Our Family Went Rock Hounding for Garnets in Roxbury Connecticut

The seed was planted to go rock hounding about five years ago, when I spotted professional rock hammers being sold in a homeschool supply company. I bought one for each of my children. We have used them sporadically and casually. We had never researched and visited a ‘real’ rock hounding site, until this fall.

In July my older son began asking questions about what his birthstone was, since his birthday was approaching. I put into his hands, some books about rocks, minerals and gemstones and let him find his own answers. From July to now he has been spending hours reading different books about the topic. Coincidentally one issue of Boys’ Life, a magazine for Cub and Boy Scouts featured a trip a Boy Scout Troop took to try to find diamonds in Arkansas. My son immediately wanted to embark on that same trip, a 1500 mile drive for us, and for the record, we could not fulfill his desire instantly.

I decided the time was right to figure out where we could go to look for specific rocks or minerals, closer to home. So I did what any smart homeschooling mom knows to do, that is, bring up the topic at homeschool park day. Instantly I was flooded with information and suggestions. One homeschooling mother agreed to lend me her copy of “Fee Minding and Mineral Adventures in the Eastern U.S.” by Monaco and Monaco. She mentioned that one site she had visited that is nearby, is in Roxbury, Connecticut, that has the common garnet (almandine, an iron aluminum silicate). She also referred me also to information on the website of John Betts. I hatched a plan to spend an autumn day at the Roxbury location, which has common garnets. My idea was to find a day that was not hot , not buggy and dry, and autumn seemed like the perfect season for such conditions.

The original plan was for me and my two sons go to with another homeschool mom and other homeschooled kids, on a weekday. However one Sunday afternoon we had a free schedule and a gorgeous fall day so on the spur of the moment, we set out with a picnic lunch and the necessary tools and went rock hounding as a family. I phoned a friend who lives nearby and she met us there with her daughter.

(See photo gallery later in this post.)

The site proved a bit harder to find than we expected because the area is so rural that it was not “digitized” on our car’s navigation system. The site is called “Green’s Garnet Farm” and is accessed by going through a private residence’s property. There is a long driveway with parking, you pay the family a $5 fee to park in their driveway. (If they are not home you slip the money under their door or under their doormat. That is the only fee you pay to use the site. In case you go, the house is a ranch house, there is a detached garage and an above ground pool. It doesn’t look at all like a farm. There is a well-worn path to the left of the garage that you follow into the woods that goes around a bend toward the right and you can’t miss it.

The common garnet is in a large area in Roxbury, not just in this one tiny spot, so basically most of the exposed rock in the woods all in that area has garnets in it, it is not just one tiny spot at this site that you have to hunt for. When you approach the site you have a variety of locations to choose to work with.

At this site, there are common garnets embedded in mica schist that you can hack out with the rock hammer (while wearing eye protection goggles please). Children may mistakenly chip at the actual garnet, so instruct them to chip away at the surrounding rock to break off the entire chunk with the garnet in it. My sons accidentally chipped at the garnets themselves which was unfortunately. Some of this type of work can involve climbing and others can be done much more easily by just standing up or sitting down and can even by a young child.

Additionally some common garnets can be found loose in the soil. Our family picked the highest spot on the site that included a bare dirt place that was easy to dig with a garden trowel. We sifted through the dirt with a child’s sandbox sand sifting toy. It worked only moderately well since the soil was pretty wet the day we were there from rains earlier that week. However we found many just by digging and looking and picking them out with our hands. The common garnets that are loose in the soil are all about the same size, about a third or a half of an inch around and have a geometric shape with many flat faceted sides. They are easy to spot compared to other kinds of rock chips that are irregularly shaped once you find a few of them and have an idea what you are looking for.

The higher section with soil has been eroding and falling down a steep hill that leads to a small pool of water and a stream. I am sure you could find more common garnets down in the area where the soil and rocks are eroding into.

The fact that this site has common garnets loose in the soil makes it different from some other sites. This site is more young-child friendly as even the smallest child can sit down and dig in the dirt with ease (as long as they can be trusted to not walk off or fall down the steep hill—going with a toddler or a very active and impulsive preschooler could prove dangerous without strict and constant adult supervision).

At this site you are allowed to carry out all the common garnets you want for no additional fee. No one is watching over you, it is just you, the other rock hounders in the woods, listening to the sounds of the farm animals next door, especially braying donkeys.

