DAHLLONEGA - Competing with more than 14,000 national and international entries, the "Legend of The Smith House Mine" DVD was awarded two bronze Telly Awards this month in both the T.V. Documentary and Low Budget categories.
Since 1978, The Telly Awards mission has been to strengthen the national and international visual arts community by inspiring, promoting and supporting creativity. The awards were created to honor the very best local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions and work created for the Web.
The winning video was produced by Scott Gray, producer and partner at Video Craft Productions, in Cumming, Ga. "The Legend of The Smith House Mine" documentary DVD features the legend and reality of the gold mine beneath Georgia's premier family-style restaurant and luxury inn, The Smith House Inn, in Dahlonega, Ga. Dahlonega is the site of the 1828 Gold Rush that brought 15,000 miners to the area.
Contractors for The Smith House discovered the 30-foot gold mine shaft while making renovations in the dining room two years ago. The mine had apparently been sealed and covered underneath the original house, owned by Capt. Frank Hall, around 1899. The story goes that the city would not allow Hall to dig for gold there for two reasons: the land was too close to the downtown square and Hall was "a Yankee." It seems that Hall may have been secretively mining for gold in his basement without anyone knowing.
Hall died of typhoid fever in 1901. His widow sold the property in 1916 and after a succession of different ownership, Henry and Bessie Smith purchased the residence in 1922 and converted it to an inn. In 1942, Mr. Smith sold The Smith House to a prominent attorney from Atlanta named Will Smith. In 1946 the property was purchased by Mr. W.B. Fry. Before Mr. Fry completed his purchase of The Smith House, he sought out Fred and Thelma Welch to operate the restaurant. After 24 years of operating the restaurant, the Welch family purchased the property from the Fry family. Today the Welch family, in their third generation, is credited with developing The Smith House into a Georgia landmark.
The Welch's have verified that the mine still has valuable unearthed gold ore. Samples removed from the site have been archived and are on display in an area near the mine shaft for all to see. For now, they are content to "make gold" out of the historical significance of their find. In addition to The Smith House, one of Dahlonega's main attractions continues to be its link to the 1828 Gold Rush that originally put the town "on the map." Tourists still enjoy visiting the city's Gold Museum, panning for gold and attending the city's many annual festivals, especially the Gold Rush Festival in October.
The Smith House family-style diners seem to enjoy knowing that they are seated over one of the abandoned mines once operated in and around the picturesque town square.
To see a trailer of the "Legend of The Smith House Mine" video, visit the link at www.smithhouse.com.
Sunday
April 27th, 2025
2:16AM
