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AUGUSTA — The Oxford County Mining and Milling Co. of West Paris, and the Perham family, which founded and ran it, will be the topic of the May Kennebec Historical Society public presentation.
The presentation will be at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 16, at the Maine State Library, 230 State St.
Oxford County is world-famous for its pegmatites — coarse-grained, igneous rocks that contain exceptionally large crystals of feldspar, mica, quartz, and sometimes a suite of rare earth elements and gem-quality minerals. The most spectacular crystals are found in open cavities in the rock that allow minerals to grow unimpeded, and the minerals found there tend to have few flaws.
Three generations of the Perham family have mined the pegmatites of Oxford County from a number of different quarries. In the early 1920s, the nearest feldspar processing mill was in Auburn. Since it was not economical to transport the feldspar that far, Alfred Perham, with the help of some local investors, constructed the Oxford Mining and Milling Co. plant in 1924 to process the feldspar mined in the area by the Perhams and others. The mill operated into the late 1960s.
Alfred’s son, Stanley, opened his store in West Paris in 1919.Stanley’s son, Frank Perham, who trained as a geologist at Bates College, will present the program May 16. Perham, 83, operates a mineral museum, The Mineral Pocket, and has a vast amount of knowledge and the respect from geologists and enthusiasts alike to show for it, according to a news release from the historical society.
The presentation is free to the public. Donations are accepted.
