The Reed Gold Mine in North Carolina is the site of the first documented discovery of gold in the United States. It is named after farmer Conrad Reed who found a large yellow rock one Sunday in 1799 while plowing his field in Little Meadow Creek, Cabarrus County. Reed’s father John, formerly Johannes Reith, a Hessian soldier who left the British army near the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, owned the farm.

At 1st the Reeds, who were only farmers, and did not recognize the nugget as valuable, and the 17-pound “yellow rock” was used as a doorstopper for three years. An unscrupulous Fayetteville jeweler purchased gold for $3.50.