North Carolina's Minerals

Visit a Museum & Rock Shops in Spruce Pine.

- Helen Serras-Herman

The Museum of North Carolina Minerals is a rather small museum, but it has very informative and engaging interactive exhibits that provide a great experience for children and adults. It is conveniently located at the junction of state Highway 226 and the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 331), six miles east of the town of Spruce Pine.

North Calina's Minerals

Spruce Pine is a small town nestled in the picturesque mountains of North Carolina. It is located in Mitchell County, between Mount Mitchell and Grandfather Mountain, the two highest peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. The town was founded in 1907 and chartered in 1913, and it is built next to the North Toe River and the Ohio Railroad Depot. In 2003, the town was designated a Historic Town and placed on the National Historic Register (http://townofsprucepine.com/).

Spruce Pine’s moniker, “ The Mineral City”, adorns the town’s welcome sign, reflecting the importance of the minerals mined there. e Spruce Pine Mining District is famous for its feldspar, quartz, mica and kaolin.The Feldspar Corp. feldspar mine consists of two plants and two mines in Mitchell County, and the Spruce Pine Mica Co., established in 1924, is still the leading producer of precision mica for optical, electronic, medical, aerospace and defense applications.

The Museum of North Carolina Minerals interprets the state’s mineral wealth with many exhibits that highlight its rich mining heritage and plentiful mineral resources.