The highly anticipated Christopher Nolan adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” hits theaters this weekend, but Odysseus isn’t the only one to embark on an epic journey this summer. My colleague Allison Magnus and I recently went on a quest of our own. No, we weren’t returning home, per se. We were on the hunt for something more fantastical — something I reckon Odysseus himself may have enjoyed learning about. Cumberlandite!
Rhode Island’s state rock is extremely rare and extremely cool. Scientists believe Cumberlandite formed billions of years ago when a volcano erupted and fused together dozens of minerals with magma. The result? A dark brown or black rock speckled with white and levels of iron and magnetite high enough to make the stone magnetic.
Cumberlandite can be found in only two places in the entire world: Taberg, Sweden and Rhode Island. Though glacial transportation carried chunks of Cumberlandite across the Ocean State, the home base for this unique rock is Iron Mine Hill in, you guessed it, Cumberland. But, despite its extreme rarity, the stone isn’t worth much.
Our long and winding journey to Cumberlandite
I’m not sure why, but I expected to roll up to Iron Mine Hill and see an unobstructed, wide open field with a bunch of neatly groomed boulders just waiting for us to explore. Like, imagine a nice cemetery, but instead of tombstones, it’s just Cumberlandite.
Well, not quite.
When we arrived in Cumberland, Allison typed Cumberlandite into her Apple Maps, and a location popped up: the Elder Ballou Meeting House Cemetery.(Though, unlike I may have imagined, the century-old graves were definitely not made of Cumberlandite.) We walked around the circumference of the cemetery and… no Cumberlandite.
We then searched for the exact location of Iron Mine Hill, but our maps led us to a series of private residences. (Also not quite what we envisioned.) Thinking better than to trespass, we sought out other options.
Finally, after cruising through Cumberland neighborhoods, we found a trail. Huzzah! But as we stood at the trail map and furiously Googled, we found that our journey to Iron Mine Hill would be quite a hike — literally. (This is your sign to dress for the journey.) In my dainty summer sandals, I headed back to the cemetery with Allison to give our exploring there another try.
In the woods to the left of the cemetery, we came across a series of boulders that looked like Cumberlandite. We used a magnet to test our hypothesis and, sure enough, there it was: Rhode Island’s state rock. We squealed with excitement.
But beneath our wonderstruckness, reservations bubbled. We weren’t technically at Iron Mine Hill yet. So we kept searching. (Producer hack, between you and me: As we explored some of Iron Mine Hill’s four acres, I used our tripod as a walking stick.) In a short while, though, we stumbled on a chunk of woods in Northern Rhode Island next to a very overgrown field and located just behind a row of houses.
Side-stepping broken glass and what I feared was poison ivy, Allison and I stumbled on even larger boulders of Cumberlandite. Instead of a simple accessory to the forest, Cumberlandite took center stage here. So we put our tripod to different (more appropriate) use and filmed our explainer video. After our adventure, we finally emerged from the woods — sweaty, tired and still full of awe.
Top things to know before you explore
On our way back to the office, Allison and I joked that the Cumberlandite Tourism Board (consider this our pitch for such a thing) needs a giant, neon, comically large arrow to guide visitors to our state rock. Or at least a little sign telling people they’re in the right place! To be fair, maybe there is one. If you find it, let us know.
So, was it worth venturing out? Despite the summer heat and relatively rugged terrain, I say yes. Here are our three top tips:
- Wear tall socks and boots, or at the very least, sneakers.
- Don’t go out on a 90-degree day. For a forest, there is actually very little shade.
- If you’re not 100% sure about whether or not you stepped in or around poison ivy, scrub yourself with Dawn dish soap as soon as you get home. (This worked for us at least.)
A natural phenomenon is always going to take my breath away, maybe even more so if it’s found in a hard-to-reach, seemingly impossible spot to locate. Perhaps if more people knew about Cumberlandite, we’d have more ways to access it and fewer developments built on the surrounding land. But maybe staying hidden is the whole point — preserving Cumberlandite and protecting it from those wishing to dismantle nature for a souvenir.
For the adventurers out there, check it out for yourself. And remember: Enjoy, but be respectful; this rock has been here for billions of years, don’t be the person that changes that.
