The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | Sunday, February 24, 2013
History Continued from 3
“Two years ago, my daughter and I joined paranormal investigators in Pearce Auditorium,” Pierce said. “At midnight, after we finished setting up the equipment, my daughter, an investigator and I were sitting in the balcony.” “At the same time, my daughter and I looked at each other. She asked me, ‘Did you hear that? I heard somebody crying.’ I heard somebody crying, too, so I told the investigator,” he said. Two weeks later, after the investigators finished studying the tapes, they brought Pierce some interesting news. “They played the tapes and I distinctly heard crying on the radio. I have to tell you, I’m not a believer in any of this stuff, but boy did that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Pierce said.
Dahlonega’s legacy of gold Up the road from Gainesville is Dahlonega, site of the first major U.S. gold rush in 1828, 20 years before California’s Gold Rush. And visitors can still luck up and find some nuggets of their own these days. “With gold now at $1,500 an ounce, adults and kids go wild panning for gold at two real mines where they get to take home any treasure they find,” said Tourism Director Jay Markwalter of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce. Visitors can see giant chunks of gold at the Dahlonega Gold Museum, located in the Old Lumpkin County Courthouse, one of the oldest surviving courthouses in Georgia. “This was the largest operation east of the Mississippi,” Markwalter said. “Some of the ruins remain, and visitors can explore the tunnels deep below where gold-bearing rock can still be found.” Though most known for its gold legacy, Dahlonega became a Hollywood film location for silent movies around 1915. “The original version of the historic Holly Theatre, built in 1939, first showed one of the earliest John Wayne movies when he was still named Marion Morrison,” Markwalter said. “Today, it’s a thriving center for contemporary and historical productions.” The oldest surviving building on the square is the Crimson Moon Cafe, built in 1858, one of the South’s oldest music halls. “Many of Dahlonega’s restaurants are located in the carefully-restored wooden historic buildings on the Downtown Square, with welcoming porches that serve as the perfect place for people-watching or enjoying a delicious meal, snack or refreshment,”
» Please see History, 5
Photos by Scott Rogers | Welcome
Visitors observe the Chestatee River diving bell in its permanent home in downtown Dahlonega.
To find out more Gainesville History: www.gainesville.org/history President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s visits: georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/FDRvisit. htm FDR’s speech to Gainesville: http://tinyurl. com/bta459n
Dahlonega History of Lumpkin County: www. lumpkinhistory.org/ About the city: www.Dahlonega.org Chestatee Wildlife Preserve & Zoo: www. chestateewildlife.com Gold mines: www.consolidatedgoldmine. com/
Helen About the city: www.helenga.org The Dahlonega Gold Museum is located on the square in downtown Dahlonega and was formerly the historic town’s courthouse.