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Many times early in life I heard the term "Gold Fever" from both my Grandfather; an old California Redwood Logger; and a Great Uncle; an Engineer in the Alaskan Fishing Industry and Ship Builder, dating back to the the early 1900's while they talked of their youth. As well as stories from all other media sources, mentioning this phenomenon.
I never really considered it to be a true and viable condition, untill I myself became totally involved with recreational gold mining; and historical research.
Every chance I had in the 70's & 80's I found myself devoting every waking moment to the persute of seeking old mines/mining areas, geology, geologic research, studying topographical maps, magnetometer readings, maps and books I did not totally understand but sought answers too. Mining laws 1872; How to File a Mining Claim

Today, there are more than 300,000 active mining claims, mostly from large mining firms, on record with the administering agency, the Bureau of Land Management. Mining claims can be located on federal lands in 19 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The sum total of federal lands in these states, excluding National Parks and other protected areas, under claim is less than 2 percent of available land but it is estimated that nine out of ten of these most promising sites will be abandoned as unproductive and never fully mined. the Bureau of Land Management, provides new micro film, about 3 times a year; listing every mine ever registered or transfered in my 3 state area since the 1850's to the present. Last count I believe is approching 100 pages of micro film that are available..

Other sources are available for different states ie: Bureau of Mines and Development, Dept. of Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management ect. depending on which department overlooks mining activity for your area. All of these sources and others will provide a wealth of information in your search.

I sought out any and all history books on mining, old maps and the history of early West coast development.
Reports/Thesises written at major Univerisities by undergraduates in persute of their degree in mining, geology ect. I walked, talked, ate and yes dreamed; nothing but GOLD! This obsession lasted FULL FORCE; a little over 13 years after which time everyone I knew that was not involved in mining, with the exception of my mining partner and mining club friends; were begining to think I had gone off the deep end, and should have been born 100 years earlier..

One Typical Week of Gold Fever

Monday thru Friday:

Up at 5am for work; work untill 2:30pm. Either head for the Library, Old Bookstore's or home to begin my daily routine of "Gold Mining Reasearch" usually untill 11pm. Sometimes much later.. Might watch TV if their was anything to do with mining, gems, or western history related to gold.
Spending hours on the phone daily with my partner discussing ideas, new places we had researched out and intended to go to, planning outings ect.
We subscribed to every magazine on Gold Mining, both Reacreational and Professional, Rockhounding, Lapidary ect. Bought and shared mining publications books; we could never find enough reading material. (before the internet)

Friday thru Sunday: Either take off Friday night or early Saturday morning to seek out an old historic mine, or try a new spot to dredge/sluice/pan for gold. Or hike to spots where mining was active in earlier days. Drive all night, sleep a few hours on the ground. Hike to our destination; start setting up camp and the sluicing/dredging/exploring operation for the weekend.
And later of course many trips to our most popular gold producing spots.

Of course no miner can spend all year in the field, and many winter weekends were spent around our gold clubs coffee table exchanging information and lies. Or off to a gold show or rockhounding event.
You would be suprize how many people are interested in this unique hobby and would like to hear more, or have a story themselfs, I ment many people both young and old who contributed to my knowledge of West Coast mining areas by relating either their story. Or stories they had heard of places/mines not listed anywhere else; they had visited with their ancestors.

I truley believe I experienced the term "Gold Fever" firsthand. It is not a cold sweat one breaks out in and it is not a feeling you get from the first nugget you find.
It is the realization you wake up with one day; that GOLD has totally taken over every thought your mind can muster, awake or asleep..
Bill Worline
thenatural

Gold Fever! The Lure and Legacy of the California Gold Rush
Everything you ever wanted to know about the California Gold Rush. GREAT SITE I have found none better describing the early days of Gold Mining; The People, The Enviroment, Old Mine/Mining Locations, Gold Fever, plus much much more. This is a virtual tour of a real exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California. Be sure to checkout "Experience Gold Rush" just one of the COOL features of this site.

Experience the Sites & Sounds of the 1849 Gold Rush Days.

You will need "Shockwave" to enter their site; "Gold Fever! The Lure and Legacy of the California Gold Rush". It is well worth the Look See!!

Recreational Gold Mining Home

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