Stafford’s most productive mine was Eagle, also known at various times as the Rappahannock Gold Mine, which operated from before 1833 to around 1897. By 1847, it was operated by the Virginia Gold Belt Company of Philadelphia who changed the name from Rappahannock to Eagle Gold Mine. By 1850, it was owned by Bettle Paul of Philadelphia. In 1860, Samuel Smith of Boston bought it. Mining was carried on here continuously from the 1830s until 1861. Eagle Mine re-opened after the Civil War and mining continued sporadically here until around 1897.