The mine was located in a wooded area on the western bank of the Northwest Branch, which is now adjacent to the Springbrook Forest subdivision.
Mica is a silver-colored, heat resistant rock that can be split into thin transparent sheets. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mica was used to make windows in cast-iron heating stoves. Mica was also used for lamp shades, electrical equipment, and cosmetics.
When workable quantities of mica were found here, the Gilmore Mica Mines began operations at this site in 1882. The mine, with a 50-foot vertical shaft, ceased operation in the 1920s, and had largely disappeared by the time the subdivision was built. Look closely at the ground, however, and you might still be able to see traces of shiny mica rock.
"Drink in the beauty ... and wonder at the meaning of what you see." — Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder (posthumously 1965)
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