Busy busy adventuring this week! We did a day trip to The Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, then the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (to see the General, a famous train!) and THEN we drove to Dahlonega to see the Gold Museum in downtown, in the Old Lumpkin Courthouse. It was a long day, but we did it, and learned a lot along the way! Then today we went to Amicalola Falls!
I'm not much of a history buff, so I am learning a lot on these adventures about some of our more interesting history points in Georgia. Obviously there was information about the Civil War in the Kennesaw locations, but then in Dahlonega I learned more about the gold rush and how they refined the gold into coinage before the Civil War took out that whole industry. The biggest revelation I had was that BECAUSE of the discovery of gold in Dahlonega 1829, and the ensuing rush of people to the area, our government decided to enact a land lottery which gave land to people moving in to pan for gold! However, the Cherokee already lived there, and the government decided they needed to relocate the Cherokee, which is how the Trail of Tears started! So the gold rush in Georgia is responsible for the Trail of Tears!!! It was interesting going to these sites on the same day and seeing the different perspectives the museums gave on the Trail of Tears, because I'd never really connected a specific event as the catalyst for it.
In other news, The Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is free admission so you should definitely check them out. They have a sweet little museum on site and there were cool free trading cards about different areas on the site that you would see when hiking. I definitely intend to go back and hike properly the 11 miles of trails, they are so lush and green and it's very near Atlanta! Plus, the view is spectacular.
The General is a train at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, on site where it was originally taken by Union troops during the Civil War. Beautiful museum, it's actually part of the Smithsonian, and my favorite part was all the cool information about the foundry process for making trains! They had original wooden patterns which would be used to make the sand molds then cast the iron needed to make the train! They even had a video demonstrating the process on an industrial level (I did foundry work on a small scale in college but always wondered about the really big stuff). Quality Museum, definitely check them out!
Also, wonderful penny press of The General available in the gift shop.
Dahlonega was cool, we learned about how they refined the gold from the rock using giant crushers, and a lot of the politics behind the mint they established as a branch of the PA mint to make the gold available for circulation. We didn't arrive on time to see the video and decided not to rush the museum itself, but they seem to have a cool exhibit with original tools and examples of minted coinage.
Here are the pennies, showing the machine used to break up the rocks, a $2 1/2 gold coin, and a miner using a water cannon to break the rock face (designed by a Dahlonega artist!):
Today we went to Amicalola Falls, the tallest waterfall in Georgia (and possibly the southeast), and it was GORGEOUS. 604 steps in total and it's a pretty hike the whole way, with some beautiful plants you'll only see in undisturbed old growth forests. I'm glad we are adventuring to all these hiking sites while things are in bloom! Plus, we saw a snake sunning himself, a bunch of salamanders, and then we met a groundhog baby named Tater Tot!!! Seriously the cutest little dude and super friendly, he is becoming part of their outreach programs.
The Falls, A Fish, and a bear in a tree, all in penny form:
Also, here is Tater Tot:
Other fun facts: I learned Kennesaw is a Cherokee word for "graveyard/cemetery," that Dahlonega is a Cherokee word for "yellow money," and that Amicalola is a Cherokee word for "tumbling waters."
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think and I'll update again soon!
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