Historic Virginia gold mines worth knowing by name: Whitehall, Vaucluse, Goodwin, and Tellurium. Research history and open each site on the VaGoldMaps prospecting map.
A gold mine. Believed to be the first locality in Virginia in which gold was found (1806). About $1,800,000 from 1848 to 1881 according to records of the Philadelphia Mint (Sweet, 1971).
Vaucluse (also called Grimes / Grymes) is among Virginia's most productive historic gold mines: long 1800s run, steep gold-quartz veins, and a notable 1935-1938 revival near Wilderness Run.
Goodwin Mine (inventory spelling Goodwyn) sat on "Gold Hill" near today's Lake Anna State Park country and was among the nation's better-known gold producers in the 1830-1849 era.
Tellurium is a classic early Virginia gold name on the Fluvanna / Goochland line near Columbia, with multiple inventory shafts and a long paper trail from the 1830s onward.