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A Jewel of a Destination
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: September 2024
At Jackson Hole Gem Mine, located on the Cullasaja Gorge, it’s concierge mining where there’s always the promise of treasure without the mud and heat.
Left to Right: Tyler, Tiffany, Rocky, Chuck, Holly, and Shannon with furry friends Pumpkin, Stella, Rosie, Dixie, and Lulu.
As long as I’ve known and visited Jackson Hole Gem Mine and worked for The Laurel, I never guessed there was a connection.
With this article, I learned one of my bosses, Janet Cummings, is close kin to the Jackson Hole clan. The mine was already a wonderful destination. But now it’s even more like home.
The family business has been in operation since 1997. It grew out of a long history of Macon County’s gem mining. This region was the gem capital, not just of North Carolina, or even the U.S. It was the gem capital of the entire planet.
Kinda makes you want to go out and dig a hole, don’t (sic) it? You never know what might be in your own back yard.
Where the Little Tennessee and the Cullasaja Rivers converge in Franklin is a fantastic resource for stones and occasional gold flakes that have washed down the mountains.
Washed is the key word, for the raw/rough stones are clean as a whistle. Bypass the staining red mud.
Those rivers are where Jackson Hole gets much of its wide variety of Mother Nature’s treasures. They scoop them up into buckets of various amounts. Pick your size: small (smaller stones), $10; ultimate, $30 or 2/$50 (larger stones); $100 for the Bucket Club (a good variety of impressive sizes) with a $45 free cut of a gemstone from your bucket. No matter what size bucket you choose, you are guaranteed stones – stones that the lapidarists can turn into a ring, earrings, or pendants (and more). The size and shape of your stone is what determines your treasure’s possibility.
Bonus: You can head for any outing, ‘cause your clothes are still clean, even after washing your stones in a fantastic enclosed flume. Jackson Hole Gem Mine is the only mine-experience that will protect you from weather and a muddy red tinge, nose-to-toes.
They have more than just beautiful stones. You can also purchase handcrafted jewelry, homemade jams and jellies, and hand-brewed ciders. All of these delights (and more) are produced by local artisans.
Very often, the favorite attraction of the day is five golden doodles: Rosie, Stella. Lulu, Pumpkin, and Dixie. They are jewels all their own.
Jackson Hole Gem Mine is located at Highway 28 and U.S. 64, 1/3 mile above Cullasaja Falls. Times: 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Open seven days a week rain or shine. Closed after Christmas until March. Located nine miles from downtown Highlands. For information, call (828) 524-5850 or visit jacksonholegemmine.com.
by Donna Rhodes
