Eastern Shore, Halifax County

Today, Mineville is a suburban community sandwiched between inland Lake Echo and coastal Lawrencetown. Gold was discovered there in 1861 by William Crooks shortly after the Eastern Shore "gold rush" began in Tangier (further east). Mineville is part of the Lawrencetown gold district and was actively mined by several companies between 1861 and 1912. They carried-out surface and shaft mining operations which in later years used heavier equipment including crushing machines (undershot water wheel is visible in this picture). Yields were never very high, with the total yield over the 50 years amounting to 488 ounces of gold from 865 tons of crushed ore.

Date: [ca. 1910]

Reference:  Eastern Shore Archives D0147P024

For more information, please contact the Eastern Shore Archives.