In 1828 gold was discovered here on Duke's Creek, White County, by two people. John Witheroods of North Carolina found a 3-ounce nugget and a Negro servant of Major Frank Logan of Loudsville, Georgia, also discovered gold on the creek. Early discoveries came almost simultaneously as prospectors drifted into Northeast Georgia from the North Carolina diggings. One merchant in the Nacoochee Valley purchased and shipped 1 to 1.5 million dollars worth of gold in a thirty year period.
The pits visible along th creek are evidence of recent hydraulic mining.