In 2006, renovations at the historic Smith House restaurant in downtown Dahlonega revealed a surprise beneath the dining room: a concealed vertical mine shaft and horizontal tunnel. Local lore had long suggested an early owner chased a vein under the property; the discovery confirmed that nineteenth‑century miners sometimes worked right into town. The shaft drops roughly thirty feet and shows pick‑marks and cribbing typical of early hand‑dug workings. Its location underscores how completely gold fever shaped Dahlonega’s growth—from hillside diggings to business blocks—and how prospecting often overlapped with domestic life. The owners stabilized the opening, and exhibits now interpret the find for visitors. It’s a tangible reminder that the search for Georgia gold didn’t stop at the city limits—and that some of Dahlonega’s most intriguing stories still lie underfoot.