Rockhounding in Cheshire County, NH: 83 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

56 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 7 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

Stoddard Fluorite Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Fluorite) and 4 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Pyrite, Galena, Fluorite. Approx. location 42.934, -72.467. 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.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Unknown

Status not recorded.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Feldspar
Mohs 6–6.5. Blocky crystals with flat cleavage faces. Mindat
31 sites
Mica
Mohs 2–3. Peels into thin, flexible, shiny sheets. Mindat
21 sites
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
10 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
3 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
2 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
1 site
Garnet
Mohs 6.5–7.5. Usually deep red, round many-faced crystals. Mindat
1 site
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
1 site

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

Minerals recorded here

Columbite 2Tantalite 2Molybdenite 1Sillimanite 1Graphite 1Fluorite 1

Commodities

Feldspar 27Mica 10Fluorine-Fluorite 9Silica 8Molybdenum 5Beryllium 5Kyanite 5Graphite 4Diatomite 4Iron 3

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
George Porter Mine	Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, Feldspar	Columbite, Tantalite	Occurrence	43.133, -72.333
Allen Mine	Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium), Feldspar	Columbite, Tantalite	Occurrence	43.133, -72.333
Stoddard Property/Pierce Mines	Fluorine-Fluorite	Fluorite	Past Producer	42.933, -72.466
Walpole Graphite Mine	Graphite	Graphite	Past Producer	43.108, -72.416
Lincoln	Molybdenum	Molybdenite	Occurrence	42.929, -72.268
Mt. Monadnock Area Sillimanite Deposits	—	Sillimanite	Occurrence	42.867, -72.116
Will Wise Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	—	Past Producer	42.949, -72.486
Winchester	Iron	—	Past Producer	42.773, -72.383
Lincoln Mine	Molybdenum	—	Past Producer	42.963, -72.516
Shaws Corner Sulfide Showing	Sulfur-Pyrite	—	Occurrence	43.052, -72.329
Surry Mountain Mine	Lead	—	Past Producer	43.042, -72.320
Colony Feldspar Mine	Feldspar	—	Past Producer	43.160, -72.318
Springer No.1 Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	—	Past Producer	43.932, -72.470
Howard Prospect Gilsum	Feldspar	—	Prospect	43.087, -72.279
Allen Feldspar Quarry	Feldspar	—	Past Producer	43.150, -72.307
Turner Mine	Feldspar	—	Past Producer	43.124, -72.306
Adam Rock Mine	Graphite	—	Past Producer	43.112, -72.413
Walpole Plant	Phosphorus-Phosphates	—	Past Producer	43.079, -72.427
Golding Keene's Co. Mine	Feldspar, Mica	—	Past Producer	43.071, -72.261
Britton Feldspar Mine	Feldspar	—	Prospect	43.098, -72.278
Rev. Gad Newell Prospect	Graphite	—	Past Producer	42.977, -72.147
Streeter Hill Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	—	Prospect	43.925, -72.495
Springer No. 2 Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	—	Past Producer	43.931, -72.476
Island Mica Mine	Mica	—	Prospect	43.077, -72.278
Blister Mine	Feldspar	—	Past Producer	43.074, -72.272
French Mica Mine	Feldspar	—	Past Producer	43.072, -72.275
Westmoreland Foundry Sand No.1	Silica	—	Prospect	42.990, -72.451
Caldwell Pond Diatomite	Diatomite	—	Prospect	43.079, -72.306
Beauregard Mica Mine	Mica	—	Prospect	43.071, -72.280
Bald Hill Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	—	Prospect	43.940, -72.496
James Davis Prospect	Feldspar	—	Prospect	43.074, -72.247
Bingham Hill Prospect	Feldspar	—	Prospect	43.028, -72.267
Hinsdale Foundry Sand Prospect	Silica	—	Prospect	42.788, -72.497
Woodbury Cory Prospect	Feldspar	—	Prospect	43.111, -72.259
Pomlow Mine	Feldspar	—	Past Producer	43.088, -72.279
Surry Dam Prospect	Mica	—	Prospect	43.026, -72.311
Walpole Foundry Sand Prospect	Silica	—	Prospect	43.066, -72.442
Osborne Mine	Beryllium	—	Past Producer	43.082, -72.258
Kirk No. 1 Mica Mine	Feldspar	—	Prospect	43.022, -72.269
Blake Mine	Mica	—	Past Producer	43.050, -72.271

Nearby counties

Sullivan County · Hillsborough County · Merrimack County · Grafton County · Rockingham County

New Hampshire mineral guides

Back to all New Hampshire counties.

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 Cheshire County, New Hampshire

Sketch map

Stoddard Fluorite Mine

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Feldspar

Mica

Fluorite

Pyrite

Copper

Quartz

Garnet

Galena