Stories of lost gold mines have always been popular among prospectors and treasure hunters. It is often believed that an undiscovered motherlode is just waiting for some treasure hunter to find it using modern technology. Lost mines often recall tales like that of Lost Dutchman’s Mine, coded maps and the wild west. New England is the last place anyone would expect find a gold mine. But surprisingly the northeastern states did have a short-lived boom in prospecting and gold mining. So far, over 20 lost and forgotten gold mines have been found in New England (excluding all the places known for placer gold).
With the stratospheric price of gold and popularity of the reality television show, Gold Rush, the interest in gold prospecting in New England has skyrocketed. Forgotten mines and minor gold rushes in the northeast are a terrific topic to explore. Since there are so many mines and location to discuss, they can’t all fit in one article. So, over the next year, look for a series of articles, each one spotlighting one of the six New England states, beginning with in Rhode Island. This southern New England state is known for its history, beaches, and food –not gold mines. Surprisingly the biggest little state still keeps a few secrets in the form of prospects and mines.
Posted in Geology, Historical, Subterranean and tagged copper, durfee, dutchman, england, gold, hill, island, lost, mine, motherlode, new, rhode, strange new englandwith 2 comments.
In Cumbria, England, is Eden Valley, a quiet part of the UK with its traditional towns 
and pubs, beautiful hamlets and sandstone villages, some dating back to Viking times. A few miles north of the historic town of Penrith, is a small village called Little Salkeld. On the west side of the village is the Eden River. It was known to the Romans as the Itoun. This name derives from the Celtic word ituna, meaning water, or rushing. It winds its way north toward Carlisle.
The largest house in the village is the manor in Little Salkeld, confirmed by King Edward I. It is said to be the original home of the Salkeld family of landowners and Salkeld Hall built in the 16th century. The village has a vicarage with no church and Little Salkeld Watermill that was built in 1745 and is still operating. Little Salkeld is also known for Long Meg and Her Daughters, a Bronze Age stone circle consisting of 51 stones (of which 27 remain upright). The tallest stone is 3.7 meters high and stands outside the circle. It is made of local red sandstone, carved with a spiral, a cup and ring mark, and concentric circles. Poet William Wordsworth deemed them to be the country’s most notable relics after Stonehenge.
Posted in Cave, Historical, The Underworld, Weird Destinations and tagged cave, cumbria, england, Hall, Lacy, made, man, Salkeld, sandstone, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
Strange New England has been around for over 15 years hunting down some of the more interesting history, folklore, legends, monsters and places in the northeast. Currently we are making the transition from the old webpage to a new blog. Once we get a enough up on the blog we’ll begin posting new stories as we continue to move some of the older ones. This will give us the opportunity to revisit some of the earliest of our great successes and entertaining failures of the past.
Posted in Updates & Information and tagged england, Folklore of New England, Legends of New England, Monsters of New England, Mysteries of New England, new, strange, strange new englandwith no comments yet.