Rockhounds,
collectors and anyone interested in lapidary and more flock every
year to the “Biggest Small Town Show” to find their newest
treasures. In a little western town just 20 miles east of the
Colorado River on I-10 is home to the town of a rock hounds paradise
since the 1960's, Quartzisite, Arizona. Every year it is home to the
biggest small town show reaping more than a million visitors is the
Quartzsite show. About 2,000 vendors ranging from rocks, gems,
minerals, fossils and everything in-between create one of the world’s
largest open air flea markets in little Quartzsite, Arizona.
The
paradise gives way to many treasures if you are willing to dig and
claw your way through tons of boxes, barrels, tubs, tables, and even
trucks. There are eight major gem and mineral shows as well as
vendors of raw and handcrafted merchandise selling to customers from
all walks of life.
A
little history on Quartziste, it was settled in 1856 when Charles
Tyson built a fort to protect his water supply from attacks by Native
Americas. Fort Tyson soon became a stopover on the
Ehrenhurg-to-Prescott stagecoach route. It had become known as
Tyson’s Wells by the time the stage stopped running and the town
then became abandoned.
A
small mining boom revitalized the town as Quartzsite in 1897 and it
remained until 1965, when the Pow Wow Rock, Gem & Mineral Show
began the rockhound winter fever migrations to Quartzsite each year.
In these more modern days, the population can swell to almost a
million during the January and February rockhound extravaganza.
