We’ve been studying North Carolina – our home state – this year in school, and I was shocked to learn that this state was the site of our nation’s first gold rush back in the early 1800s! That opened my eyes to the long history of mining that this state has – which thrilled My Little Man, since he’s been wanting to go gem mining for years.
We decided to visit Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and near Mount Mitchell.
Emerald Village had more to offer than most mining sites. For one thing, there were a total of 12 working mines on the property at one point in history, one of which was the source of the main ingredient for Bon Ami soap. Another was its offerings. Besides mining, you could also tour an actual mine, shop, and visit 13 stories of historical displays on site. We spent hours hanging out here!
The sheer beauty of the place was impressive. The mountains featured huge rock faces everywhere you turned, and you could walk right up to the entrance of this mine. This was the backdrop of the actual gem mining operation, which made it even more exciting.
My Little Man was so excited to be on the property of actual gem mines that he kept his eyes to the ground everywhere we went. He was constantly stopping abruptly to snatch up a rock and shout, “I found something!” Considering his study of rock books over the past few years, I’m sure he’s right about some of them.
After visiting some of the other attractions, we got down to the business of mining. You can choose to pan for gold or go gem mining, but while you’re guaranteed to find gems in every bucket, there’s no such guarantee for the gold. (There are also more rustic options available, but we stuck with the simplicity.) We chose to go the gem route, although My Little Man wouldn’t mind trying his hand at gold mining someday.
After purchasing a large bucket of dirt and gems (all of this material came from the Emerald Village property), we were directed to the sluices just outside the mine entrance in the picture above. We each grabbed a sieve and began. The men working the counter directed us to let anything white or gray go down the sluice, but to keep anything of color. That was harder than it sounded, but surprisingly fun.
We found mostly smallish gems, but several were much larger, and we’re eagerly polishing our favorites. We can’t wait to see what they’ll look like when they’re cleaned up.
Gem mining was really fun! We all want to do this again, and we left with big bags of colorful gems.
The site of the sluices just outside the mine entrance.
After mining – because honestly, none of us could wait any longer to try that – we headed to the mine for our tour. It began off the gift shop in a building full of historical displays about the history of mining at Emerald Village and the Bon Ami mine. There was even a video to teach you about the mining life.
From there we ventured out to the mine – shown here behind the kids.
It was not what I was expecting; there were no dark tunnels through the mountainside, but it was well done. The tour was self-guided, and when you purchase tickets you get a booklet with numbered descriptions. Each of the displays throughout the mine have numbers to match these, and so you can walk around and read about everything at your own pace. There even museum-type displays and a phosphorescent display in the mine itself.
We had a great time learning more about North Carolina mining at Emerald Village, and the weather was absolutely perfect for it. If you’re ever in the area, this is definitely a fun place to check out.
Have you ever been gem mining?
Want to know more about North Carolina and the history of mining? Check out these books:
