The Mystery of the Millstones on the Shotgun Range
by Gordon Thorsby

In 1958, Charlotte Pistol & Rifle Club purchased our current property and guaranteed a growing history in North Carolina. The rifle and pistol ranges were immediately developed, and the shotgun range came several years later. The First Fifty Years History Report described that during the purchase/survey process of the property, goldmine millstones (shown above) were discovered but the location was not disclosed. The millstones were also not recovered, and the symbol of our Club's roots remained in the woods somewhere resting. ¹

Before the Millstones were in front of the Shotgun Clubhouse as they are today, what function did they serve? Where did they originate from? Where were they on the property or were they actually on neighboring property? The following explanation considers several members’ accounts to help try to answer questions and possibly understand the mystery of the Millstones of the Charlotte Rifle & Pistol Club.

Most people recognize millstones for smashing and grinding things be it grains, apples, or even gold. Milling has existed since civilization began. The grinding of stones to get gold is a newer development. The Waxhaw area that the Club property is part of was covered with as many as twenty-eight gold mines. The Grady-Rogers Gold Mine (CRPC property) utilized different methods including standard panning to extract gold but at one point (1890-1900), the mine employed the "millstone method."This method crushed large chunks of quartz until a finer grit was obtained that could then be shoveled into culverts and gold particles could be separated from the extraneous “waste.” 

To have a successful, high production mill, it is critical to have a good quality supply of millstones. While stones could be shipped from excellent sources such as France, Peru, or granite from the shores of Lake Huron in Michigan, it is believed based on identification of our stones, that they were quarried somewhere in the Carolinas. Each 5,000-pound stone is quartz. Quartz is one of the hardest materials found on earth. Only diamond, corundum, and topaz are harder, but quartz was the most common, and more preferred to crush stone. The “bedding” stone was laid flat while the “runner” stone channeled around in the concave curvature. We have only one running stone. Let’s come back to this.

There is no other information specific to our millstones other than that they were discovered during the survey process. During the late 1960’s, there were numerous repairs to fencing on the range and the addition of light poles. There was no shotgun clubhouse until around 1970.  Jim Deveraux, the most senior member in the club, specifically recalled walking the property and seeing the stones. The location according to Jim was; if one stepped out of the Shotgun Clubhouse door and looked left, they were lying on the other side of the rise over the hill in the woods. A seven to ten-minute walk into the woods will find oneself looking at an obvious man-made culvert. 

Today, the culvert begins on a flat area, the V shaped groove descending down the hill, widening as it goes with approximately 65-degree banks making it almost impossible to climb out of. When the culvert reaches the creek bed that runs parallel to the property line, its depth is approximately six feet deep. The run today is but a trickle. We do not know the topography of over one hundred years ago, nor do can we understand the water source or its final destination. Today, the creek may drain into a storm sewer system into the residential area outside the property. Around the edges of the culvert there are large pieces of quartz strewn about. What else is buried or in the bowels of the culvert is unknown. Call this Possible Location #1.

Another version arose in the research process that conflicts with Possible Location #1. Sometime between 1999 and 2005, Hugh Stone took his stepson in search of the millstones. Somebody remembered their potential location and Hugh wanted to find them. Hugh walked straight north down the trap field toward the creek bed. Meanwhile, his stepson went toward the property line west in the direction of Possible Location #1, then turned north on a zig-zag pattern through the woods.

Before Hugh was out of the field and into the dense brush below, he heard a call from his son that he had found the stones. The two millstones were down at the larger, deeper creek where they had been told they were located (see below.) Call this Possible Location #2. 

Two club members cut a road through the brush and a backhoe was brought in along with a strong chain to loop around each stone. Each stone was then carefully lifted, and laboriously moved one by one up to the spot they currently reside. Metal pieces that accompanied the millstones were also lying about at the main creek bed. Several long-time members believe that these pieces of metal hardware may still exist on the property. These pieces resemble iron angle bars and other unrecognizable shapes used in the millstone process.

Is this the end of the story? Not really. The story is incomplete because the versions don’t match up. There is also a mention from Gene Holland that one of the neighboring owners wanted the stones taken off of his hands and the Club was more than welcoming of the addition to the Shotgun range. This is Possible Location #3.

Back then, vegetation was different, topography was different, and property lines were different. Some of the property was being used in farming and some of it was forested. Growth today includes some large oak trees, but it is mostly small trees beside the open fields. Which location fits best? Here are the choices again:

Possible Location #1

Evidence For: The physical geography around the culvert has all  the appearances where sluicing was performed. 

Evidence Against There should be water to flow through culverts and sluices but from where? Times change as does nature, but the answer is not there.

Possible Location #2

Evidence For: The stream is there providing a water source for sluicing. This particular stream is documented on earlier plats. More recent sewage systems, roads and developments changed the topography of the area. ³ 

Evidence Against: Location is not where the stones were seen 35 years prior. No actual evidence of a culvert based on March 2023 investigation. 

Possible Location #3

Evidence For: Motivation to recover the stones from a neighboring property would motivate recovery efforts taken. The stones might have been on the actual property line and a potential property issue? 

Evidence Against: Previous communications indicated the stones were on Club property. There was no question or issues raised in board minutes.

All of the versions mentioned by these respected members are possibly accurate.

Could there be a fourth possible theory?

A fourth possible theory may explain how all three may be correct. Possible Location #1 is the location of a culvert along with large shards of quartz on the ground representing a processing area. Were the stones there in 1970, and at some point, in the 1999-2005 time frame, the stones were for some reason relocated to Possible Location #2? In the late 1960’s, the shotgun range was revamped (before the existence of the clubhouse) and among the improvements, maybe somebody moved the stones down to the creek. It's just a theory. The Possible Location #2 is near two neighboring property owners who may not have had ownership but may have been involved? This would unite all the accounts.

There is one more thing to mention. Like the Old Reed Gold Mine in North Carolina, there should be a second “Running Millstone." Even though these stones are heavy, it could still be on the property somewhere hidden from view.

When at the club, and the Shotgun range is open, be sure to take a moment and visit them, touch the history of when gold was mined in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

Sources:

¹ The First Fifty Years of the Charlotte Rifle & Pistol Club

² Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site, Cabarrus, NC.

³ U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Program for the U. S. Mining Industry, 1968, (located) Monroe County Library, Monroe, NC.

*Special Thanks to Club Members Jim Deveraux, Hugh Stone, Jim Payne, Gene Holland,  and Phil Murray.