Revisit to Wesleyan University Mineral Collection
Middletown,Connecticut

. I drove down from Thetford Mines QC to my old home region with Guylaine a couple of years ago. I used to reside in Middlefield, CT for over ten years.
I wanted to share some photos I took at the Wesleyan University in Middletown. Hopefully, I will be able to upgrade these because they are not the greatest quality.
For anyone interested in the local geology of Connecticut it is a worth while visit. The Exley Science Center on Lawn Street houses a collection of local fossil and mineral finds representing some of the unique finds over the years and illustrates the local geology.
Upon entering the Science Library on the first floor, you are greeted by various dinosaur foot prints found in the quarrying days of the Brazos Portland Brownstone Quarries which are across the Connecticut River on the other side of the Arigoni bridge in Portland. Today they are long forgotten parts of the local history. and are full of water. Reference: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3983/is_200209/ai_n9102188/pg_1

During the height of the quarry days in the 19th century numerous tracks of Eubrontes, Grallator and Otozoum were found.


The Connecticut valley is a rift valley which filled with sediments and lava flows during the later Triassic to early Jurassic period. The Brazo quarries in Portland opened layers of sandy arkose of the Portland formation, which was the last / upper layers of the Jurassic sediments.
Just a few tens of miles north, east and south of the center of Middletown, across the Connecticut valley fault and into the crystalline hills, there are the pegmatites. These deposits were opened in the old days for the mining of feldspar to make china and later mica for the II WW effort. These produced some of the well known pegmatite mineral deposits including lithium minerals, rare earth and other exotics. Many interesting localities within 15 miles of Middletown. These were some of my favorite spots when I lived in Middlefield. My friend Mr. Richard Schooner (deceased 2007) contributed and organized the Connecticut mineral collections here at Wesleyan University.

Mr. Schooner was a prolific collector of these areas and contributed to the knowledge of the local mineralogy. The mineral schoonerite, named in his honor. It is a rare zinc manganese iron phosphate mineral found at the Palermo mines in NH. It was identified in 1977 and defined by Paul Moore and A R Kampf.
Going to the museum and seeing the Connecticut collection brings fond memories back to me. I remember reading Richard’s articles in the Rocks and Mineral magazines during the 1960’s His finds whetted my appetite for the New England pegmatites when I was a boy living in NJ. I never knew that I would end up living near him and collecting with him. After I bought my lake bungalow in Middlefield in the 1980’s it wasn’t long before I was buying geological quad maps and exploring mines on my weekends. I soon ran into Mr. Schooner at one of the Portland mines. During my time collecting in Connecticut, he became my mentor in collecting and shared the local mineralogy of many of the spots around Middletown with me. His passing away last year was certainly a great loss for me since we stayed in touch by phone over the years. He was a true friend and confident to me.
After looking at the dinosaur prints we take the elevator in the Exley Science building, I think to the 7th floor, where the mineral museum is housed on the Earth Science floor. We can begin to see some local specimens. I would like to mention the collection of Connecticut fossils is very interesting as well. Some of the original fish fossils discovered in the studies of Mr. Loper in the 19th century are displayed here.

(Reference: Davis, W.M. and Loper, S.W., 1891. Two belts of fossiliferous black shale in the Triassic Formation of Connecticut. Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 2, p. 415-430). Other references for those interested in fossils of the area:
http://digsfossils.com/fossils/footprints_ct_portland.html
http://www.dinosaurstatepark.org/
http://donaldkenney.110mb.com/INDEX.HTM


The Portland formation is believed to be equivalent with the Newark group in the NJ rift valley, which produces similar fossils in NJ. Here is a nicely preserved Jurassic fish from Boonton NJ. I am sorry I’m not sure of the species, but it was part of the collection of Newberry who collected in 1880’s

Next a fine example of Semionotus from Durham ct.


and Redfiedius from Durham Ct.

tracks from Ct of a smaller reptile.(or amphibian?)

The are more examples of plant fossils and fish fossils as well. Here are drawings of the anatomy of redfieldius.


These were fish living in the freshwater lakes that came and went in the times of sediment deposition in the Connecticut rift valley.

In other cabinets we find the local collection of minerals, organized by and many collected by Richard Schooner.
First photo


Top left and left are pieces of the sphalerite in quartz veins from the Middletown lead mine. This was a mine in the Revolutionary war times mining lead and some silver. The veins occurred in the Bolton Schist near the normal east fault of the Connecticut Valley.
Top center is microcline (white) xls from the Pelton Quarry in Portland CT.
Bottom center is a specimen of epidote from the Hazen Epidote locality in Haddam CT. This is a lost locality near Meeting House road, Haddam. There also was chrysoberyl with garnet xls reported from an excavation later covered over by a house just north of Walkley Hill rd.
(ref Volume 7, pages 4-12, 1922 MINERAL LOCALITIES IN THE VICINITY OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT W. G. FOYE, Wesleyan University)
Bottom right is epidote in quartz from the Case Quarries in Portland CT.

Second photo


Top left loellingtonite from the cobalt mine in Colbat, E Hampton CT.
Top center rose quartz (from area)
Blue beryl (from area)
Bottom left, yellow beryl from Slocum prospect, E Hampton CT.
Bottom 2nd to left is beautiful blue beryl found in a pocket during a well excavation across the road from the Gillette quarry in Haddam Neck, E Haddam.CT
Bottom right is quartz xl from Long Hill, Haddam CT.

Third Photo

Left is Prehnite and calcite, from Arborio Quarry, Farmington CT.
Top center is chondrodite, from North street Mall excavation, Danbury CT.
Top right is forstertite from the same locality.
Bottom 2 left pieces are stilpnomelane on calcite, from Tariffville CT

Forth Photo

Large quartz xls in albite from Stickland Quarry, Portland CT, in the operating days.

Fifth Photo

Center in Back are 2 pieces of a huge broken columbite xls from the Andrews quarry, Portland CT. (columbite was first discovered in Connecticut and named for the new land Columbia)
Front center is yellow beryl from Slocum Prospect, E Hampton CT.

Sixth Photo

Top center is rose quartz from unknown local near Colbalt, E Hampton CT.
Left front is pink and green tourmaline from the White Rocks Quarry, Middletown CT.
Front left is Pollucite from the Walden Gem Mine, Portland CT.

Seventh Photo

Top left is pollucite, pink tourmaline, halloysite from Walden Gem Mine Portland CT
Top right is epidote and feldspar the Hazen locality in Haddam CT.
Bottom Left is manganotantalite from the Strickland Quarry Portland CT.


I recommend a visit to the Exley Science Building on Wesleyan University, for those interested in the Mineralogy of the Middletown area.

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