Our Arklahoma Heritage: Bogus gold mine and flim -flam artists produced a Golden City legacy in Logan County

In late 1885, John Redmon, a sawmill operator in Logan County, Arkansas, deepened a well on his property to supply water for his steam mill.

During this process, workers uncovered a large piece of quartz, a mineral often associated with gold. Knowing the potential, Redmon had the sample assayed and discovered it contained gold, sparking immediate interest. The news spread rapidly, drawing attention to the area south of Booneville, now known as Golden City.

Within days, Dr. A. Guy Lewis, a gold miner from Oregon, arrived, waving wads of money and quickly buying up tracts of land.

He established an office in the rural community, further fueling the gold rush. This influx of investment and prospectors transformed Golden City into a bustling hub, with hotels, stores, and a stamp mill being constructed to support the growing population.

Miners dug shafts hundreds of feet deep, and rock was shipped to nearby Fort Smith and Dardanelle for assay, heightening the excitement.

The gold rush lasted over a year, attracting hundreds of people eager to stake their claims. The community saw significant development, with infrastructure built to accommodate the influx.

Historical records indicate that the area became a hive of activity, with prospectors working tirelessly to extract what they believed was a rich gold deposit. Rock samples were sent for assay, and the promise of wealth drew investors from far and wide.

The bubble burst when Bill Carrol, a local figure, revealed the truth after a bout of heavy drinking. His confession, detailed in historical accounts, disclosed that the gold rush was a scam.

Carrol claimed that Redmon’s son had brought gold from Colorado and used shotgun shells to "salt" the mines, placing gold in the shafts to create the illusion of a natural deposit. This deception had lured investors and miners into buying worthless claims, setting the stage for financial ruin.

The revelation had devastating consequences. Many miners found that the cost of extracting gold far exceeded any potential profits, as the deposits were not naturally occurring.

Numerous individuals had invested their life savings, only to lose everything on land and claims that proved worthless. As the truth spread, the once-thriving town of Golden City began to disintegrate. Prospectors left in droves, and the area returned to its quiet, rural state.

Today, little remains of Golden City’s brief heyday. Historical visits, such as Jim Roberts’ account in 1946 as editor of the Arkansas Democrat, described the site as lonely even then, with only a few scattered homes, old deserted mines, and a small church marking the location.