I am considering opening the Park on the Sunday following Bonanza, Thunder over Thurmond, and Gold Rush Day, primarily for panning and gemstones.  Send comments via email.

As always, the gold in my ore is natural gold that has never been alloyed for jewelry, but has been selected to be easy for beginners to recover by panning.  Everyone that has visited the Park so far has been comfortable with the panning techniques by about the middle of the first bucket.

McCormick, SC just north of the intersection of US 378 and US 221

Original features of the 1850's mine include the open trench, several pits and vertical shafts, dewatering piping, and a horizontal tunnel (the kids love the tunnel)

Second richest vein of gold in South Carolina (for the period)

Listed on the National Historic Register

Guided tours or self-guided tours available

Pan for gold, keep what you find (using crushed rock and natural gold). 

Screen for gemstones: keep what you find.  The types of rock will be changing early 2013.

Group visits by appointment; activities can be adjusted based on visitor age and the intent of the visit.

Mine Tour: $3, under 5 free.    Gold ore: $5 per 1 gallon bucket     Gemstones: $5 per 1 gallon bucket     Small Souvenir items available (vials of gold leaf in water)

Special groups: $25 minimum gate fee/mine tour plus panning or screening materials.  For groups larger than 15, special arrangements can be made. Contact Dave Gray by email.  See the Group Visits page for additional details and information.

Newspaper article about the California moratorium on suction dredging (June 1, 2011)

Panning The Easy Way:  Click here for a youtube video shot by one of my guests (thanks Danny).  It shows just how easy it is to pan for gold and it is almost exactly the way I teach it at the Park.  (This works well for the crushed rock ore, but you have to be a lot slower and more careful when panning creek material that has clay and super-fine gold)

The Website files you are currently looking at are all new; suggestions for additional material are welcome.  Please report errors by e-mail.  If you have historic photos or information concerning the mine or its features, let me know and I will create a space on this website to present it.  Do NOT write on the materials (front or back), but include as much information as you can (dates, names, location, occasion, details, etc) on a separate document.  Scanned images are preferred and let me know if you want it back.

Sorry, but we are not currently set up to accept credit or debit cards.  We do accept personal checks- $35 fee for returned checks.

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Map locations            Historic Time Line   Gem Identification  Last Modified May 3, 2013 (links and main page)