History Series: Kayte Casebolt and the Gem State

Prepare to be dazzled by the tales of Idaho's sparkling soil, where the first logger's accidental discovery of the star garnet launched an era of gemstone fascination, and deer hunters stumbled upon opal riches, earning Spencer the title of Opal Capital of America. Discover the ghost towns preserved by time, where Idaho's mining past still whispers stories of prosperity and decline. With Kayte as our guide, we explore how Idaho's precious stones have left their mark, from the Smithsonian Museum to the hearts of visitors sifting through sluice boxes in search of their own piece of the Gem State's legacy.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
This is the Kestrel Country Podcast where we discuss
the people, places and eventsall around Kestrel country

(00:40):
podcast.
We are very excited to bepresenting a history series with
Kate Casebolt, who has been alongtime writer now for the
Kestrel Post.
And if you don't get theKestrel Post yet, head over to
movetomoscocom and sign up toget our free newspaper.
But Kate is going to bepresenting her past articles,
which is a lot of history aboutour area, so looking forward to

(01:03):
hearing what she has to say.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yes, idaho's got potatoes, but we've also got 72
kinds of precious andsemi-precious gemstones, earning
us the title of the gem state.
Idaho may have fields andfields of potatoes, but, given
its diverse terrain, idaho isalso the home of towering
mountain ranges with garnets,opal, jasper, topaz, turquoise

(01:28):
and more.
Both the potatoes and gems ofIdaho can be linked back to the
volcanic activity.
Volcanic activity makes formineral-rich soil for potatoes,
while also creating mountainveins for minerals to
crystallize into dazzling gems.
Idaho's title as the gem stategoes back even before we
officially became a state.
In fact, people used to believethat the name Idaho was derived

(01:50):
from an Indian word, idaho,meaning gem of the mountain.
In reality, idaho was just amade-up name that was first
suggested for the ColoradoTerritory.
It was falsely claimed to be anIndian word in order to
increase its chances of beingpicked as a state name, but
Colorado stuck with its originalname Instead.

(02:10):
The name Idaho was actuallyused for a steamboat that
brought thousands of miners tothe mining camps during the
Idaho Gold Rush.
Eventually, it became the namefor the entire territory and
then the official state name.
While the Native Americans didnot have the word Idaho, they
certainly made use of thegemstones in their decorations
and ceremonies.

(02:32):
By the mid-19th centuries, thesegemstones caught the eye of the
gold seekers, many of whom werebrought in by the Idaho
steamboat.
They realized that there wasmuch more to discover in Idaho
beyond the presence of gold.
Soon towns developed aroundareas where these gems were
discovered.
While some of these towns arestill inhabited by Idahoans

(02:52):
today, others dwindled inpopulation until they became
ghost towns.
Several of these ghost townsare maintained by Idaho's
Department of Parks andRecreation.
They are great sites to visitif you want to look into the
life of an Idaho miner.
One such gemstone that gainedpopularity in the 19th century
was the garnet, specifically thestar garnet.
This gem is a doe decahedron,12-sided shape ranging in color

(03:17):
from a red to purple.
The gem has inclusions thatreflect the light and create
four to six rays, forming a star.
The first star garnet found inIdaho was stumbled upon
accidentally.
A logger named Ed Sexton, orShorty as he was called, found
it along the Emerald Creek in1937.
He claimed the plot of land ashis own and named it Shorty's

(03:39):
Diggings.
Nearly 30 years later, heleased a portion of his land to
the government so the publiccould have digging access
Without the modern-dayexcavation technology.
Miners used chisels and smallpicking hammers to extract the
gems out of the rock.
The star garnet became thestate gem in 1967.

(03:59):
While garnets are fairly common,the star garnet in particular
is an extremely rare gem andvery specific to Idaho.
The only other place tocommercially produce star
garnets is India.
The most valuable Idaho gemever found is known as the Star
of Idaho, a 3,322-carat with anL estimated value of over a

(04:20):
million dollars.
Opal comes in second place forthe largest contributor to Idaho
gem material catching the eyeof deer hunters near the town of
Spencer.
This was another accidentalfind.
The deer hunters were followinga wounded deer when they
happened upon the opal.
This explains the nickname ofthe Lost Deer Hunters Mine, but
now you're more likely to hearit referred to as the Opal

(04:43):
Capital of America.
Opals from this mine weredonated to the Smithsonian
Museum of Natural History.
Today, the Emerald Creek StarGarnet area and the Spencer Opal
Mines are tourist attractions.
Due to environmental concerns,you can no longer search for
these gems along the streams,but at these tourist sites.

(05:03):
Even young miners in trainingcan find gems by searching
through the sluice boxes for anhour or two.
Idaho's gems played animportant role in the history of
our state, as the miningopportunities are what brought
so many settlers to Idaho in thefirst place.
It's really no surprise thatthe garnet fits right in there,
with the appaloosa, the syringaand, of course, the potato All

(05:24):
Idaho staples that would attractjust about anyone to settle
down in this beautiful state.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Thanks for joining us .
Like, share, subscribe.
We'll see you next week.