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879

NC - Charlotte,Mecklernburg County - January 28, 1863 - Rudisell Gold Mining Company of Baltimore C

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
NC - Charlotte,Mecklernburg County - January 28, 1863 - Rudisell Gold Mining Company of Baltimore C
Session D is a Mail-Bid Only Auction. Absentee bids will be accepted only. No live bidding will be allowed. All winners will be contacted after the auction. BIDDING ENDS MONDAY JUNE 27 AT 5PM PACIFIC TIME!!!
Incorporated in Maryland in 1860. Cert. #344 issued to John T. Brown for 100 shares. Signed by Joseph Reynolds, president, and by H. Fisher, secretary. Three vignettes across top: central one is of a cavernous tunnel scene with miners working at different levels underground; right and left vignettes of allegorical women; and a small vignette of an arm and hammer at lower left. Black border and print with embossed seal on crème paper. U/C. Printer: Hunckel & Son, Balto. Adhesive 25 ct revenue stamp applied at left. 7 ½ x 10.” Variously called Rudisell, Rudisill, and other spellings. The following article is quoted from the family’s website.

The Rudisill Gold Mine,by Joyce McIntyre Rudisill

During the first fifty years of gold mining in the United States, North Carolina was the nation’s leading gold-producing state, and gold mining played an important role in the early development of Charlotte, NC. The Rudisill Mine was Mecklenburg County’s largest gold mine and one of two of commercial significance. Mining on the Rudisill lode spanned a period of over a hundred years. Although its spelling varied over these years, the name itself was never changed to another: in 1832 it was known as the Rudisill Mine; in 1854 the name was variously spelled “Rudisol,” “Rudesill,” and “Rudisell”; an 1855 publication even spelled it “Rudersill.”

The Rudisill gold mine was located in what is now Uptown Charlotte. At the time of its discovery in 1825, however, the lode was well outside the limits of the then small city. The Rudisill mine was leased in 1830 by Count Chevalier Vincent de Rivafinoli, an Italian nobleman, who brought over experienced miners from Europe and used the most advanced mining methods of the time. The mine was closed down during the depression of 1836-37. It was acquired soon afterward by John E. Penman, an Englishman, who began mining the Rudisill lode. About 1854 the mine was abandoned for lack of proper equipment.

In 1860 the property was purchased by the Rudisill Gold Mining Company of Baltimore City, Maryland. Although most Southern gold mining ceased during the Civil War years, the Rudisill mine managed to stay active. In 1868 it was sold at public auction to Thomas Wilson, who operated it on a small scale until 1878. At that time it was sold to three Southern investors, James H. Carson, Robert M. Miller, and John W. Wadsworth, who in turn sold it to the Rudisill Gold Mining Company of Hartford, Connecticut. In late 1885 the mine was sold at public auction to Eli B. Springs. Five days later, Springs sold it back to Carson, Miller, and Wadsworth, and they resumed operations. In January 1886, the mine was leased to Thomas Dunn and Ed Howard, who, with others, formed the Rudisill Mining Company. They ceased mining about 1887. The mine changed hands a number of times again. In 1908 the property was once again auctioned off–to Robert Carson, Charles Wadsworth (descendants of the earlier owners James Carson and John Wadsworth), and Robert Miller. In the course of the next few years the Carson family obtained sole rights to the property. During the Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s, the mine was reopened, possibly because of the widespread unemployment and skilled men being willing to work long, hard hours for meager wages to support their families. Although several gold mines were reopened and operated in North Carolina during the 1930s, the Rudisill was the state’s leading producer for the years 1935, 1936, and 1937. Operations were suspended in 1938. It is believed that tunnels from the Rudisill Mine still lie beneath much of the area just south and west of Uptown (in the vicinity of what is now the stadium and Summit Avenue) and that some of these remaining tunnels still contain tools and equipment left behind by the early miners. Today there is no easily recognizable evidence of the Rudisill Gold Mine at the earth’s surface, but a North Carolina commemorative marker designates its location and preserves its history [Ref: www.rudisillfoundation.org/publications/newsletters/Dec2005.pdf].
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