Vermont's 'blood stones' born under heat, pressure

Previously: In 1991, the Vermont Legislature designated the garnet as the official state gemstone. The garnet was crowned king of Vermont's gems under House Bill No. 678 submitted by State Reps. Michael Obuchowski and Sean Campbell. This week we conclude our look at the occurence of local garnets. RUTLAND — Geologists describe garnets as "silicates of varying chemistry." The stones occur in a variety of rocks—here in Vermont, they are found most notably in Rutland County in roadcuts along Route 103; they pop out in metamorphic gneiss and schist rock. Inject geothermal water during the formation of garnets, deep in the earth, and some very large crystals may result. During the late 19th and early 20th century, garnets found in Rutland County—called "blood stones" by local residents in those days—were mined and used in the manufacture of sandpaper. Several fine stones have been found along Route 103 near the hamlet of Gassetts. Garnets occur in an ancient rock porridge wherever there was "contact metamorphism" on both sides of Lake Champlain. So, where high temperatures reigned supreme deep inside Earth you'll find garnets today. Regionally, garnets were discovered near Lake George by H.H. Barton during the 1850s, but many claim that Vermont's garnets were discovered even earlier, during the 1820s. Some Adirondack stones rank among the largest garnet crystals ever found—for example, a 36-inch crystal on display in the New York State Museum in Albany. Most of the world's industrial garnets come from H.H. Barton's Gore Mountain ore body located near Lake George. Garnets aren't just nice additions to jewelry—they have practical uses, too. After milling, garnets can be used in sandpaper and glass, as polishing agents, and on non-skid surfaces as well. Garnets were used in color television CRT tubes up through the early 2000s. You can find garnets at work removing the tough hulls from peanuts. Just like Vermont's official gemstone, the garnet is New York's official state gemstone, too; it means something special to upstate New Yorkers—a 20-ton block of garnet amphibolite, a metavolcanic rock, was trucked from the Ruby Mountain Mine to New York City in 2004. This slab is now the stunning cornerstone of the new World Trade Center's 1,776-foot Freedom Tower skyscraper. Pictured at right: Tiny garnets collected along Route 103, above the Williams River, in Rutland County, Vt. Photo by Louis Varricchio

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Vermont's 'blood stones' born under heat, pressure

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