Atlanta – Georgia State Capitol (Gold on Rotunda)

A slightly quirky exhibit in the Georgia State Capitol, which is the box which the rotunda’s gold travelled in. The gold was sent from Dahlonega and Lumpkin County in August 1958 and to add some theatre to the proceedings, it was carried in an 1830s train.

The building’s rotunda wasn’t originally made from gold, it was made from the decidedly less impressive combination of tin and wood. This didn’t last that well and repairs were frequent, so someone had a marvellous idea to use gold instead. Actually, the arrangements weren’t great, as it wasn’t clear that the Governor knew that the gold was coming on an 1830s train and it got a little ignored.

So, the story ends nicely. Well, it doesn’t quite. The state didn’t quite get the gold to adhere correctly to the rotunda and by the 1970s half of it was missing. In 1979, it was decided to repeat the whole collecting gold and sending by wagon train thing, which worked well. And today the rotunda is safe, with the gold adhering this time, so there might not be a wagon train carrying gold being sent to Atlanta again for some time…..