Eldorado is a community in Madoc Township, in Ontario, Canada, with a 2019 population of 50.
In 1866, it was the location of Ontario's first gold rush after Marcus Herbert Powell found gold on John Richardson's farm.[1]
Location
editEldorado is located six miles away from the centre of Madoc.[2]
History
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Municipal employee and part-time prospector Marcus Herbert Powell found gold on August 15, 1866, on a farm owned by John Richardson's.[1][3]
The town of Eldorado was founded in 1867.[1] The same year the Richardson Mine went into operation.[1] Despite higher expectations, Powell extracted about 100 ounces of gold, worth $1,500 to $2,000 at the time, but no further gold was found.[3] Various other mines that had quickly opened, quickly closed.[3][1]
Demographics
editIn 2019 the population of Eldorado was 50, down from 4,000 during the gold rush.[3] In contemporary times, it is considered to be a ghost town.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e ONTARIO'S FIRST GOLD MINE (public sign), John Street and Highway 62, Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario
- ^ "Local history: Ontario's first gold mine near Madoc". thewhig. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ a b c d "An historic gold mine in a tiny Ontario town could be the epicentre of Canada's next great gold rush". financialpost. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "Ghosts of the gold fields: Ontario's Eldorado". theobserver. Retrieved 2023-02-12.