Lode

Gold rushes in Cleburne and Tallapoosa Counties attracted thousands of miners years before California s famous strike. In 1936, production at the Hog Mountain mine caused Alabama to be recognized as the top producer in the Appalachian states. In Hog Mountain s heyday, a local German settler discovered the precious metal while digging a wine cellar. In Log Pit, unscrupulous speculators shot ore into rock crevices and salted nuggets on land to enhance its sale value. A Cleburne County miner cleaned over eleven pounds of gold and was killed in a free fight all in one day. Join author Peggy Jackson Walls as she traces a century of gold mining in Alabama."