Towns in Connecticut where Gold has been Reported

Although today there isn’t much interest in the gold that has been found in Connecticut, but during the 19^th century there was more interest in mining in the state.  This listing of gold is from a booklet published by the Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey in 1951 as Bulletin No. 77 by Julian A. Sohon and edited by Alexander N. Winchell a mineralogy professor at Yale.  For many of us that are interested in geology and minerals this thin booklet has acted as a bible for many years; today it is out of print, but is available in the reference section of many libraries throughout the state.

The Connecticut State Capital's Dome that reportedly is covered by gold that was mined in Connecticut.

This is a list of the towns reporting gold in addition the author has found gold in additional towns in western Connecticut, these towns will be marked with an *.

Barkhamsted*              Bristol              Cheshire           Cobalt              E. Hampton

East Litchfield* Glastonbury*    Harwinton*      Litchfield          Middletown

Munro                          Montville          Mt. Caramel     New Britain*    New Hartford*

New Haven                  Newtown         Portland*         Ridgefield         Sandy Hook

Southbury                     Thomaston*     West Haven     Woodbury

If you see any streets or roads in your travels then have the name “mine” in them you had better find out why. A good example of this is the town of Canton where there was really a silver mine in the 19th century just north of Route 44. There is a full write up about the old silver mine in the history of Canton that is kept at the Canton Historical Society. You can gather a great deal of material about old mines and the mineral resources of Connecticut by reading town histories.

Although gold is a metal that attracts many people it is not the only mineral that is found in Connecticut that exceeds the value. Virtually every river in the state contains a small amount of gold capable of being recovered with a gold pan.