Novaculite has been a long sought after mineral as a hone to sharpen cutting tools. Garland County produces some of the finest whet stones in the world and is home to several whet stone quarries and the companies that market those stones worldwide.
However, it is not as well known that the native peoples of the southeast United States and beyond prized Arkansas novaculite for making blades and arrowheads. In fact, there are still remains of these Native American quarries in Garland County.
Dr. Mary Beth Trubit, of the Arkansas Archeological Survey, will lead a class on early novaculite quarries in Garland County. Dr. Trubit is the director of the Caddo Center, located on the campus of Henderson State University. Following the class presentation, we will have the opportunity to hike to one of the Native American quarries located in Gulpha Gorge, weather permitting.