Washington State’s Hidden Fire Opals
Gem expert George Frederick Kunz reveals that a jeweler's chance find in a well-digging site near the Idaho border uncovered a treasure trove of opals.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
James Allen, a jeweler, happened to see in a pile of rock thrown out by a workman digging a well in Washington state, very near the Idaho line, a gem which proved to be a genuine fire opal. This stone was thrown out from a depth of twenty-two feet, and the rock from which it came was found to be filled here and there with cavities containing the precious opal. Some were no larger than a small pea, and there were some as large as a hen's egg. Mr. Kunz, a gem expert, examined the specimens and noted that already $200,000 worth of gems had been taken from the site.
“It was no longer ago than August, 1890, that James Allen, who is a jeweler, happened to see in a pile of rock thrown out by a workman who was digging a well in the state of Washington, and very near the Idaho line, a gem which proved to be a genuine fire opal.”
The late 19th-century obsession with precious minerals in Washington State often led to frantic, small-scale prospecting that mirrors modern hobbyist rockhounding. While this 1892 report highlights the commercial potential of opals near the Idaho border, it captures a time when the ground itself was seen as a source of sudden, miraculous wealth for the lucky or observant.
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