WNC was once home to marble mines

(Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Smoky Mountain News in June 2004)

The destiny of a given region is largely determined by its geology, topography, flora, and climate. That’s certainly been the instance here in the southern mountains, where logging and mining have been supplanted as the major industries by recreation and ecotourism. A prime example of this transition exists in the southwestern tip of North Carolina.

Thrill of the dig: Gem mining alive and well in Macon County

Susan Boyette and her mother Martha Drew drove down from Tennessee early Friday morning to Rose Creek Mine outside of Franklin in search of rare treasures. 

They spent hours digging through 12 buckets of native dirt and sifting through unknown rocks not knowing what they might unearth. 

“For me it’s the thrill of the hunt,” Boyette said about why she enjoys gem mining. “Knowing that God made this little jewel and I’m the first person on earth to touch it — to me, that is simply amazing.”

Franklin museum a real ‘gem’

At first glance, the Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum may seem like a hokey tourist attraction, but visitors willing to give it a closer look will discover the largest inventory of gems in the Southeast.

The copper run in the Great Smokies

The worldwide annual production of “high conductivity copper” had by 1899 risen to 470,000 tons, of which 300,000 tons were used in the burgeoning electrical industry to produce various types and gages of copper wire.

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