The gold rush era began in the early 1880s, when fortune seekers combed the rugged landscape of the De Kaap Valley in the hope of striking it rich. Gold had already been discovered in Pilgrim's Rest, further north, in the 1870s, but it was Barberton that quickly became the centre of attention. The first whispers of gold in Barberton surfaced in June 1882, when James Murray and his two partners, Bob Watson and Tom Elsie, found alluvial gold near the confluence of the Noordkaap River and Jamestown Creek. Their find was enough to attract prospectors, but the real excitement was still to come.

On June 20, 1883, a prospector known only as "French Bob" (real name Auguste Roberts) stumbled across another promising deposit at Concession Creek. His discovery added fuel to the growing rush, and by the following year, prospectors were streaming into the valley in droves, setting up camp under canvas and scratch-built shelters.

The story of Barberton as we know it truly began in June 1884 when Graham Barber and his cousins Fred and Harry Barber found a rich gold-bearing reef at Umvoti Creek. Their strike was significant enough to lay the foundation for the establishment of the town. In honour of their contribution, the settlement was named Barberton.

The discovery at Umvoti Creek soon attracted the attention of more seasoned miners and entrepreneurs. In 1885, Edwin Bray discovered what came to be known as the "Golden Quarry", a reef so densely packed with gold it was described as looking "like it had been paved with the precious metal." Bray's discovery led to the establishment of the Sheba Reef Gold Mining Company, which remains one of the oldest working gold mines in the world.

As the population swelled, a new settlement began to rise on the hills above Barberton. Eureka City, founded in December 1885 by J. Sherwood, was a bustling mining town at the height of the gold rush. Located just over a kilometre from the Sheba Mine, Eureka City had all the trappings of a thriving community. From a hotel and a butcher to billiard halls and music venues, and of course numerous pubs.

Barberton's prominence during the gold rush was not just about its wealth underground. The town became home to South Africa’s very first stock exchange dedicated to gold shares, marking the start of the country’s mining economy. Its streets were alive with saloons, merchants, and adventurers all drawn to the promise of fortune.

The rush, however, was not destined to last forever. As richer deposits were discovered elsewhere in South Africa, many of Barberton’s early inhabitants moved on. Nonetheless, the town retained its charm, and the remnants of its golden past can still be seen today in its architecture and the heritage sites scattered throughout the region.

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