Arkansas Pearl Market Enters Second Century
January 27, 1998
Photo Available: (501) 682-7609
Arkansas Pearl Market Enters Second Century
*****
By Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
The Arkansas pearl "boom" started in 1897. It peaked a few years later, and the industry had almost vanished by the 1970s. In recent years, two Newport women have revived interest in an almost forgotten chapter of White River history.
Phyllis Holmes and Jan Coe are believed to be the last freshwater pearl dealers in Arkansas. They market White River pearls, by appointment, from a small mini-mall office on McLain Avenue in Newport. Their business, Pearls Unique, offers wholesale, retail, loose and custom-mounted natural gems.
While the business sometimes buys newly-found river pearls, it relies heavily on a storehouse of loose gems amassed by a Newport businessman, the late Ralph Sink, during the 20s and 30s. "Mr. Sink owned a button factory here and had access to some of the finest pearls being harvested from the river," Holmes notes. "He bought pearls by the teacup during a period when most people had lost confidence in the market."
After holding the pearls some 50 years, Mr. Sink sold most of his collection to another Newport businessman, Bill Pratt. An enthusiastic friend was eager to help manage the venture. "I knew nothing about the industry, but I became fascinated after seeing my first White River pearl," Holmes recalls. "I truly wanted to be part of the plan to re-open a local market."
Established in 1985, Pearls Unique contracts with silver and goldsmiths in Arkansas and other states to create special mounting for their gems. Some earring designs are crafted in the Newport shop. Holmes and Coe learned the business quickly and now lecture and present programs about Arkansas pearls.
Natural pearls are rarely perfectly round, like the popular human-assisted cultured pearls. "The fact is freshwater pearls, with all their different shapes and colors, work beautifully for one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry," Holmes explains. Colors range from creamy white to peach, pink, gold, lavender and even shades of blue.
It all started in the spring of 1897, when Dr. J.H. Myers found a pinkish 14-grain pearl in a Black River clam near Black Rock. While his was not the first pearl discovered, Dr. Myers is credited with starting the industry. By year's end, hundreds of people were searching the vast mussel beds that lined both rivers for 100 miles above Newport.
The "pearl rush" was on. Farmers left their crops unharvested; bankers, lawyers and merchants closed their doors; and hundreds of families relocated to shanties and tents along the White and Black rivers to participate in the boom that could net a year's salary in a single day.
During the early years, pearl hunters could wade out to the mussel beds and pick up shells by the thousands. When the shallow beds were gone, other devices were brought in to bring the mollusks up. Long-handled tongs, that could grasp shells up to 14-feet deep, were popular; along with crowsfoot drags, a series of wire hooks to which mussels attached themselves when the boat-mounted rig passed over a mussel bed.
At first, the mussel shells were discarded by pearlers. But, by 1899, the shells were being shipped by rail to northern factories where they were fashioned into buttons. During the first three years, industry sales pumped almost $1.5 million into Lawrence, Jackson, Independence, Randolph and Woodruff counties. Soon pearl and shell hunting extended downstream to Augusta, Des Arc, Clarendon and beyond.
In 1900, the first shell button company in the South opened at Black Rock. Actually, the little factory cut button "blanks" from shells and shipped them via rail to finishing plants in other states. Eventually, button factories were opened at Newport, Batesville, Newark and other towns along the river. Plastic buttons destroyed the industry during the 1940s, but the demand for mussel shells continued for foreign markets.
A procedure developed during the 20s in Japan, China, Australia and other countries brought a need for shell beads, which are implanted into oysters and later harvested as cultured pearls. That market remains today. Some shells are ground into a powder and used in makeup and other products.
Dr. Myers was not the first to discover pearls in Arkansas. Native American Indians used them for personal decorations long before Europeans arrived on the scene; and pioneers sometimes carried them as good-luck charms or gave them to children as playthings.
Colorful "rags-to-riches" stories were reported often in publications of the period. New homes, farms and other major purchases were finalized in cash by lucky pearl prospectors during the early years of this century. Sometimes, pearls were found in the strangest places. A Lonoke County man reportedly uncovered a cache of gems while digging post-holes in an old channel of the Cypress Bayou.
