Treasure hunters seek Kentucky agates

ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — Each spring, people gather in Irvine with a common quest: to find gemstones known as agates.

The clusters of minerals don’t look like much from the outside, but there is breakthrough beauty inside.

Members of the Southeast Kentucky Gem, Mineral and Fossil Club lead hunts each year in the week leading up to Irvine’s Mountain Mushroom Festival. They escort groups of thirty to forty people to one of the forks of Station Camp Creek, where the landowner allows them to hunt.

Agates are found throughout the world, but the Kentucky Agate is unique. The only places where you can find the minerals with dark red and black bands are Estill, Powell, Lee, Jackson, Madison, and Menifee counties. Rockhounds know that and come from many states for the opportunity to hunt in the creeks of Estill County.

“We have more patterns and more colors and variations than most anyplace else,” said David Davis, a member of the fossil club. He said the red and black pattern is only found in about 1% of the agate nodules. But there are other beautiful colors to be found, including yellows, grays, and purples.

Club member Skip Johnson said beginners are often just too quick when exploring in a creek or along the banks.

“I do what I call a one-ten,” he said. “I move ten feet in one hour.”

Davis said the agates found here can range from pea size to more than a hundred pounds. You don’t really know what you have until you cut into an agate. Collectors often polish them and turn them into jewelry, bookends, or paperweights. He said some of them could be worth thousands of dollars.

Sare Busick came from Midway with her husband Lee to search for agates. They’ve taken part in the hunts every year since 2016. Some years, she has found some nice agates; other years, she’s gone home empty-handed. She said it’s like “finding a needle in a haystack. When you find one, it’s really exciting.”

Lee said his wife is more into collecting rocks and minerals than he is, but he just loves being out in nature.

Grant Kidd came with his wife from North Carolina for the spring hunt, planning it as part of their vacation. It was his third hunt in Estill County, and he said he gets better at it each year.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” he said. “It takes a lot of patience, but it’s cool.”

Seasoned hunters said the best time to find an agate is after a heavy rain. Geologist Matthew Bentley said, “They’ve eroded out of these hillsides, and they’ve moved downhill into the creeks where they’ve washed down, and now you can find them here.”

He said sometimes the agates break open on their own just from banging against each other in the creek, but usually they have to be cut open. Bentley said the place where they hunt is an ancient river bed, and the agates could be more than 360 million years old.

Until this spring, the agate was designated as “Kentucky’s Official State Rock.” But geologists convinced lawmakers to change that to “Official State Mineral” to be more accurate. Coal is now the official rock.

The guides love it when a newcomer makes a find.

“You may hear us hoot and holler and pump them up and scream and be excited,” Davis said.

But even if your hunt turns up empty, these folks can’t think of a better way to spend a day.

“It’s like life,” Johnson said. “It’s not so much the destination but the journey, and I’ve never seen anyone come out of here not happy.”

It’s a pastime that takes perseverance, but it can pay off for those who keep their heads down and leave no stone unturned.

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