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LAPIDARY ARTS ARTICLE

A visit to the Mineral and Lapidary Museum
of Henderson County, North Carolina
by MIKE BALDWIN

01.03.01: What do the Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County, North Carolina and the 22nd Annual Mid-America Mineral, Fossil and Jewelry Show have in common? The answer is . . . Xixia Basin, Henan Province, China. The grand prize at the Mid-America Mineral, Fossil and Jewelry Show in April 2001 is a dinosaur egg from the Xixia Basin. The central display at the Mineral and Lapidary Museum is a nest of nine dinosaur eggs from the Xixia Basin.

While visiting relatives in North Carolina over the Christmas holidays, my family and I were surprised and excited to find the dinosaur eggs and a whole lot more at the Mineral and Lapidary Museum in downtown Hendersonville. This is a wonderful museum located downstairs in the Henderson County Geneological & Historical Society Building, 400 North Main Street (at the corner of Fourth and Main). If you are planning a visit to Western North Carolina, you should include this museum on your list of attractions. Admission is free and the exhibits are first class.

The museum is the fulfillment of a dream which began in 1982. Larry Hauser wanted to make a place where children could go to see and learn about the Earth Sciences. For 15 years he searched for a place to open a museum and on November 6, 1997, his dream became a reality. With the help of many members of the Henderson County Gem and Mineral Society, the museum was constructed and is now manned daily by volunteers from the Gem and Mineral Society.

In addition to the dinosaur eggs, we found a variety of interesting specimens during our visit. Custom-built cases display: (1) mineral specimens on loan from The Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC; (2) specimens on loan from the Weinman Museum of Cartersville, Georgia; (3) specimens from throughout the state of North Carolina, found by the members of the Henderson County Gem and Mineral Society; (4) arrowheads found in Henderson and Buncombe Counties and dated by a local collector; and (5) a very nice display of fluorescent minerals, including minerals from Franklin, New Jersey, local minerals, and minerals from all over the world.

Also on display in the museum are replicas of the Cullinan Diamond, cut from cubic zirconium by the master gem cutter, Robert B. Bissonnette. Several species of Wyoming fossil fish, from the Green River Formation (38 to 57 million years old) occupy another display, and a 260-pound Amethyst Geode from Brazil shines brilliantly near my favorite exhibit in the museum--geodes from the Carillo Mine of Mexico. All the geodes in this display were cracked at the museum.

This was our first visit to the museum, but I am certain it will not be the last. The museum is open Monday-Friday 1:00-5:00p.m. and Saturdays 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m. If you would like additonal information, you may: (1) write to Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County, Inc., 400 North Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792; (2) call 828-698-1977; (3) email at info@minmuseum.org or; (4) visit the museum website at www.minmuseum.org.