Eldorado, Ontario
{{Short description|Community in Ontario, Canada}}
Eldorado is a community in Madoc Township, in Ontario, Canada, with a 2019 population of 50.
In 1866, it was the location of Ontario's first gold rush after Marcus Herbert Powell found gold on John Richardson's farm.[https://bancroftontario.com/rock-collecting-sites/ontarios-first-gold-mine/ ONTARIO'S FIRST GOLD MINE] (public sign), John Street and Highway 62, Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario
Location
Eldorado is located six miles away from the centre of Madoc.{{Cite web |title=Local history: Ontario's first gold mine near Madoc |url=https://thewhig.com/2015/02/03/local-history-ontarios-first-gold-mine-near-madoc |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=thewhig |language=en-CA}}
History
{{Multi image
| image1 = Hastings County Archives HC01727 (38419793551).jpg
| caption1 = Eldorado Cheese and Butter Co-op store, c. 1960
| image2 = Eldorado, Ontario (circa 1900).jpg
| caption2 = Eldorado, c.1900
}}
Municipal employee and part-time prospector Marcus Herbert Powell found gold on August 15, 1866, on a farm owned by John Richardson's.{{Cite web |title=An historic gold mine in a tiny Ontario town could be the epicentre of Canada's next great gold rush |url=https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/an-historic-gold-mine-in-a-tiny-ontario-town-could-be-the-epicentre-of-canadas-next-great-gold-rush |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=financialpost |language=en-CA}}
The town of Eldorado was founded in 1867. The same year the Richardson Mine went into operation. Despite higher expectations, Powell extracted about 100 ounces of gold, worth $1,500 to $2,000 at the time, but no further gold was found. Various other mines that had quickly opened, quickly closed.
Demographics
In 2019 the population of Eldorado was 50, down from 4,000 during the gold rush. In contemporary times, it is considered to be a ghost town.{{Cite web |title=Ghosts of the gold fields: Ontario's Eldorado |url=https://torontosun.com/2014/10/29/ghosts-of-the-gold-fields-ontarios-eldorado |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=theobserver |language=en-CA}}
References
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Category:Communities in Hastings County