They were every color in the rainbow and every size in between.
They were freshwater pearls, later named cultured freshwater pearls.
Between 1886 and 1918, Smithville was one of the major outlets for pearl production and sales. Its demise filtered on the sudden global economic pricing downfall. In simpler terms, the freshwater pearl was overpriced by the underpriced cultured pearl, which sold for a much cheaper price. For clarity, it’s the freshwater pearl versus the cultured pearl. The former is from the earth; the latter is man-made.
Notwithstanding, one can find these pearls in 2024. “The freshwater pearls are the official state gem of Tennessee and of Kentucky. They were chosen by the respective state legislatures in 1979, and are rarely found naturally from these living animals, but they may be found growing in the waters of the Tennessee River. The chances of anyone locating a freshwater pearl are 1 in 10,000. Inclusively, the freshwater pearls are now grown at the only freshwater pearl-culturing farm operation in the North American continent. The hands-on museum is located in Camden, Tennessee on Kentucky lake. Simply stated, one mussel can have as many as 50 pearls at one time. However, current production limits each shell to 24-32 pearls.
“Today, technicians can implant as many as ten nuclei in each mussel depending on the size and age of the mussel. Other farms across the world may implant up to 50 nuclei per mollusk but the Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Farm sets limits to ten per mussel for an overall higher success rate of 95%. Technicians implant nuclei and mussels are placed into baskets in groups of 18. The impregnated mussels are suspended in water for 18 months to three years depending on the quality of pearl desired. This procedure is manually done to add to the underpopulation of freshwater pearls available for sale anywhere in the United States. The mussels are living animals, according to scientific research.
In a recent www.wikipedia.com documentation, the words were emphatic, “Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Uniondale, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of freshwater. These climates, but also in colder, more temperate areas, such as Scotland, are protected under the law. Most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China.”
The etymological formation of a freshwater pearl is documented as, “Natural pearls are nearly 100% calcium carbonate and conchiolin. It is thought that natural pearls form under a set of accidental conditions when a microscopic intruder or parasite enters a bivalve mollusk and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, irritated by the intruder, forms a pearl sac of external mantle tissue cells and secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl. Natural pearls come in many shapes with perfectly round ones being comparatively rare. For better clarity and simplicity, if you mishandle or irritate a mussel, it will get mad and grow a pearl!
Today, a freshwater pearl necklace sells for up to $24,680. A freshwater pearl ring at Tiffany and Company in New York sells for $900. A freshwater pendant with only one pearl is $925. Much of the pricing at Tiffanys includes the hardware settings – 18 carat gold inlays. Cultured freshwater pearls exhibit a vast spectrum of colors, ranging from pristine white to deep black with many shades in between. Unblemished pure white pearls are exceedingly rare and, therefore, hold the highest pricing value, as do any color of blue. They are versatile gemstones that are cultivated in freshwater, as opposed to sea or saltwater.
Continuing, the monetary value of a pearl varies dramatically depending on many factors, such as its type, size, color, surface quality, and more. A wild pearl will be worth more than a cultured pearl. However, on average, a pearl’s value ranges from $300 to $1500. In differentiation regarding the low selling cost of freshwater pearls, it is written that the irregular shapes of freshwater pearls, and typically being smaller in size are two reasons why they cost less. The larger and more uniform the pearl, the more expensive. “Much depends on where the pearls are purchased,” wrote www.quora.com.
Knowledgably, cultured freshwater pearls are farmed and created using freshwater mussels (the Caney Fork River once was overflowing with mussels). These pearls are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale, but are now almost exclusively produced in China. On the other hand, cultured pearls can be cultivated in seawater or freshwater bodies. Today, more than 95% of the pearls ready for the sales market are cultured pearls. They are much cheaper than fresh water pearls and are similar to the ones grown in DeKalb County. Simplistically, fresh water pearls are initiated by nature; cultured pearls are initiated by humans. It was written recently that “there may be more mussels in the Caney Fork River harnessing more pearls.” Some larger pearls were sold for $1,000.00 each in February, 1886. By the end of the dealers most successful pearl season in DeKalb County, more than $35,000 total worth of pearls were handled, wrote the Freshwater Pearl Association.
