Rockhounding in Hampden County, MA: 55 USGS Mineral Sites (2026)

Check access before you go. Most sites listed here are old mines, quarries or prospects, and many are on private land or active mining claims. Get the landowner's permission, check the rules of the agency that manages any public land, and never enter mine workings. Locations are approximate.

Sketch map

Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown

25 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 2 site(s) with USGS coordinates outside the outline are not pinned. County outline: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary file (2023). Locations approximate.

Woof’s favorite find

Blandford Mica Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 of the minerals on our cards and 2 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 2 other site(s), so we broke the tie by mine status (past producers first), then USGS record quality, then name. USGS lists it as past producer for Mica. Minerals mentioned: Mica, Feldspar. Approx. location 42.189, -72.923. USGS record.

Ask first: a USGS record doesn’t mean you can visit. Find out who owns the land and get permission before collecting.

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Plant

A processing plant site.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Mica
Mohs 2–3. Peels into thin, flexible, shiny sheets. Mindat
6 sites
Feldspar
Mohs 6–6.5. Blocky crystals with flat cleavage faces. Mindat
3 sites
Magnetite
Mohs 5.5–6.5. Black and strongly magnetic. Mindat
2 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
1 site

Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.

Minerals recorded here

Emery 8Mica 2Feldspar 2Magnetite 2Talc 1

Commodities

Emery 13Silica 10Talc-Soapstone 9Flagstone 9Mica 6Iron 4Feldspar 2Aluminum 2Marble 1Dimension 1

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Chrome-Magnetite Mine	Emery	Emery	Occurrence	42.311, -72.993
Macia Emery Mine	Emery	Emery	Occurrence	42.134, -72.630
Melvin Emery Mine	Emery	Emery	Occurrence	42.268, -72.985
Wright Emery Mine	Emery	Emery	Producer	42.264, -72.984
Old Emery Mine	Emery	Emery	Producer	42.278, -72.988
Snow Emery Mine	Emery	Emery	Occurrence	42.302, -72.991
Northern Chester Emery Mine	Emery	Emery	Occurrence	42.383, -72.987
Sackett Emery Mine	Iron, Emery	Emery, Magnetite	Occurrence	42.289, -72.990
Pegmatite Quarry	Mica, Feldspar	Feldspar	Producer	42.224, -72.896
Blandford Mica Mine	Mica	Feldspar, Mica	Past Producer	42.189, -72.923
Sackett Emery Mine	Iron	Magnetite	Past Producer	42.289, -72.990
Blandford Mica Mine	Mica	Mica	Producer	42.187, -72.918
Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	Talc	Producer	42.052, -72.918
Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Producer	42.231, -72.979
Silica Quarry	Silica	—	Producer	42.255, -72.974
Silica Quarry	Silica	—	Producer	42.271, -72.979
Silica Quarry	Silica	—	Producer	42.258, -72.974
Silica Quarry	Silica	—	Occurrence	42.234, -72.968
Osburn Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Producer	42.157, -72.926
Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Producer	42.369, -72.988
Silica Quarry	Silica	—	Producer	42.258, -72.911
Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Producer	42.182, -72.975
Sandstone Quarry	Flagstone	—	Past Producer	42.091, -72.504
Hampden Marble Quarry Series	Marble, Dimension	—	Past Producer	42.147, -72.831
Sandstone Quarry	Flagstone	—	Past Producer	42.051, -72.502
Chrome-Magnetite Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	42.311, -72.993
Pegmatite Quarry	Mica	—	Past Producer	42.224, -72.896
Osburn Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Past Producer	42.157, -72.931
Sandstone Quarry	Flagstone	—	Past Producer	42.059, -72.503
Cozzens Prospect	Graphite	—	Occurrence	42.046, -72.144
Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Past Producer	42.231, -72.979
Sandstone Quarry	Flagstone	—	Past Producer	42.058, -72.508
Soapstone Quarry	Talc-Soapstone	—	Past Producer	42.052, -72.918
Old Emery Mine	Emery	—	Occurrence	42.278, -72.988
Chicopee Plant	Aluminum	—	Past Producer	42.149, -72.540
Blandford Mica Mine	Mica	—	Occurrence	42.189, -72.923
Silica Quarry	Silica	—	Past Producer	42.258, -72.974
Melvin Emery Mine	Emery	—	Occurrence	42.268, -72.985
Sackett Emery Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	42.289, -72.990
Sandstone Quarry	Flagstone	—	Past Producer	42.161, -72.508

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 16 fossil collection records in Hampden County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Hampshire County · Berkshire County · Franklin County · Worcester County · Norfolk County

Massachusetts mineral guides

Back to all Massachusetts counties.

Is It Legal to Collect Rocks on Public Land? BLM, Forest Service and National Park Rules

How we built this page: we counted named sites in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) for this area, left out sand, gravel, crushed stone, clay pits and unnamed sites, grouped them by Census county, and linked every site to its USGS record. We did not visit these sites, and MRDS does not tell you who owns the land or whether collecting is allowed.

Source: USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS). USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date. Each site links to its USGS record.

Updated October 2026

Rockhounding in Hampden County, Massachusetts

Sketch map

Blandford Mica Mine

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Mica

Feldspar

Magnetite

Copper