The small town story of unprecedented riches and discovery takes place in a rural farming community known as "White Plains." In 1879, respected scientist William Hidden was sent by Thomas Edison to this area to search for platinum, but instead was credited with finding a mineral previously undiscovered, which became "Hiddenite.
National attention was attracted and many mines were opened throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in this profoundly rich area. Thousands of carats of valuable minerals were mined over time, as a total of 66 mineral varieties have been found, which makes the local farmlands some of the most concentrated and diverse melting pots in North America, if not the world. In fact, the most recent discoveries are so unprecedented that geologists may have to rewrite the textbooks.