Perhaps the most intriguing of all the pearling stories happened in 1902 when a super-quality gem was found inside a large, rough mucket shell upstream from Black Rock. After a round of bidding by dealers, a local jeweler purchased the gem and hand-carried it to St. Louis, New York and on to Paris, where it was sold for a princely sum and reportedly became part of the British Royal collection.
The Gemological Institute of America classified the White as one of the top seven freshwater pearl streams in the United States. The Book of the Pearl, first published in 1908 and considered the finest history ever written on the subject, stated that the White River region has "proved to be the richest pearling region in America."
However, as the local pearling business enters its second century, it is succumbing to environmental stresses, according to authorities. The mussel beds that once stretched for miles along the White and Black rivers are now small, hard-to-find patches of shells in water 20 to 30 feet deep.
Today, only four or five part-time pearl hunters remain in the region; they are actually more interested in finding high-grade shells for the lucrative foreign cultured-pearl market. The hunters must dive to the river bottom to seek out the now elusive mussel shells. When a shell bed is discovered, the site becomes a jealously-guarded secret for as long as possible. For most, shell diving is a hobby that just might have a valuable reward if the right one is opened.
Arkansas rivers are not alone in the decline of these timid river creatures. At least 20 mollusk species have vanished from North American waters during the past century. Several of the state's 35 mussel species are on the endangered list and cannot be harvested.
Throughout history, the White River and its tributaries have been avenues of commerce and a recreational resource with few equals. While transportation and commercial activities still have a presence on lower sections of the river, recreation has long been the number-one activity on the upper White, North Fork, Little Red, Buffalo and other upland streams that feed the river along its way to the mighty Mississippi.
Major Arkansas lakes in the basin include Beaver, Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry. Great fishing and boating are enjoyed throughout the year along most of the White's 700-plus miles. It's most famous tributary, the Buffalo, is America's first national scenic river.
The Arkansas anthem, first adopted in 1917, includes the words, "'Tis a land full of joy and sunshine, rich in pearls and in diamonds rare..." Efforts are underway to keep that statement factual.
####
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, (501) 682-7606
E-mail: [email protected]
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"
Photo Available: (501) 682-7609
Arkansas Pearl Market Enters Second Century
*****
By Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
The Arkansas pearl "boom" started in 1897. It peaked a few years later, and the industry had almost vanished by the 1970s. In recent years, two Newport women have revived interest in an almost forgotten chapter of White River history.
Phyllis Holmes and Jan Coe are believed to be the last freshwater pearl dealers in Arkansas. They market White River pearls, by appointment, from a small mini-mall office on McLain Avenue in Newport. Their business, Pearls Unique, offers wholesale, retail, loose and custom-mounted natural gems.
While the business sometimes buys newly-found river pearls, it relies heavily on a storehouse of loose gems amassed by a Newport businessman, the late Ralph Sink, during the 20s and 30s. "Mr. Sink owned a button factory here and had access to some of the finest pearls being harvested from the river," Holmes notes. "He bought pearls by the teacup during a period when most people had lost confidence in the market."
After holding the pearls some 50 years, Mr. Sink sold most of his collection to another Newport businessman, Bill Pratt. An enthusiastic friend was eager to help manage the venture. "I knew nothing about the industry, but I became fascinated after seeing my first White River pearl," Holmes recalls. "I truly wanted to be part of the plan to re-open a local market."
Established in 1985, Pearls Unique contracts with silver and goldsmiths in Arkansas and other states to create special mounting for their gems. Some earring designs are crafted in the Newport shop. Holmes and Coe learned the business quickly and now lecture and present programs about Arkansas pearls.
Natural pearls are rarely perfectly round, like the popular human-assisted cultured pearls. "The fact is freshwater pearls, with all their different shapes and colors, work beautifully for one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry," Holmes explains. Colors range from creamy white to peach, pink, gold, lavender and even shades of blue.
It all started in the spring of 1897, when Dr. J.H. Myers found a pinkish 14-grain pearl in a Black River clam near Black Rock. While his was not the first pearl discovered, Dr. Myers is credited with starting the industry. By year's end, hundreds of people were searching the vast mussel beds that lined both rivers for 100 miles above Newport.
