Chester (Chester Emery Mines)

Chester, in Hampden County, Massachusetts, is home to the Chester Emery Mines — the oldest emery mine in North America, and the site of the first emery discovered in America. Iron ore deposits here were known as early as 1835–1841, and the mines went on to produce margarite crystals considered among the finest on earth, along with corundum-bearing rock and magnetite. The mines sit inside the John J. Kelly Wildlife Management Area, managed by Massachusetts's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), and access is genuinely gated behind state permitting rather than open to walk-up collecting. The Worcester Mineral Club holds a collecting permit for the site and runs organized, capped field trips; individual collectors need their own written permission from MassWildlife to remove any stone from the WMA. Reaching the nearest dig area itself requires a steep quarter-mile hike through the woods, with more remote workings deeper in.

Chester, Hampden County, Massachusetts. The mines sit within the John J. Kelly Wildlife Management Area; reaching the closest surface digging area requires a steep quarter-mile hike through the woods from the nearest access point, with additional dig sites farther into the forest.

Surface/dump collecting only, and only with permission. Massachusetts state law and WMA regulations forbid entering any mine, shaft, pit, cave, adit, drift, or tunnel within the John J. Kelly WMA without written permission of the Director or an authorized agent — the underground workings here are unmaintained for over a century and genuinely dangerous. MassWildlife regulations also prohibit removing vegetation, soil, or stones from any WMA except under permit.

No cash fee to collect, but access requires written MassWildlife permission or an organized permit-holding group like the Worcester Mineral Club. No public schedule of open hours was found; club field trips are organized on a per-trip basis. Verified against Worcester Mineral Club and MassWildlife WMA regulation sources, 2026.

This is state land (MassWildlife's John J. Kelly WMA), and it's fee-free but permit-gated rather than open access. The Worcester Mineral Club holds a standing collecting permit and runs field trips capped at twenty participants, first-come first-served, with sold material explicitly forbidden under the permit terms. Individual visitors without a club-arranged trip need their own written permission from MassWildlife before collecting. Underground entry is strictly forbidden by state law regardless of permit status — collapsed tunnels and hazardous mineshafts are present throughout the site, and it's described as unsuitable for dogs or small children.