As the late DeKalb County historian, Thomas G. Webb wrote, “A commercial venture of little lasting influence, but of considerable profit, was the unusual business of buying and selling pearls.” The pearls were gathered from mussels in the Caney Fork River where a number of specimens had been found. A recent finding of a pearl in a river near Smithville was sold to Tiffany and Company in New York for thousands of dollars. The pearls were grown and found in the mussels (The lifespan is 150 years. It takes one mussel six-months to four-years to make one pearl).
During the low water time from June through November, hundreds of men would gather mussels. “It is said to be the best paying enterprise in this section of the country, " wrote The Daily Morning Astorian newspaper from Astoria, Oregon on February 5, 1886. “It was a slow and laborious task,” wrote Webb, “Sometimes, the searcher might open several hundred mussels before finding a pearl of any value. However, when a pearl was found, it’s value was somewhat more than that of pearls today. One pearl could bring enough money to buy a house and a small farm,” he continued. As mentioned in www.wikipedia.com , “Many people in the Temperance Hall Community of DeKalb County would go pearl hunting in the Caney Fork River and the found pearls would be worth thousands of dollars.”
The rarest natural pearl color is blue. “It is exceptionally hard to find and locate. Blue pearls range from a pretty pastel blue to aquamarine or a deep, dark blue. They are unique because they are not actually round and have differing shapes,” quoted www.fethery.com. On another note, the Tennessee pearl has been named the official state gem. Unfortunately, it is a rare commodity as most jewelers have given up on the Tennessee pearl. According to the Tennessee Pearl History, “After World War I, dams were built on many of the rivers and the muscles lost their swift and shallow shoals.” In accordance, “Tennessee pearls are among the most beautiful and durable in the world,” wrote the advertisement for Pardon’s Jewelers in West Tennessee.
In 1888, Lee Tinsley, who lived on the Caney Fork River, found a pearl in which he was offered $200 by a New York firm. By 1892, there were several pearl dealers in Smithville. D. G. Lee acquired a “fine pearl,” which he sold to Tiffany’s in New York for $500. “The dealers were traveling to other states looking for pearls,” wrote Webb.
DeKalb Countians Lon Crowly, John Windham and Sam Foster bought $1500 worth of pearls on a five-week purling expedition to Kentucky. “The dealers did not do the actual work of finding the pearls, but sometimes they would help finance the building of a pearl boat,” wrote Webb, “Pearls were hunted by the boat while using the Caney Fork River and other rivers.” Throughout various readings, the Tennessee River is mentioned as a favorite and popular pearling location.
Besides Kentucky, the state of Arkansas had several rivers where pearls were found. In 1902 Near the Caney Fork River in 1902, a short-lived Post Office named Pearlville was established near Buckner’s Chapel. Among the additional Smithville pearl dealers were S. L. Fitts, John Smith, Brown Foster (Sam’s brother), and Tim Christian, who was a nephew of dealer John Windham and a brother-in-law to dealers Alvin and Solon Conger (Julianna’s great-grandfather and Jane’s grandfather). The photos of the pearls attached with this article were handed down through the Conger’s generation.) Solon Conger was their uncle.
On February 6, 1901, The Smithville Review wrote that the Smithville pearl dealers had just closed their most successful season, during which they had handled more than $35,000 worth of pearls. They had several more successful seasons. By 1918, imported cultured pearls had become available at a much lower price than natural pearls, thus the trade in natural pearls gradually diminished and disappeared. An ending expansion from www.wikipedia.com reads, “One of the first recorded histories of the cultured water pearls (960-1279 AD) was found in ancient China during the Song Dynasty. On another note, the U. S. Federal Trade Commission requires that farmed freshwater pearls be referred to “freshwater cultured pearls.”
The reasons the mussels are declining are they need the very best water quality and river habitat to successfully complete its life cycle. Modern agricultural practices and river modifications have conspired against it that it is now classed as critically endangered by the IUCN and its populations are continually decreasing. Today, there is a concerned conservation effort to save the freshwater pearl mussel, which, by birth, is classified as a sea animal.
