17607 N.E. 52nd Street
Liberty, MO 64068

Uncle Earl's Mining Camp

As settlers moved west, many were on the lookout for gold and rare minerals, especially in the river valleys like we have at Carolyn's Country Cousins. Today, you can still search for minerals at Uncle Earl's Mining Camp.

To separate the minerals from the dirt and sand, the miners first built a sluice something like ours—a wooden trough of fast moving water that can be controlled with gates and channels. Soil is scoped up in a pan or a sluce box, and dipped into the running water. The water washes away the crude, and reveals the sparkling stones and interesting, sometimes valuable minerals.

Every miner will find a collection of interesting minerals in the sluce box, and staff will assist you in identify what minerals you have found. There is an additional fee for the mining camp of $5, so that every miner can keep his minerals to take home to start a personal collection.