Q.David Bowers
There have been several new mines discovered in this county which promised to be very rich; only one of which, however, has yet been worked to any extent, and even this (Avery and Carson's) has been tried no more than digging out the rock, and erecting machinery to pulverize the rock and collect the gold. Should this mine. upon a further trial of the ore, prove rich (and there's little doubt of it) the value and extent of the mines in this county are without calculation, as the same vein may be seen for several miles, and from partial experiments it seems to be of about the same comparative thickness.
We have just been shown a specimen of ore from a vein lately discovered on the land of John Logan, Esq., neat the junction of Cane Creek with 2nd Broad River, which is very thick set with particles of gold, large enough to be plainly seen with the eye...
To give our readers an idea of the value of the mines in this region, we state on authority of a gentleman from the mines that the mine formerly owned by Mr. Dorsey, now by Mr. Carson, which with twelve hands on Saturday last produced 50 pennyweights, worth $40; and at the Brindle mine, 011 the same day, With forty hands under direction of Col. Butler; produced $3.50 to the hands, making $140.00.
An estimate appearing in the same paper dated June 24, 1831, said that in Burke County about 3,000 pennyweights per day, equal to about $2,400 per day or $14,000 per week was being extracted. It was estimated that Rutherford County had a production approximating that of Burke County. If that was the case, then each county would have produced nearly three quarters of a million dollars worth of gold each year.
The same periodical announced on June 28; 1831, that many new mines had been opened on Richardson's and Floyd's creeks and their branches. Peter Green, who lived On Richardson's Creek, was offered $3,500 for certain mines on his property. A mine belonging to Hugh Cook, apparently not as rich in prospect, changed hands for $1,500. Philip Robins and Robert Mintz, who lived in the area, were offered a substantial sum for their interest in a mine and refused it. The same newspaper on October 22, 1831, noted that:
Mr. C. Bechtlef showed us a specimen of gold a few days since taken from the mine of Mr. P. H. Richardson, of Richardson's Creek; which he assayed and ascertained it to be worth 231/2 Carats fine-- worth 94 cents per dwt. This is the richest native gold yet assayed by Mr. Bechtler and is probably the finest obtained from the mines in this region.
Christopher Bechtler, the elder, and several members of his family came from Baden, the Black Forest area of Germany, to Rutherfordton, North Carolina in 1830. Accompanying him were his two sons, Charles and Augustus, and his nephew who is known as Christopher Bechtler, the younger.
The elder Bechtler was born in Baden in 1782. Leaving from the port of Le Havre, France, he arrived in America on October 12, 1829. In Philadelphia on October 25th of the same year he filed his application for naturalization papers. In the court of Rutherford County on July 14; 1832, the elder Bechtler and his Son Augustus, who was then 19, became American citizens.
The elder Bechtler, trained in the art of the gunsmith and goldsmith, established a jewelry store shortly after his arrival. Trade was conducted in a house situated about four miles north of Rutherfordton. There Was gold-bearing earth on his property, and several shafts were sunk to exploit it. His son Augustus shared his interests and abilities and was a capable assistant. It was said that Augustus Was a large and handsome man who enjoyed company and conviviality and who numbered hunting among his sports.
Christopher Bechtler, the younger, was a stocky man with heavy eyebrows and a dark complexion. His ability as a gold and silversmith was well known. Some of his craftsmanship must have been accomplished with difficulty, for historian Clarence Griffin, in The Bechtiers and Bechtler Coinage, written in 1929, noted that:
Christopher the younger was always smoking. He would go to the saloon and smoke and drink at the same time. It is reported on reliable authority that he would drink from two to four glasses of lager beet before breakfast, and as he went from his shop at lunch time he would go by the saloon, stopping to consume from two to four more glasses of beer, smoking as he did So. This performance would be repeated again at night, after quitting work, and frequently between morning and luncheon periods.
Charles Bechtler committed suicide near Rutherfordton shortly after coming into the country, after learning that he married an unvirtuous woman. Occasional historical mention is made of Edward Bechtler, but no reliable data supports his existence. When the will of the elder Chrisopher Bechtler was read following his death in 1842, five children were mentioned, some of whom were with their mother who apparently never came to Rutherfordton.
Bechtler's entry into coinage occurred in the summer of 1831 when on July 2nd an advertisement appeared in the North Carolina Spectator And Western Advertiser and continued for several weeks thereafter. It was announced that Bechtler was ready to receive gold and coin it into $2.50 and $5 pieces at his store-residence located 31/2 miles north of Rutherfordton on the road leading to Jeanstown. In the same issue the editor, Roswell Elmer, Jr., noted:
Gold Pieces.
We have been shown a specimen of the ingots assayed and stamped by Mr. Christopher Bechtler at his establishment near this town. The piece shown us, in point of execution of the relief letters is not as handsome as we had wished to have seen; but Mr. B. informs us that he intends to prepare new dies and make such improvements as had suggested themselves to his mind. The pieces are 20 carats fine, or 2 carats below the standard coin of the United States. The piece of $2.50 weighs 3 dwts, and ¾ gr., and that of the $5.00 piece 6 dwt, 11/2 gr., or very nearly so-making them worth about 82 cents, 6m. per dwt. This standard has been assumed on account of the great variety which exists in the fineness of the gold, as obtained from the mines-some of it being 22 and other only 19 carats, fine. Mr. B. has undertaken this enterprise at the suggestion of several gentlemen of the highest standing among our miners, for the purpose of putting into use the actual resources of this region, as a circulating medium in the transaction of business. Since the State Bank has limited her issues and is drawing into her vaults the notes which have been loaned to our citizens, in the settlement of her outstanding accounts, great inconvenience has been felt in business transactions with the Bank, and also for the common purposes of commerce. How far this scheme will succeed in effecting these objects, we have yet to learn.