We had a really fun day rock hounding in Roxbury and plan to return some other day. I am sure you can imagine how much fun two boys have digging in the dirt for common garnets and banging large rocks with rock hammers. Actually, a girl was with us and she had a blast also. Life doesn’t get more adventurous than that, in their eyes.

More on the common garnet can be read online or in a field guide. Common garnets are a deep, muddy red or brownish color. They are not the same as the expensive precious gemstone garnets.

Photo Gallery of Our Trip, late October 2008

Arriving at the site, main outcropping is seen to the right.

Many garnets can be seen (rusty brown color) in the schist.

Older son, age 11, gets right to work with the rock hammer.

Younger son, aged 8, asks with glee, "Is this one?"

Yes! One to take home!

Chipping away happily...

Thrilled with the largest one he found...

A closer view of the largest one he found...

Our spot at the top.

Looking down from the high spot at the activity below.

Looking down from the high spot to younger son working hard below.



Here I am sifting away...

A look inside this shallow hole reveals two garnets free in the soil, can you spot them? (It is easier to see in real life.) I found 55 loose in the soil....this work is so easy! And fun!

Older son happy with his finds...

The road out of Roxbury...

Younger son washing the garnets and schist chunks that night at home.



Some of the almandine that I found loose in the soil (still pretty caked with dirt).





Links

This is the book my friend lent me. You do not NEED this book to do this one field trip. The book covers all of the Eastern United States. If you feel you want a book with multiple trips in it, then this is a very good book. It is an excellent resource.



John Betts field trip info for Green’s Farm Garnet Mine Roxbury CT (no it is not the photo at the bottom of every page of his!)

Nice images of almandine on John Bett’s website, from this mine

Almandine 1

Almandine 2

Data about Almandine on Webmineral.com (nice 3D rotating model of the stone here)

You must scroll to find the images and information for Almandine, the common garnet, on these pages--

Realgems.org

Google images search for Almandine

An Internet chat forum thread from people who have been to the site

Live.maps.com has a bird’s eye view satellie photo. Scroll to the house with long driveway, detached garage and above ground circular pool. Look behind that for the bare rock outcropping, that is where the mine is. If this link doesn’t work, search by Garnet Road, Roxbury, CT and look around for it in bird’s eye view. You can zoom in for a closer look.




More Tips for Those Who Go

As you drive down Perkins Road you will see Garnet Road on the right. Go past Garnet Road, at that point there are some mailboxes on the left and the paved Perkins Road turns to a dirt road and you go up a little hump. It looks like you are driving on ‘not a real road’ at that point. Just keep going just a little way and you will see a closed farm gate ahead of you that looks like it leads to a pasture. Look to the right and you will see the only driveway, a long driveway. That is location, you can see the ranch house, with the detached garage and above ground pool (as of fall 2008). Drive as close to the garage as you can get and park on the side so as to not block the driveway itself.

Knock on the door and pay the family exact change. If they are not home leave $5 under the door or under the mat, in an envelope if possible.

If you drive in by way of Garnet Road when you get to the end, take a right onto Perkins Road and follow the above directions.

What to Bring

I suggest you bring containers for each person to put their garnets in such as small children’s sand pails. You don’t need me to tell you that children won’t want to mix their found garnets with their sibling’s.

Bring garden trowels, sifting tools and hand held garden rakes, those come in handy. I threw mine into a cat food’s plastic bucket with a handle that helped make it easier to carry.

Eye protection should be worn when using rock hammers or when close to anyone who is using one.

If you want to get more serious, pry bars and large shovels and rakes can be brought. The big leaf rake came in handy when we were moving away newly fallen leaves to expose the dirt underneath.

Wear old clothes. Bring something to sit on it you want such as an old blanket or old towel. I wound up sitting in the damp dirt which soaked through my old jeans and was a bit of a challenge for the ride home. Consider bring something to put on your car seats or clothes to change into. There is nowhere to change your clothes so that could be tricky for adults though.

Your hands will get muddy if you don’t wear gloves. Gloves were not working for me but you decide what is best. I used baby wipes to wash up our hands with since there is no running water.

Sunscreen and Bug Repellent, seasonally as necessary

If you go, I hope you have fun! We sure did!

Technorati Tags: Green’s Farm Garnet Mine, Garnet Mine Roxbury, almandine, rock hounding in Connecticut, common garnet.