Harvard, Tamminen, and Waisanen Quarries
Western Maine is a mineral rich area with rich deposits of
amethyst and tourmaline as well as a variety of useful minerals such as mica,
feldspar, and quartz. As a result, the
area has a number of interesting sites you can visit if you are interested in
geology, history, or just a good hike.
One such group or quarries, owned by the Perham family, are
in the area in and around Greenwood and West Paris. At one time, the family owned a jewelry store
at the corner of routes 26 and 219 in West Paris where you could pick up quarry
maps and learn about the area's geology in addition to making a few purchases,
but sadly the store has since closed.
You can download a pdf copy of the Perhams of West Paris Quarry Map.
We've visited Harvard Quarry, Tamminen Quarry, and Waisanen
Quarry several times while camping at Littlefield Beaches Campground. They are relatively easy to find, if a bit
off the beaten track. We've tried a few
times to locate the Nubble Quarry as well, but have had no success finding the
trail head. The Whispering Pines Quarry, while closer to the main road than the
others, was further from our base camp, and we've never tried to visit it.
Visiting these quarries is a load of fun for young
boys. We've done it as a family outing
and later brought Cub Scouts on a day trip here. Bring a bucket, hammer, and safety classes,
and perhaps a small shovel, and let them pick through the waste piles. The boys bang away at the rocks and find
"treasures" of their own.
Below is a brief description of the three quarries we've
visited as well as a few photos. For
more information on the quarries and directions on how to find them, download
the Perham family quarry map.
Harvard Quarry
This quarry is my favorite of the three that we've visited
for the scenic views available at the site and the short hike to get there - a
twenty minute climb.
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| The trail to Harvard Quarry |
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| View from Harvard Quarry |
First developed in 1870, and mined by Harvard University in
1917, Harvard Quarry is known for its deposits of purple apatite,
green tourmaline
and black tourmaline, garnet,
beryl, quartz and cookeite. After
visiting the quarry a couple of times with our boys we visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History
in Cambridge, Massachusetts and seen samples
collected at the site. It was
nice for the kids to see the connection.
Waisanen Quarry
This quarry is just off the road, just two or three minutes
walk on a gradual downhill. It's usually
filled with water, but the dump pile is fun for the kids to explore.
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| Exploring the mine dump at Waisanen Quarry |
This quarry was mined for mica and feldspar starting in 1931. Smoky quartz, purple apatite, bertrandite, gem
quality tourmaline, and more have been found at the site by Frank Perham
beginning in 1961. It lacks the great views available at the Harvard Quarry,
but is great for its accessibility and the boys still enjoyed banging away at
the rocks with their hammers looking for samples.
Tamminen Quarry
Just a tenth of a mile beyond the Waisanen Quarry, the
Tamminen Quarry, this quarry is also very accessible.
Tamminen Quarry was mined commercially for Feldspar beginning in 1930, and is named for the late Nestor Tamminen. It features some really interesting quartz crystals as well as several other minerals.