The "pearl rush" was on. Farmers left their crops unharvested; bankers, lawyers and merchants closed their doors; and hundreds of families relocated to shanties and tents along the White and Black rivers to participate in the boom that could net a year's salary in a single day.
During the early years, pearl hunters could wade out to the mussel beds and pick up shells by the thousands. When the shallow beds were gone, other devices were brought in to bring the mollusks up. Long-handled tongs, that could grasp shells up to 14-feet deep, were popular; along with crowsfoot drags, a series of wire hooks to which mussels attached themselves when the boat-mounted rig passed over a mussel bed.
At first, the mussel shells were discarded by pearlers. But, by 1899, the shells were being shipped by rail to northern factories where they were fashioned into buttons. During the first three years, industry sales pumped almost $1.5 million into Lawrence, Jackson, Independence, Randolph and Woodruff counties. Soon pearl and shell hunting extended downstream to Augusta, Des Arc, Clarendon and beyond.
In 1900, the first shell button company in the South opened at Black Rock. Actually, the little factory cut button "blanks" from shells and shipped them via rail to finishing plants in other states. Eventually, button factories were opened at Newport, Batesville, Newark and other towns along the river. Plastic buttons destroyed the industry during the 1940s, but the demand for mussel shells continued for foreign markets.
A procedure developed during the 20s in Japan, China, Australia and other countries brought a need for shell beads, which are implanted into oysters and later harvested as cultured pearls. That market remains today. Some shells are ground into a powder and used in makeup and other products.
Dr. Myers was not the first to discover pearls in Arkansas. Native American Indians used them for personal decorations long before Europeans arrived on the scene; and pioneers sometimes carried them as good-luck charms or gave them to children as playthings.
Colorful "rags-to-riches" stories were reported often in publications of the period. New homes, farms and other major purchases were finalized in cash by lucky pearl prospectors during the early years of this century. Sometimes, pearls were found in the strangest places. A Lonoke County man reportedly uncovered a cache of gems while digging post-holes in an old channel of the Cypress Bayou.
Perhaps the most intriguing of all the pearling stories happened in 1902 when a super-quality gem was found inside a large, rough mucket shell upstream from Black Rock. After a round of bidding by dealers, a local jeweler purchased the gem and hand-carried it to St. Louis, New York and on to Paris, where it was sold for a princely sum and reportedly became part of the British Royal collection.
The Gemological Institute of America classified the White as one of the top seven freshwater pearl streams in the United States. The Book of the Pearl, first published in 1908 and considered the finest history ever written on the subject, stated that the White River region has "proved to be the richest pearling region in America."
However, as the local pearling business enters its second century, it is succumbing to environmental stresses, according to authorities. The mussel beds that once stretched for miles along the White and Black rivers are now small, hard-to-find patches of shells in water 20 to 30 feet deep.
Today, only four or five part-time pearl hunters remain in the region; they are actually more interested in finding high-grade shells for the lucrative foreign cultured-pearl market. The hunters must dive to the river bottom to seek out the now elusive mussel shells. When a shell bed is discovered, the site becomes a jealously-guarded secret for as long as possible. For most, shell diving is a hobby that just might have a valuable reward if the right one is opened.
Arkansas rivers are not alone in the decline of these timid river creatures. At least 20 mollusk species have vanished from North American waters during the past century. Several of the state's 35 mussel species are on the endangered list and cannot be harvested.
Throughout history, the White River and its tributaries have been avenues of commerce and a recreational resource with few equals. While transportation and commercial activities still have a presence on lower sections of the river, recreation has long been the number-one activity on the upper White, North Fork, Little Red, Buffalo and other upland streams that feed the river along its way to the mighty Mississippi.
Major Arkansas lakes in the basin include Beaver, Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry. Great fishing and boating are enjoyed throughout the year along most of the White's 700-plus miles. It's most famous tributary, the Buffalo, is America's first national scenic river.
The Arkansas anthem, first adopted in 1917, includes the words, "'Tis a land full of joy and sunshine, rich in pearls and in diamonds rare..." Efforts are underway to keep that statement factual.
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, (501) 682-7606
E-mail: [email protected]
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-682-7606
E-mail: [email protected]
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"