Dahlonega Gold Museum (Old Lumpkin County Courthouse)
Built in 1836 to settle claim disputes from America's first major gold rush, this brick courthouse — fired from local clay laced with trace gold — is the oldest standing courthouse in Georgia, serving Lumpkin County until 1965 before becoming the Dahlonega Gold Museum. Staff and visitors have long reported a tall hooded figure, nicknamed Tommy, glimpsed in the upper windows and along the balcony after hours; he is blamed for knocking that echoes inside the walls and for the small model stamp press, which lets out a sudden, startling pound on its own.
Candlelit tours describe a recurring female apparition, cold spots, and disembodied voices in the former courtroom — the kind of place where the gold-rush quiet feels crowded with everyone who once filled its docket.
📍 1 Public Square, Dahlonega, GA 30533, Dahlonega, GA · Get directions