Cowee Ruby Mines Bring Amazing Increase In Tourists Here <
Operators Are Looking
To Expansion For 1957
By ROL1
In only one year, the Co*
Maoon County an amazing lnc
operators are preparing for an
summer.
Wrb of the three mines op
Finns call for a third to be lmi
A fourth mine may be open*
Restaurant and motel people,
that the tourist pull of the
ruby mines is Immense, far
greater than they expected.
At first, mine operators were
surprised at the great distances
tourists traveled to get here ?
from Mexico, California, Canada
. ? but now It is commonplace.
MONDAYS BEST
July and August were their
peak months, and Monday the
best day of the week for busi
ness.
Owners are reluctant to give
paid admissions figures so It
is Impossible to determine pre
cisely how many tourists came
In. Information from -a variety
of sources, though, indicates
that between last spring and
this fall at least 8,000 to 10,000
people crowded Into Cowee Val
ley. Some of these were re
peaters, people who came twice
or oftener during the season.
NO COMPLAINTS
There were virtually no com
plaints on the part of the dig
gers, operators say. They attri
bute this to two things:
1. Visitors found prices to be
as advertised (many tourists
said they expected the prices
to be higher by the time they
arrived).
2. The diggers didn't come
expecting to find rubies the
size of a half dollar lying
around ready to be picked up,
or for that matter, dug up. If
such were here, a piece of pub
licity noted, the public wouldn't
be invited; a high fence would
surround them.
Visitors say they enjoy the
-digging because it is a new
kind of vacation. Also, they
like the idea of being able to
have a vacation and at the
same time get physical exercise.
Then too, the possibility of
getting something for nothing
? or almost nothing ? always
appeals to people.
NEW WORD
There's a new word in many
a vocabulary as a result of
FE NEILL
fee Ruby Mines have brought
rease In tourists, and the mine
even larger number of visitors
grating will undergo expansion,
proved on a lesser scale.
d.
as well as mine owners, agree
this ruby hunting business. The
word Is "pigeon blood". This
Ls the color of the most valua
ble stones and occasionally a
digger will unearth one.
The road into the Cowee ruby
mines is paved only part of
the way. It Is the mine owners'
hopes that it will be black top
ped. With this idea they ap
peared before Highway Com
missioner Harry Buchanan
when he was in Franklin re
cently. Commissioner Buchanan
said no funds were available,
so paving will have to wait.
TO FIX ROAD
However, the state has agreed
to straighten a few curves on
the unpaved part and, if right
of-way signatures can be ob
tained, this work is expected
to begin within several weeks.
From where the road leaves
the payment, it is 1.5 miles to
the Gibson mine and another
three-quarters of a mile to
the other mines.
MINES DESCRIBED
Taking the mines In geo
graphical order as a mortorist
drives into Cowee Valley, here's
a sketch of each.
The mine of Weaver and
Carroll Gibson is one of the
two featured in the Woman's
Day article of last March,
which started the ruby hunting
boom. Price of mining is $1
per person, with children under
eight allowed in free.
When there are large fami
lies, say with three or four
children, the Gibsons make a
cut-rate price to the group.
Presently, they have a pit
just off Cowee Creek with
water diverted from the creek
into a long sluice box nearby.
: As with all the mines, the
I cost of admission includes rent
1 on the necessary tools for the
operation; that is, a pick,
I shovel, bucket, and ' screening
j pan.
Their parking area is the
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Franklin
Indoor-Outdoor Theatre
Franklin, N. C.
JUST LOOKIN' ? Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Glamm and daughter, Margaret, or Scotia, N. ?., are
busily scratching through the gravel of Cowee Valley in search of a fla.sh of red that signals "a
ruby!" Those aren't rubies in the shaker box of three-year-old Margaret, just rocks. Mr. Glamm
is a chemist with Atomic Energy Commission and works at the General Electric plant at Sche
nectady.
largest of any mine and could .
handle several hundred cars if !
necessary. >
The Gibsons are planning two
new pits next summer. One
will be farther up the creek 1
and another in a corn field
across the road from the small
outbuilding that serves as a
field office.
"We've come to be known as '
the 'dollar mine' and we won't
be going up on our rates next
summer," says Carroll Gibson.
"We don't think it would be
fair to the people."
Mr. Gibson's wife acts as sec
retary for the mine. If you
wonder why a secretary is need
ed ask Mr. Gibson.
"Why, we get letters from
all over the United States. One
man wanted us to send him.
a bucketful of dirt from the
mine so he could analyze it.
Others don't believe what they
hear and write to ask us if
it's true. Many say they can't
come, and will we please send
them a sample, which we do."
STAY 10 WEEKS
Weaver Gibson tells of a Dan
ish couple, now making their
home in Florida, who arrived
last summer in a trailer, along
with their six dogs. The couple
stayed tor nearly 10 weeks.
They camped at the edge of
the mine.
Many letters come from
people after they visit. They
tell how much their diggings
were worth when appraised
by a jeweler, and sometimes
the writers send gifts. In this
line the Gibsons have received
a lawn chair, a subscription
to the Sunday editions of all
four New York City newspapers,
and a 10-gallon hat.
HAS PRIZE RUBY
The second mine up the val
ley, also featured in the article,
belongs to the Holbrook family.
It is run by J. F. (Dudge) Hol
brook and his sister, Miss Ruth
Holbrook.
Prize exhibit from the Hol
brook mine is owned by Miss
Holbrook. It's a ruby she found
one day after a bulldozer had
pushed some topsoil back.
Archie Jellen, the Highlands
gem cutter, rates it at 101
carats. Miss Holbrooks hasn't
had it appraised yet.
