December Speaker: Collecting Franklin Fluorescent Minerals

by Cindy Schmidtlein, MSDC Vice President

Franklin, Sussex County, New Jersey was declared in 1968 to be "The fluorescent mineral capital of the world," and has defended that title to this day. In 2024 franklinite (ironically a non-fluorescent zinc ore mineral) was declared the New Jersey State Mineral. The Franklin mines closed in 1954 and the nearby Sterling Hill Mine in 1986.  The former is preserved as the Franklin Mineral Museum and Buckwheat mine run dump, the latter as the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, both excellent destinations for enjoying the study of mineralogy and mining history, as well as for mineral collecting. The Franklin Museum hosts the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society and sponsors bi-annual mineral shows.

Our speaker for December, James Van Fleet, has retired from many different endeavors: Science and Engineering Librarian at Bucknell University, President of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), Editor of the FOMS journal The Picking Table, Editor of the Journal of the Fluorescent Mineral Society, and most recently Editor of Vandall King's epic Mineralogy of Franklin and Ogdensburg, New Jersey. 

His other interest is the history of mine lighting, and he served as long-past-editor of Eureka! The Journal of Mining Collectibles. He finds that research and writing (and sharing information) are enjoyable aspects of any hobby!