Eldorado, Ontario

Eldorado, 2010

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

Eldorado is located six miles away from the centre of Madoc.[2]

History

Eldorado Cheese and Butter Co-op store, c. 1960
Eldorado, c.1900

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

In 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

  1. ^ a b c d e ONTARIO'S FIRST GOLD MINE (public sign), John Street and Highway 62, Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario
  2. ^ "Local history: Ontario's first gold mine near Madoc". thewhig. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Ghosts of the gold fields: Ontario's Eldorado". theobserver. Retrieved 2023-02-12.


44°35′16″N 77°31′10″W / 44.58778°N 77.51944°W / 44.58778; -77.51944