Clement Museum Mineral Show June 4-5, 2011

The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum hosts their 6th annual Gem, Mineral, Fossil & Jewelry Show June 4 and 5, 2011.  The museum primarily houses fluorite found in the area along with mining equipment used when fluorite mines were active.  They have a special room for the fluorescent minerals (some from the area but a lot from Franklin, New Jersey).

The hours will be Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM and Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM which I believe is in the Central time zone.  It is a great time to see the museum and its grounds plus sign up for digs at the local fluorite sites. 

For more information about this event go to their web site clementmineralmuseum.org, e-mail beclement@att.net or call 270-965-4263.  The following pictures are a small sample of items one can see on display at the museum.

Mystery Mining Tools

Mystery mining tools found in or around the fluorite mines of Crittenden County, Kentucky. Does anyone know what these are?  When recently at the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum during the tour, the museum manager showed these tools and asked if anyone knew what they were.  Three different sized tools, one is in a circle and two others were pill shaped.  Inside the tray tools are rows of spike like protrusions. Circular tool is about 4 inches in diameter (10 cm), longest pill shape tool is about 12 inches long (30 cm) and the shorter pill shaped tray is about 10 inches long (25 cm).

Here are some other tools that were on display.

Last picture shows model of fluorite mine with its vertical shaft 200 feet (61 m) deep.

Fossils at the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum

If you are in the area of the United States of western Kentucky or southern Illinois, consider visiting the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum.  This museum houses an amazing collection of world-class fluorite mineral specimens plus other mineral specimens, mining equipment, historical materials, and a few fossils.  The majority of specimens were obtained from the fluorite mines of the area that operated there in the 20th century.  The map below will give you an idea of the museum's location at 201 North Walker Street, Marion, Kentucky.



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This posting is about the few fossils on display at the museum.  Mr. Clement found two museum grade colonial corals on display in the main fluorite specimen room.  The museum building is shown in the next photo along with a pavilion that covers large mining equipment.

This photo shows part of a Pennsylvanian Period plant fossil along with the second colonial coral.  A picture in the foreground is of Mr. Clement with his 3-legged dog next to a rock wall built with local area rocks.

Picture of Ben E. Clement holding a lepidodendron fossil with the fossil on display.

A donated display of Indiana invertebrate marine fossils looks like most of the fossils are from the Ordovician Period though the crinoid stem piece is Mississippian and the trilobite is probably a Devonian Phacops.

Just a sample of the hundreds of fluorite specimens on display in the museum.  This one is probably over 30 cm in length.  The displays allow you to get very close to specimens to see the mineral details unlike those at the Smithsonian.

Another popular attraction at the museum is the fluorescent mineral room with a lot of specimens from Franklin, New Jersey.  Mr. Clement traded fluorite specimens for material from New Jersey thus amassing quite a collection.  Also on display are the fluorescent material from Kentucky.  It has a nice blue glow plus other colors.

The museum is a great place to visit and learn about fluorite, other minerals, mining techniques, history, and geology.  The staff are very friendly and informative.  There is a mineral festival every year and multiple digging opportunities to find specimens on your own.  Learn more by contacting them:

The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum
PO Box 391 Marion, KY 42064
Phone: (270) 965-4263
E-mail: beclement@kynet.biz
Website: clementmineralmuseum.org