Fieldtrip Report:
Marion Kentucky
Ben E. Clement Museum
September 14th-16th, 2007By Steve Barr
Photos by Mark Randle, Sandi Hill, Steve Bonney, Shirley Green, Becky Rodgers, and Linda Wooten
Our fieldtrip to Marion, Kentucky turned out to phenomenally exceed my wildest dreams. For most of us, the fieldtrip to Marion began with a several-hour drive. The first clue that we were getting close was the sign on the outskirts of town that says, "Marion Rocks. Can you dig it?"
Just minutes after passing that sign, we arrived at the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum. For those of you have never been to Marion, this little rural museum houses a world-class, one-of-a-kind fluorite collection that is simply amazing to see. They also sponsor trips to several mines in the infamous fluorospar district, and had arranged for MAGMA to have access to them.
On Friday morning the museum's parking lot filled up quickly with diggers anxious to get out to the various sites and start searching for rare specimens to add to their collections.
After a brief talk about safety and the rich mining history of the area, we headed out to the Columbia and Eureka Mines to start our search. Within minutes of arriving at the sites, club members started to hit paydirt!
The legendary John D found this awesome gem in the woods, and held onto it all day!
Ron found another beautiful gem on the banks of the creek! (Actually, I think he brought this one with him from home and "salted" the earth with it!)
As a matter of fact, every where I looked I saw jewels!
