Orvil Jack Turquoise: Field Guide to Nevada's Blue Ridge Mine
Part of the Turquoise Mines field guides and The Southwest Jewelry Guide.
Joe Dan and Joe P. Lowry’s 2010 book records the Orvil Jack mine, originally called Blue Ridge, in Nevada. Every statement below is quoted or paraphrased from that book, with page numbers, so you can check each one. The book was published in 2010; anything described as current describes 2010.
What Lowry recorded
According to Lowry (2010, p. 238), the mine's original name was Blue Ridge, but it became known by the name of Orvil Jack, who came in the 1950s to help his brother-in-law Doc Edgar mine the deposits. [1]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 238), the claims produced several colours, including a pocket of high-grade blue with black spiderweb and a general run of blue and green. [1]
As of 2010, Lowry reported:
“Currently, this mine is known more for its production of faustite than for its turquoise.”
— Lowry (2010), p. 238 [1]
See all the turquoise mines we profile, across the Southwest.
How this page is sourced. We strive for accuracy: every factual statement above is quoted from or credited to the printed work listed below, with page numbers, and this page is continuously updated with new information as we read more of our library. See something we should correct? Contact us.
From the Library: Ryan & Chambless, Turquoise in America, Part Two (2020)
2020 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2020, not today.
Interview recollections below are the speaker's memory, published by Ryan & Chambless (2020); they describe the 1940s-1970s.
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 126), Orvil Frederick Jack was born on May 28, 1911, near Manassa, Colorado; his sister Helen married Doc Edgar, and although he had lost a hand in a machinery accident he was considered an excellent mechanic. [2]
Ryan & Chambless (2020) explain why the mine's green waited decades for a name:
“During the early years of mining the Blue Ridge, Orvil found beautiful green turquoise, which he ignored because there was no market for it at the time and instead focused on the beautiful blue that is still known as Blue Ridge.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 126 [2]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 126), when the green became popular in the 1990s it was sold as Orvil Jack. [2]
Jay Wintle recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 126), that Orvil came out around 1956-57 with his brother-in-law Holland (Doc) Edgar to mine the Blue Jay claim, located the Blue Ridge just south of it, and staked the nine Blue Ridge claims between 1956 and 1972, mining part-time while working ranch and gold-mine jobs. [2]
Jay Wintle told Ryan & Chambless (2020) where the name came from:
“It was always the Blue Ridge then Lee Louden and I named it Orvil Jack when we mined the green in the 1990s.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 126 [2]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 126), the authors date Orvil's Blue Ridge location to around 1962 and have him finding the green in his early years there, while Jay Wintle's recollection in the same book has him staking from 1956 and finding the green only in the late 1970s. [2]
The mine glossary in Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 343) lists the Blue Ridge Mine, the Orvil Jack, in Lander County, Nevada. It places the Blue Jay Mine next to Blue Ridge and the Blue Spider Mine northwest of Blue Jay. [2]
Sources
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2010. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2010.
- Ryan, Mike, II, and Philip Chambless. Turquoise in America, Part Two: 1910–1990. Callais Press, 2020. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2020.