Valuable Onyx Deposit Found in Naches
A local prospector uncovers a stone deposit in the Naches district that experts believe is high-quality onyx, sparking interest in its commercial potential.
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A short time ago Mr. Carnot, who is mining and prospecting in the Naches district, brought to the city specimens of stone, with alternating stripes of black and brown, that he took to be petrified wood. It is susceptible of high polish, and no sooner had Captain J. T. Kingsbury placed his eyes on it than he pronounced it onyx of a rare and valuable character, used much in the cutting of cameos and for other articles of jewelry and ornament. To be positive in his statement, he consulted his text books to refresh his memory, and found the description corresponded perfectly with the stone. Mr. Carnot, who has made this valuable discovery, states that the beds of onyx are of good extent and that some of the stones are so large as to make it impossible to pack them in over the trails in their present bad condition.
“It is susceptible of high polish, and no sooner had Captain J. T. Kingsbury placed his eyes on it than he pronounced it onyx of a rare and valuable character.”
While the 1891 Naches discovery highlights the era's frantic search for mineral wealth to fuel local growth, today's Naches remains a landscape defined more by its agricultural bounty and proximity to public lands. The transition from industrial prospecting to conservation marks the shift from seeing the land as an endless reserve for extraction to a resource for regional stewardship.
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