Gold Hill was settled in the 1830s, and—despite being in the southern reaches of the territory mined for gold in the 1840s Alabama Gold Rush—was not named for the mineral, but rather for an early settler named Goldsmith. In the 1870s, Gold Hill received a second name, Gold Ridge, after confusion between the railroad stops at Gold Hill and nearby Camp Hill led the postal administration to rename the Gold Hill post office. Despite being "officially" considered Gold Ridge by the United States Postal Service and the railroad, residents have always considered the community to be only Gold Hill.