Celestine

specimen number:
2013640

location:
Hanson Quarry, Sylvania, Ohio, USA

description:

An exceptionally large lustrous partly gemmy double terminated thick crystal of Celestine on matrix. This is in terrific condition. The crystal size is very impressive for the species and locality. The quality is excellent.

The Hanson Quarry complex (historically known as the Silica quarries and comprising the East, West, and North pits), located in Sylvania Township, Lucas County, Ohio, United States, is a sprawling industrial open-pit aggregate operation globally celebrated for both its commercial limestone production and its world-class paleontological and mineral specimens. Geologically, these deep excavations cut into a rich Paleozoic sequence within the Michigan Basin, exposing the highly fossiliferous Middle Devonian-age Silica Formation, the Dundee Limestone, and the underlying Silurian-to-Devonian Detroit River Group. The highly calcareous and argillaceous strata host structural solution cavities and vugs that precipitated aesthetic crystals of celestine, calcite, pyrite, and barite, while the soft gray shales are internationally renowned for preserving pristine, exquisitely detailed marine fossils, particularly the iconic trilobite Eldredgeops rana (formerly Phacops rana). Historically, quarrying in the immediate area began as early as the 1850s under pioneer Abram Yates, developing into a major industrial hub in the 1920s through the mid-twentieth century under the Sandusky Cement Company, the Medusa Portland Cement Company, and the France Stone Company. Hanson Aggregates acquired the extensive property in 1995, and through subsequent corporate successions up to 2026, the site has transitioned under the global Heidelberg Materials brand. While liability regulations, deep modern extraction methods, and flooding in abandoned sections have completely halted field collecting within the active industrial pits, a successful joint partnership established in 2001 created the nearby Sylvania Fossil Park, where trucked-in shale from the quarry allows the public to safely collect these classic Devonian fossils, maintaining the site's status as an essential geological and cultural benchmark.

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