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274:, Massachusetts. He was never a resident of New Hampshire (he was born, lived and died in Boston), and hired local workers in Grafton to operate the mine. Local lore states that the mine was started in 1803, but there is no documented evidence that supports the claim. Ruggles' first purchase of property on Isinglass Hill in Grafton was on 5 July 1805. He made subsequent purchases of adjoining properties in 1806 and 1810. His first advertisement for mica ("sheet
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the family business on his own. After George's death in 1863, Joseph D. Gould (Sam
Ruggles' nephew) was appointed trustee of the estate and managed the mica business until he was removed as trustee by Sam Ruggles' heirs in 1879. Sam Ruggles' grandsons George H., Charles L. and Samuel H. Randall (by Sam's daughter Sarah Ann and Henry Randall) ran the business until 1896 when it was abandoned amid bankruptcy and litigation.
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The mine was open to the public from mid-May to mid-October from 1963 through 2015. The mine was closed in 2016 and put up for sale by its owners. In 2018 an online petition was started by a local resident to turn the mine into a New
Hampshire state park. The New Hampshire State Park Advisory Council
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In 1960, the mine was put up for sale. It was purchased that winter by the
Wahlstrom family, who bought it for its well-deserved reputation for top-quality mica. Soon thereafter, however, cheaper sources of mica from foreign suppliers became available and domestic demand correspondingly dropped. The
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Sam
Ruggles sold his mine properties to his son George Haskell Ruggles (1802 – 6 May 1863) in 1834. Sam's son Charles (1809 – 13 April 1869) worked as clerk and bookkeeper for his father and brother. Sam and George managed the business together until Sam's death in 1843, after which George continued
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To reach the mine, the drive up
Isinglass Mountain is steep and over meandering back roads. At the top of the mountain, visitors were greeted by a panoramic view stretching for miles. After paying admission and gaining entrance, visitors would walk down a steep descent into the mine. Visitors were
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The operation grew over the years—by 1869, more than 26,000 pounds (12,000 kg) a year of mica was being extracted from the mine. The value of the mica mined at
Ruggles was estimated to be about $ 12 million by the 1960s, by which time there were new applications for the mineral in
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at the village green. The spacious pit includes tunnels and underground chambers, some of which are filled with water. Visitors were allowed to keep any of the various minerals that were found on the mine floor or that could be hammered loose from the walls of the pit.
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Sam
Ruggles (3 August 1770 – 27 May 1843) started the first commercial mica mine in the United States at the site that bears his name. Mica at the time was used to make, among other things, lamp chimneys and stove windows. Ruggles began as a grocer and was merchant of
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In
September 2019, the Searles family, who had bought the mine more than a half century earlier, sold it to Exciglow LLC, which was described as being "affiliated with a production company."
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is an open-pit mine that was turned into a tourist attraction. It was closed but was recently sold and has reopened. The mine is located 40 miles (64 km) northwest of
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period and have been estimated by geologists to be roughly 350 million to 400 million years old. Over 150 minerals have been discovered at the mine,
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Wahlstrom family decided to turn the mine into a tourist attraction, and in 1963 Ruggles Mine opened to the public.
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as a merchant of sheet isinglass. He had a storefront and warehouse in Boston where he sold mica.
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As of June 21, 2024, the mine was reopened to the public under the new ownership.
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498:"Fruitautomaten Online Spelen Voor Echt Geld – De Fruitautomaat Top 10"
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On July 19, 2023, the mine was sold to Joe Bodge, from New
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on 9 November 1825. By 1831 his occupation was listed in the
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U.S. Mica
Industry Pioneers: The Ruggles and Bowers Families
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Buildings and structures in Grafton County, New Hampshire
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412:"Tuesday June 26: Digging for treasure at Ruggles Mine"
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The mineral deposits found in the area, known as the
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Tourist attractions in Grafton County, New Hampshire
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369:"Valley News - Grafton's Ruggles Mine changes hands"
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562:"Two NH residents buy Ruggles Mine in Grafton"
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438:"Outdoors: Dig Through Time at Ruggles Mine"
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605:Ruggles Mine photos at pbase.com
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599:Former website for Ruggles Mine
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511:Kristen Carosa (May 18, 2016).
463:"Mineral Information and Links"
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384:"Ruggles Mine (In Transition)"
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16:Mine in New Hampshire, US
629:Geology of New Hampshire
241:. Specimens of the rare
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649:Mines in New Hampshire
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190:Concord, New Hampshire
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308:electrical insulators
124:43.58944°N 71.99222°W
483:Davis, F. E. (2013)
414:. WMUR. 27 June 2012
330:Visitors to the mine
278:") appeared in the
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211:Littleton Formation
129:43.58944; -71.99222
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614:Kearsarge Magazine
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186:Ruggles Mine
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20:Ruggles Mine
127: /
103:Coordinates
623:Categories
572:2024-08-09
352:References
268:West India
251:torbernite
247:uranophane
140:Production
115:71°59′32″W
112:43°35′22″N
296:cosmetics
276:isinglass
270:goods in
312:toasters
255:autunite
231:amethyst
223:feldspar
215:Devonian
153:feldspar
145:Products
73:Location
37:Location
546:17 July
540:WMUR-TV
519:July 5,
469:July 5,
447:July 5,
418:July 5,
393:July 5,
304:asphalt
261:History
243:uranium
205:Geology
198:Route 4
194:Grafton
163:History
93:Country
77:Grafton
515:. WMUR
272:Boston
253:, and
239:garnet
237:, and
235:quartz
176:Closed
168:Opened
227:beryl
179:1960s
157:beryl
83:State
548:2018
521:2016
471:2016
449:2016
420:2016
395:2016
219:mica
171:1803
149:Mica
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
