Dahlonega, Georgia

In the 1820s, Dahlonega was the site of the Georgia Gold Rush, the second significant gold rush in the United States, and became a boomtown.[11]

George Featherstonhough, an English geologist who visited the town in 1837, observed that the courthouse, designed by Ephriam Clayton,[12] was built upon a broad expanse of hornblende slate "and that the soil of the public square was impregnated with small specks of gold."[13] The courthouse building was paid for in part with gold bullion. It was made of bricks likely made locally, although possibly transported from Augusta. The foundation stone and timber were obtained locally.[12]

The spelling of the Cherokee word Da-lo-ni-ge-i was disputed by early correspondents; Featherstonhough, for example, wrote it as "Tahlonekay".[14]

Since 1977, Cherokee descendants who organized as a tribe and are enrolled as members have been recognized by the state as the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee.[15]

Numerous gold mines were illegally developed in the area. White miners, entering illegally into the Cherokee Nation lands, came into conflict with the Cherokee, whose territory they had trespassed. The Cherokee lands were defined by the treaty between the federal government and the Cherokee Nation in the Treaty of Washington (1819). The miners raised political pressure against the Cherokee because they wanted to get the gold. The federal government forced the Native Americans west of the Mississippi River to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears during Indian removal. Dahlonega was founded two years before the Treaty of New Echota (1835), which made its founding a violation of the Treaty of Washington of 1819.[16][17]

Cherokee for Da-lo-ni-ge English phonetics: dah low knee gay[18]

The city was named "Talonega" by the Georgia General Assembly on December 21, 1833.[19] The name was changed from Talonega by the Georgia General Assembly on December 25, 1837 to "Dahlonega",[19] from the Cherokee-language word Dalonige, meaning "yellow" or "gold".[18][20] The city is 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Auraria; each claims to be the site of the first discovery of gold. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina (7th Vice President of the United States) owned the Calhoun Mine, just south of the city square.

Historic specimen of high-grade gold ore from the Dahlonega mines

The United States Mint built a branch mint there, which it operated from 1838 to 1861. The Dahlonega Mint, like the one established in 1838 in Charlotte, North Carolina, only minted gold coins, in denominations of $1.00, $2.50 (quarter eagle), $3.00 (1854 only) and $5.00 (half eagle). It was cost-effective in consideration of the economics, time, and risk of shipping gold to the main mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Dahlonega Mint was a small operation, usually accounting for only a small fraction of the gold coinage minted annually in the US.

The government decided against re-opening the facility after the Civil War. By then, the U.S. government had established a mint in San Francisco. Given the large amount of gold discovered in California from the late 1840s on, that one handled the national needs of gold minting.

As a result, surviving Dahlonega coinage is today highly prized in American numismatics. The mint building burned in 1878. North Georgia College built Price Memorial Hall on its foundation.[21] The building has a gold-leaf steeple to refer to the history of the site.

In recent years, Dahlonega and Lumpkin County have been recognized as "the heart of the North Georgia Wine Country". The county features multiple vineyards and five licensed wineries that attract many tourists.

The historic Dahlonega Square is a popular destination, with gift shops, restaurants, art galleries and studios, and wine-tasting rooms. In 2015, Senator Steve Gooch introduced Georgia Senate Resolution 125 officially recognizing Lumpkin County as the Wine Tasting Room Capital of Georgia.

The city's local festivals draw many visitors. "Bear on the Square", an annual three-day festival held the third weekend in April, marks the day that a black bear wandered onto the square. It features bluegrass and old-time music. "Gold Rush Days", an annual two-day event the third weekend in October, attracts over 200,000 people.[22]

Dahlonega is home to the Holly Theatre.

The Lumpkin County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[27] The district has 215 full-time teachers and over 3,511 students.[28]

• Lumpkin County Elementary School
• Long Branch Elementary School
• Blackburn Elementary School
• Lumpkin County Middle School
• Lumpkin County High School

Dahlonega is home to University of North Georgia (formerly named North Georgia College and State University), North Georgia College and North Georgia Agricultural College, the Senior Military College of Georgia and the second oldest public university in the State of Georgia. The University of North Georgia is one of six senior military colleges (along with the Public Campuses of Texas A&M University, the Citadel, the Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech, and the Private Campus of Norwich University). The campus' administration building, Price Memorial Hall, is topped with a spire covered with gold leaf from the town. The rotunda dome of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta is also covered with Dahlonega gold.

• Wahsega 4-H Center, an environmental education center and summer camp owned by the University of Georgia and administered through the UGA Cooperative Extension Service Georgia 4-H program
• Camp Glisson, a year-round retreat camp owned by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church

Dahlonega is twinned with:

• Myślenice, Poland[31]