The first commercial gemstone mine in the United States that was operated by miners who were not Native Americans was at Mount Mica, Maine. There a large deposit of tourmaline was discovered by children in 1820. Two years later a mine was opened and it yielded thousands of carats of gem-quality tourmaline crystals. Since then the pegmatite deposits of western Maine have produced many varieties of tourmaline, aquamarine, morganite, smoky quartz, rose quartz, and amethyst. The three stones in the photo are very nice tourmalines from the Dunton Quarry, located in Oxford County. Photo by Thuss Photography, used with permission of the Maine State Museum.