Are We There Yet?

Mount Ida has bragging rights as quartz capital

On display at Wegner’s Quartz Crystal Mines & Museum outside Mount Ida is a large orange-tinged citrine geode from Brazil.
On display at Wegner’s Quartz Crystal Mines & Museum outside Mount Ida is a large orange-tinged citrine geode from Brazil.

MOUNT IDA -- Yes, there is an official Arkansas State Mineral. As voted by the General Assembly back in 1967, it's the quartz crystal.

That designation may sound somewhat less dazzling than the diamond's stature as the official Arkansas State Gem. Engagement rings, after all, don't come studded with quartz.

But even a diamond of several carats could hardly be more eye-popping than the most spectacular quartz specimens. Some humdingers are displayed along with other gorgeous minerals and gems at Wegner's Quartz Crystal Mines & Museum outside Mount Ida.

With a population just over 1,000, Mount Ida proclaims itself "Quartz Crystal Capital of the World." The Montgomery County seat is part of a "quartz belt" 30 to 40 miles wide that runs through the core of the Ouachita Mountains from the Hot Springs area west into Oklahoma.

Visitors can dig for their own quartz at a few other crystal mines in the area, including Sweet Surrender, Twin Creek and Board Camp. They can buy examples of the mineral at a dozen or so rock shops. They can learn the history of the local mining at Mount Ida's Heritage House Museum of Montgomery County.

But Wegner's is the place to admire a bonanza of museum-quality pieces collected by proprietor Richard Wegner. A player in the global crystal market, he has amassed a collection of quartz, citrine, chrysanthemum stone and other minerals mined in Arkansas and elsewhere.

Among them is a phantom quartz cluster from his mines, in which each crystal displays outlines of numerous smaller crystals known as phantoms. From Brazil comes an orange-hued citrine geode, known in Victorian times as the Merchants Stone.

The best of these beauties are valued at umpteen thousands of dollars, although locally mined examples begin at a few dollars a pound.

Visitors can also hunt their own crystals in Wegner's tailing area for $10.50, with youngsters and senior citizens paying $6.60. Mine tours are offered, starting at $15 per person.

Heritage House Museum displays only a few spectacular crystals. But its exhibits thoroughly explain the origins of quartz, a common mineral that has become crystallized under intense geological pressure. That process is thought to have happened in the Ouachitas around 250 million years ago.

Quartz crystals have been used to make oscillators for radios, computer chips and clocks. They are an ingredient in synthetic stone materials used in kitchen countertops. Collectors value their beauty as mineral specimens.

And, as noted in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, "Many people believe quartz contains metaphysical properties, and followers of the New Age movement look to crystals for their purported healing qualities and as an aid to altered levels of consciousness."

Even skeptics who consider New Age to be old hat in the second decade of the 21st century can still be wowed by the best of the crystals to be seen at Wegner's.

Wegner's Quartz Crystal Mines & Museum, three miles south of Mount Ida, is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday until mid-March, then daily until December. Take Arkansas 27 and turn left on Owley Road at the sign. Call ahead to check on tour availability: (870) 867-2309. The Web address is wegnercrystalmines.com.

Heritage House Museum of Montgomery County, 819 Luzerne St., Mount Ida, is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Admission is free, with donations welcome. Call (870) 867-4422 or visit hhmmc.org.

Details on other crystal-related sites in the area can be found at arkansas.com/things-to-do/crystal-hunting.

Weekend on 02/19/2015

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