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Ivy Mount Copper Mine - 1 Towns County, GA |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2022) |
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Ivy Mount Copper Mine - 1 Towns County, GA |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2022) |
| A recent TCHS presentation by Jason Edwards on the Ivy Mount Cemetery piqued my interest when he mentioned the Ivy Mount Mining Company. I had never heard of this mine. It was a brief copper mining venture started prior to the Civil War; I decided to go look for any remains. I found a number of the old mine shafts; they are collapsed and filled with earth now, so are only 12-20 feet deep. I had heard that a tunnel was still in existence, but found out that the mouth had been filled in long ago. The first area I wanted to examine was steep and thick with laurel. I tried coming down from the top, but it was a mess, so I decided I'd try it from below at another time. So these photos start at Area 2. |
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| Area 2 - Collapsed mine shaft |
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| The same collapsed shaft from another angle |
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| Someone in more recent times had dug into the collapsed shaft wall... |
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| Collapsed shaft at Area 3 |
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| Another collapsed shaft at Area 3 |
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| Collapsed shaft at Area 3 |
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| Rocks in tailings below one of the Area 3 shafts |
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| More rocks in the tailings dug out of the Area 3 shafts. One of the collapsed shafts is just beyond the crest at the top of the image. |
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| Area 4, the lowest in elevation, contained several old cuts and collapsed shafts. |
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| Area 4 - collapsed shaft |
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| Another collapsed shaft in Area 4 |
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| Two adjacent collapsed shafts This may be where the filled in tunnel was located... |
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| Another collapsed shaft. |
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| This old Right-of-Way pillar was nearby After exploring the mine areas, I checked out another nearby spot that looked interesting on LIDAR. It turned out to be nothing, but as I was climbing out of that area, my foot got caught on a root, and, pitching forward, I severely sprained my foot and knee. It was a rough walk back to my truck, and I probably hurt it as much then as from the original injury. It took about 3 months for my foot & knee to get back near 100%. |
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| Report of a mining accident... (from Augusta Chronicle & Sentinel, September 16, 1857) |
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| Notice of 1869 land sale... (from Atlanta Daily New Era, October 3, 1869) |
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| Apparently operations continued to some extent after the Civil War, even subsequent to the land being sold in late 1869. (from the American Journal of Science and Arts - 1875) I have been unable to learn much more about this mining operation. Apparently John Trevena, who was born in England, immigrated to the South, where he lived in Hiawassee. He was the pastor of the Hiawassee Methodist Circuit, and Superintendent of Ivy Mount Mining Company. Also found out that Col. John W. Holmes, among the original settlers of Towns County, was an agent of the Ivy Mount Mining Company. He was elected as the first Ordinary (now known as Commissioner) of newly-formed Towns County in 1856, and again in 1860. |