NEWS: Jack's Mountain Gold, Huntingdon County, PA

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by S. Palmer

Copyright 2005.  All rights reserved.
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JACK'S MOUNTAIN GOLD
It Was First Thought To Be A Hoax But Now Seems To Be True.

At a very early date according to some old records which still exist, is 
when this story originated and it was among the first settlers in the lower 
end of Huntingdon County, which was then Bedford County.  Then and there 
squatted a man named Singer.  This location was about 5 miles southwest of 
Mount Union, at the mouth of a large gap in the mountain, which has been 
given the name Singer's Gap.  This gap at that day was a dense thicket of 
hemlock and other timber.  It is said that ice has been found there as late 
as the middle of June.  At the head of the gap rises two knobs, or peaks, 
whose names are, Silver Knob and Sandy Ford, both of Indian origin.  It has 
been claimed for over a century that there were valuable minerals on this 
part of Jack's mountain.  A son of the above named Singer, while hunting 
their cows at the head of this gap, and near the base of Silver Knob, at the 
edge of a small stream, found a piece of rock which attracted his attention.   
The boy took the rock home with him and kept it as a curiosity, not knowing 
that it was of any value.   A few years after this Mrs. Singer moved to 
California and by some chance this piece of mineral was taken along.  After 
the boy had grown to be an aged man he had the piece of rock examined and 
found it be rich with gold.  He then wrote to some old acquaintances 
concerning his discovery and later he came in person and in company with an 
old gentleman, Mr. Querry, they took a trip up Singer's Gap, but owning to 
the long absence and advanced years of Mr. Singer and the changes that had 
taken place in the region, he could not be positive as to the exact place.  
His opinion was that it was at the stream which flows near the basis of 
Silver and Sandy Ford knobs.  After the death of Mr. Singer there was no 
attempt made to find the mineral until about twenty years ago.   Mr. Peter 
Hammond found some very nice looking ore in this same stream.  On 
examination it was found to be rich with gold and yellow copper.   Mr. 
Hammond did some work, but being in a break-over in the mountain, he did not 
locate the vein.  Nothing more was done until last November, when Messrs. 
Peter Hammond and George Shaffer of Cora and S. D. Price of East Broad Top 
went to prospect again.  They drove across cut in the mountain and found the 
regular formations of gold, silver and very rich in yellow copper.  The 
prospecting parties have some very nice samples at their homes and plenty at 
the mine to convince us unbelievers. . . . [remainder of article lost]

1900-1910 era newspaper clipping