Note: The use of the name "Eden Mills Quarries" should be discouraged as this has never been an official name for the quarries.

Asbestos was first discovered on Belvidere Mountain before 1823 (in Lowell, formerly Kellyvale). In 1899, a prospect was developed at the east base of the mountain which was later mined by the Lowell Lumber & Asbestos Company. Another company, New England Asbestos Mining and Milling, began mining the southwest side in 1902.

According to the Vermont Geological Survey: "The Ruberoid Company bought the Belvidere Mountain mine in 1936. By this time, the Eden mine was the only operating chrysotile asbestos mine in the country, encompassing 1700 acres of asbestos deposits on Belvidere Mountain. When Ruberoid took over, the first modern, large scale development began (Crane, 1954). In 1967, the company merged with General Aniline and Film Corporation and became known as GAF Corporation. By 1973, health issues regarding the mining and use of asbestos came into public focus. Only two years later, GAF announced that the Eden mine would cease its operations. An economic feasibility study had determined that the estimated $1 million cost to retrofit the plant for the required environmental dust control equipment made further operation of the mine unprofitable (Wallace, 1990). That same year, mine workers raised $2 million and took control of the plant from GAF (Clairborne, 1976). The new company was called the Vermont Asbestos Group (VAG). The serpentine is blasted loose from the quarry face and then trucked to the mill where the fibers are separated from the rock. Vermont ranked second in the manufacturing of asbestos to California, the only other state that produces asbestos. The mine closed in 1993. Asbestos mining no longer occurs in Vermont."

The excavations for this asbestos deposit are virtually continuous and overlapping. Many collectors maintain a distinction without a difference as to the names of particular pits. Although there are historical references to particular sub-locations such as the C-area, etc., specimens from these locations have been distributed without specific labels to identify which pit or exact spot they have come from. The largest two levels are at the north end of the excavations the Lowell quarry and, consequently, which have produced most of the specimens, and are largely in Lowell, but exceptional specimens have also been found in Eden on the southern end of the quarry area (T-area). (Have fun figuring out how to label specimens from this area!)

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References