Gold Valley

by Ruth Ann Kinman

The population of Gold Valley is only about half as large as fifty years ago.  Many of the people went to Covington and Cincinnati seeking employment.  Then they made their homes there instead of returning to Gold Valley.  Gold Valley is mostly hills and hollows, with very little level land.  Two well-known spots are No-Head Hollow and Gold-Mine Hollow.  No-Head was so named because it could not be traced to its beginning; Gold-Mine Hollow got its name from the gold digging done there about half a century ago.  The men left off digging for gold when they reached a layer of solid rock, but not because of the rock.  They could hear a loud, rumbling noise, and since they were somewhat superstitious, they thought they had found the entrance to Hades.  They stopped their work without finding any gold. No one knows whether they really heard a rumbling sound or not, but it is possible that some kind of underground pressure could have caused the noise.  The church at Gold Valley is all that remains of the little center that once included three grocery stores, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, and a one room school.  

From a collection of essays written in American Literature Eleven.  The class was taught by Ms. Hazel Ogden of Grant County High School in the 1963-1964 school year, and was typed by the typing classes of Mrs. Mattie Cox.  It is copyrighted by the Grant County Schools, and is used here with their kind permission. We found a copy in UK's King Library.