The Four Georgians were a group of goldprospectors who are traditionally credited for discovering the Last Chance placer gold strike of Helena, Montana. They were John Cowan, D. J. Miller, John Crab, and Reginald (Robert) Stanley. Of the four, the only actual Georgian was Cowan, who hailed from Acworth, Georgia.[1] The other three came from Alabama (Miller), Iowa (Crab) and England (Stanley). It has been speculated that they were named "Georgians" not from where they came from, but because they were practicing the "Georgian method" of placer mining.[2][3]
In 1864, they left the Alder Gulch area of Virginia City, Montana Territory, heading north toward the Kootenai River country to pursue rumored prospects there. En route, they heard that the Kootenai prospects had played out, and instead decided to prospect the Little Blackfoot River. They crossed the Continental Divide to the Prickly Pear Creek drainage, still finding only minimal signs of gold at best. Noting a small creek in the Prickly Pear Valley with the best prospects so far, they again moved north to explore the Marias River. Still finding little gold after six weeks of hard work, they returned south to the place they referred to as Last Chance Gulch, since it would be their final opportunity on a long, arduous prospecting trip. They were prepared to give up on the whole area.[1][2]
On July 14, 1864, they dug two prospect pits on Last Chance Gulch upstream from their earlier efforts.[2] Both pits revealed flat gold nuggets and gold dust. All their efforts had finally paid off. Eventually, Crab and Cowan were sent back to Virginia City for more supplies, other prospectors began appearing, and the Last Chance Gulch bonanza began.[4]
In 1867, the Four Georgians finally sold out their claims and took $40,000 of gold dust by wagon to Fort Benton to board a steam boat down the Missouri River and eventually all the way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia where they cashed in three years of hard labor in the Montana gold fields.[2]
Referencesedit
^ abBurlingame, Merrill G.; Toole, K. Ross (1957). A History of Montana (Vol. 1 ed.). New York, NY: Lewis Historical Pub. Co. p. 125.
^ abcdLincoln, Marga (July 13, 2014). "Heart of Gold: 150 years ago, four weary miners discovered gold, which would lead to the founding of the Queen City". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
^Holmes, Krys (2008). Montana: Stories of the Land(PDF). Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society. pp. 103–104. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
^. Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality, Abandoned Mines Program, Mining District Historical Narratives. State of Montana. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
four, georgians, were, group, gold, prospectors, traditionally, credited, discovering, last, chance, placer, gold, strike, helena, montana, they, were, john, cowan, miller, john, crab, reginald, robert, stanley, four, only, actual, georgian, cowan, hailed, fro. The Four Georgians were a group of gold prospectors who are traditionally credited for discovering the Last Chance placer gold strike of Helena Montana They were John Cowan D J Miller John Crab and Reginald Robert Stanley Of the four the only actual Georgian was Cowan who hailed from Acworth Georgia 1 The other three came from Alabama Miller Iowa Crab and England Stanley It has been speculated that they were named Georgians not from where they came from but because they were practicing the Georgian method of placer mining 2 3 In 1864 they left the Alder Gulch area of Virginia City Montana Territory heading north toward the Kootenai River country to pursue rumored prospects there En route they heard that the Kootenai prospects had played out and instead decided to prospect the Little Blackfoot River They crossed the Continental Divide to the Prickly Pear Creek drainage still finding only minimal signs of gold at best Noting a small creek in the Prickly Pear Valley with the best prospects so far they again moved north to explore the Marias River Still finding little gold after six weeks of hard work they returned south to the place they referred to as Last Chance Gulch since it would be their final opportunity on a long arduous prospecting trip They were prepared to give up on the whole area 1 2 On July 14 1864 they dug two prospect pits on Last Chance Gulch upstream from their earlier efforts 2 Both pits revealed flat gold nuggets and gold dust All their efforts had finally paid off Eventually Crab and Cowan were sent back to Virginia City for more supplies other prospectors began appearing and the Last Chance Gulch bonanza began 4 In 1867 the Four Georgians finally sold out their claims and took 40 000 of gold dust by wagon to Fort Benton to board a steam boat down the Missouri River and eventually all the way to the U S Mint in Philadelphia where they cashed in three years of hard labor in the Montana gold fields 2 References edit a b Burlingame Merrill G Toole K Ross 1957 A History of Montana Vol 1 ed New York NY Lewis Historical Pub Co p 125 a b c d Lincoln Marga July 13 2014 Heart of Gold 150 years ago four weary miners discovered gold which would lead to the founding of the Queen City Helena Independent Record Retrieved August 1 2014 Holmes Krys 2008 Montana Stories of the Land PDF Helena MT Montana Historical Society pp 103 104 Retrieved August 1 2014 Historic Context Montana Dept of Environmental Quality Abandoned Mines Program Mining District Historical Narratives State of Montana Archived from the original on September 28 2014 Retrieved August 1 2014 Further reading edit Reginald Stanley Papers Montana Historical Society Retrieved August 1 2014 nbsp This Montana related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Four Georgians amp oldid 916821330, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
