In 1820 two boys wandering the countryside at Paris, Maine, found the first major tourmaline discovery in the state. The story was written down seventy-five years later by Augustus Hamlin, in a book called The History of Mount Mica, and the quarry opened on the strength of it has produced gem tourmaline and other minerals on and off ever since.
The site depends on pockets. Tourmaline turns up all through Maine's pegmatites, those very coarse granites where slow cooling let crystals grow far larger than ordinary granite allows, but most of it is locked in the surrounding rock. In some places the pegmatite developed open cavities instead, and elbaite growing into empty space came out with a perfection and clarity it could never reach while encased. Those pockets are the source of Maine's finest gem tourmaline, and the difference between a good pegmatite and a great one is whether it hollowed out.
The material justifies the fuss. Maine tourmaline runs from black and white through vivid red, green and blue, and the survey rates the best of it against California, Brazil, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Crystals go from microscopic to over a foot long, with a rounded triangular cross-section and fine grooves running the length. There is a watermelon variety with a green skin over a pink core. The Hamlin Necklace, set with tourmalines of several colours from this quarry, is in the Harvard mineralogical museum.
If you want to look for your own, the survey is specific about where and how. Dozens of old feldspar and mica mines are scattered through Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties and especially the southern half of Oxford County, and collectors work the waste rock piles for quartz, garnet, beryl and tourmaline. Heed the No Trespassing signs, check who owns the ground, and ask permission where it is required.
Collecting is usually allowed here for a small fee, the same as at the Dunton mine and Black Mountain at Rumford, but it is private ground and the mineral rights may be held separately from the land: reach an agreement with the owner before you turn up.
Tourmaline
Other places on the map within a couple of hours.