I DECORATED PIES
Like all the folks In Cowee
Valley, the Holbrooke knew of
the abundance of rubles there
but thought little of it until
the touris* nterest. "When I
was a lit girl, I decorated
the top 01 my mud pies with
rubles," says Miss Holbrook.
The Holbrook home stands
on the site of a house erected
years ago by a company whose
name Is famous wherever Jewels
are talked. The name Is Tiff
any. As will be related further
In the story, the Tiffany com
pany played a prominent part
In early Cowee ruby mining.
Dudge Holbrook's father
worked for the Tiffany people
and when the company aban
doned mining operations here
Mr. Holbrook bought the big
two-story house and moved his
family Into It. When that place
burned he built another house
on the same spot.
HILLSIDE PIT
Admission price to the Hol
brook mine Is $2 per person.
Children are allowed free. The
.setup at Holbrook's varies from
, the other mines The pit is
I located in an hillside. At the
l top of the hill are hoses for
wasning the soil brought up
from the pit.
Presently, the Holbrooks have
eight hoses. They figure on
accommodating two people at
each. Next summer they plan
to raise the number of hoses
to 20. Also, they are planning
to open a strip up on the creek
itself.
During July and August this
year, as many as 10 cars were
turned away in a day's time
because all hoses were busy
they say.
Sediment dumped into Cowee
by a mica mine nearby muddies
the creek so much that some
times it's Impossible to use the
water to wash the ruby soil.
So, the Holbrooks installed a
| 1,400-foot long plastic pipe to
bring clear water from up the
I Cowee to their hoses at all
times.
"The cost of the pipe, and
daily pumping make it necess
ary for us to charge $2 to
come cut on the thing," says
Dudge Holbrook. They plan to
keep their price at $2 for next
summer.
CHEWING UP CORN
J. C. Shuler Is the owner
of the third mine. His price
was $1 a person this year but
he plans to go to $2 next year.
"I'm chewing up some awful
good corn field so folks can
dig and it seems to me it's
worth two dollars for a man
to come here and hunt for
rubies."
The largest number of people
Mr. Shuler had on one day was
72.
Mr. Shuler's plans lor the
summer of 1957 include the
clearing of a larger parking
and camping area. "I answered
the door one morning just
after 1 o'clock," he relates.
"It was a bus load of Boy
Scouts come to hunt rubles and
they aimed to be at it at day
light."
Mr. Shuler is the only one
of the three that is closed on
Sunday.
Bulen Peek's would be the
fourth mine if he decides to
open it. He has a heavy coat
ing of overburden, that is, soil
which must be pushed back to
get down to the ruby area. The
expense of having this over
burden bulldozed off may keep
him from opening his mine, Mr.
Peek says.
ON ORIGINAL SITE
His Is on the site of the orig
inal Tiffany mining. A hill be
hind his house contains several
long tunnels Into It where min
ing operations were carried on
60 years ago.
The back side of the hill is
completely swept away. Water
was pumped from the creek by
Tiffany miners and a high
pressure stream played onto
likely looking ruby-bearing
areas.
The hill is known as "In situ
hill." It takes its name from
the type of mine. Literally, "in
situ" means In place. Thus, the
rubles are found there in de
posit.
The other type is "placer." In
this, the rubles have washed out
of the in situ deposit and col
lected elsewhere.
All three mines presently op
erating are placer-type. If Mr.
Peek opens one to the public
he plans to use a placer opera
tion also. Digging would take
place down the Cowee from "In
situ hill" at a spot where the
Tiffany miners dumped their
washed rock and .soil.
Below the hill, a shaft was
| sunk, by trie old-time miners to
a depth estimated at from 30
to 50 feet. Tunnels branched
out. from it in several direc
tions. according to Mr. Peek.
If he does open for business,
he says the price will be $1. "I'd
like to charge two dollars, but
being on the end of the line
and with a dollar mine at the
beginning I'd have to charge
the same to get people up here."
COMBINED PUBLICITY
Mr. Shuler and the Holbrooks
are of the opinion that the
mine owners should get togeth
er and organize apd each
charge the same price ? at least
$2. The Holbrooks would like to
} see a large camping area and
i picnic grounds built. They be
I lieve whoever develops the best
I method for mining should share
I it with the- others so that all of
the mines could come up to uni
( form standard. They would like
a combined publicity campaign, j
"After all," observes Dudge |
| Holbrook, "we're neighbors. This
j thing's for Macon County. Let's
work together."
$1 HIGH ENOUGH
The Gibsons, on the other
hand, think that their price of
a dollar is high enough. Also,
they believe that to raise their
price would be unfair to the
"many people who already know
what it is."
Mfcen you talk rubles on Co
wee there are two words often
heard. These are "the article."
"The article" is a piece which
appeared In the A & P store
magazine, "Woman's Day, last
March. It described the rubies
here and the possibilities of
having a vacation searching for
them.
Mine owners say almost all of
the tourists hear about Macon's
rubles from this article. Now,
of course, many are telling
their friends, and articles on
individuals and what they
found are appearing In home
town newspapers all over the
U. 8.
The Woman's Day article was
the outgrowth of a suggestion
by J. P. Brady, news editor of
The Press, who realized the po
tential tourist value In the ruby
mines. (It also was his Idea to
have bumper stickers made to
publicize the mines.)
Mr. Brady gave some rubies
to a member of the State Ad
vertising Division and suggested
that she interest a national
magazine In doing a story on
them. Woman's Day expressed
Interest In the piece and a
friend of one of the editors
spent his vacation here gather
ing material. Subsequently, the
story appeared in the mass cir
culation magazine with a pho
tograph taken by .Mr. Brady.
Extension service home econom
ists say convenient arrngement of
work space can save the home
maker 50 miles of walking per
year. The 20 to 30 days time
saved could be easily used to 1
handle 35 to 85 hens and bring '
in some cash income, they point i
out.
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