There Was Gold in That Black Hill
Many people have wondered how Black Hill Park got its name. Well, it was named after the Black Hills of South Dakota, famous for its gold mines in the 1870s. Was there gold in what is now Black Hill Park?
When George Chadwick bought a farm north of Germantown in 1947, the last thing he expected to find was gold. But as he surveyed his new property he found numerous deep pits, which he found out after talking to his neighbors, were gold mines. The locals also said that they never heard of any amount of gold coming out of these mines. Nevertheless Chadwick named his place Goldmine Farm. The land had been in the Waters family since the 1790s and was named William and Mary for William and Mary Waters, parents of the Waters brothers who settled here. George was more interested in dairy farming than in mining for gold, so he filled in all the holes, except for one, which he turned into a bomb shelter. This surviving gold mine now sits opposite …
