Silver and Gold Mines Yes they existed in Pa. at one time I actually got to mine in one

I would bet most of you never knew there was an actual working Silver Mine in Pa. near lancaster Pa.
Called the Pequa Silver  Mine.

http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/three-centuries-of-digging-into-pequea-silver-mine/article_5e3ced2e-1b4c-5562-842f-70702f286570.html

http://pequeasilvermine.blogspot.com/

As a young man in 1970's I got the chance to check it out one time after a next door neighbor Lenny Miscovitz   told me about investing in it and gave me a small printed folder  on it. By the time I got there it was no longer a working mine more of a tourist attraction near Lancaster Pa.  it is now a park and off limits the shafts have been sealed after the shafts flooded and caved in. It was another of Lenny's many bad investments which ultimately saw his losing all of his inherited money in one of those Nigerian money scams. 

 

http://www.pequeatwp.org/park-info/

While this was one of the actual documented mines there where many other smaller strikes and pits where mineral washed down with the glaciers and occasional small pockets are still to be found 

https://oroblanco.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/legends-of-lost-silver-mines-in-pennsylvania/

One such pit was said to be in Fayette County some where around where Laurel caverns is located .

While I did not find fame and fortune exploring the Pequa mine that day I did find all kind of neat quartz minerals to bring home and even a very small piece of silver worth about 25 cents   Which I had a camera with me that day but I did not . The matrix rock which holds the silver is extremely hard and requires dynamite etc if you want to do any real mining

 Unfortunately most of my mineral collection was lost or stolen over the years by people who thought they had some valuable mineral sample boy where they ever wrong.

However it was neat to go down in that old mine a see it all. But the older gentleman with me was not happy with what he was finding and decided not to spend much time and left the shaft  after about 15 minutes of exploring and I followed him out shortly. Good thing I later heard there had been a collapse a few days after we where there.