Many of the immigrants who came to North Carolina during the gold rush were single men—young or middle-aged, ambitious, and hardworking. Unaccompanied by women or children, they were able to move freely from one mining area to another. When gold was found in other southern states and then in California in 1848, many moved out of the area. The Cornish miners, however, had often moved with their families. They were known to be “skilled, superstitious, clannish,” and strongly Methodist. Unlike the single prospectors who followed the gold to California, the Yukon, and beyond, many of these Cornish miners and their families stayed in North Carolina, in the lode mining centers of Charlotte and especially Gold Hill in Rowan County.
–“The North Carolina Gold Rush,”
Rebecca Lewis
How did Cornish miners differ from other miners who came to North Carolina?
Most Cornish miners were single men who did not have families.
Most Cornish miners left North Carolina when the California gold rush began.
Most Cornish miners settled in North Carolina permanently and made a home in the state.
Most Cornish miners were unskilled workers with little experience in mining.