Almandine

specimen number:
8701014

location:
Higganum, Haddam, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, USA

description:
Attractive grouping of lustrous almandine crystals without matrix. In good condition.

The town of Higganum, located within the town of Haddam in Middlesex County, Connecticut, is home to several historic New England pegmatite and traprock quarries, most notably the Biermann Quarry. Geologically, these sites are situated within the Middletown District, where granitic pegmatites intruded into the Paleozoic metamorphic host rocks of the Collins Hill Formation. The area is mineralogically famous for producing high-quality almandine garnets, which are found as sharp, dark red to brownish-black dodecahedral crystals embedded in a matrix of mica schist or quartz. Historically, mining and quarrying activities in Higganum began in the 19th century, with operations primarily targeting feldspar and mica for industrial use, as well as crushed stone for construction. The most significant period of specimen production and industrial quarrying occurred between the late 1800s and the 1940s, during which time collectors discovered some of the finest garnet specimens in the state. While most of the old quarries are now inactive or overgrown, the locality remains a classic reference point for Connecticut mineralogy.

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