THE STORY OF SCOTT RESOURCES

The story of Scott Resources begins with Samuel Scott. His life epitomized the grit and resilience of pioneers in the American West. He was born in Milton, Kentucky, on September 6, 1844. His family soon moved to Illinois, where he was raised on a farm until he enlisted in Company B of the 58th Illinois Infantry Regiment, a unit that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, at Springfield, Illinois, on August 9, 1863. After the Civil War, Samuel Scott traveled throughout the American West and eventually migrated to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where he became one of the eleven men who founded Rapid City, a site they thought looked promising for agriculture. His pocket compass was used to lay out Rapid City about 18 degrees off true North to align with Rapid Creek, which runs through town. A map of Rapid City reveals that the historical downtown square mile is diagonally aligned with the rest of the city.  

When Samuel Scott came to the Black Hills in the spring of 1875, the region was still truly the Wild West. The Black Hills Gold Rush was just getting started. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, commonly known as Custer’s Last Stand or as the Battle of the Greasy Grass to the Lakota and other Plains Indians, took place June 25-26, 1876.  

At about 3 p.m. on August 2, 1876, Samuel Scott happened upon a visibly drunk John McCall crossing Main Street in Deadwood, South Dakota. McCall loudly asked passersby if they knew the whereabouts of the famous gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok and threatened to shoot him. Samuel went to the Number 10 Saloon to warn Wild Bill, who was playing cards with three other men. Wild Bill thanked Sam for the warning but calmly replied, “Have a chair, Sam, I will move as soon as I play out this hand.” Sam sat alongside him, and shortly after, a shot rang out and Wild Bill fell forward across the table and slipped to the floor, killed almost instantly. John McCall was soon brought to justice in true Old West fashion. Legend has it that when he was shot, Hickock held a pair of black aces and black eights, along with an unknown hole card. To this day, poker players refer to this as a “dead man’s hand”.

Samuel Scott married Edna Everly on December 13, 1885, in Rapid City. They had four children: Charles, George, Alta, and Frank. The family moved to Custer and spent many years running a rock shop there, which is still in the family.

Samuel Scott’s Geological Map of the Black Hills

Always a lover of nature, Samuel Scott helped stock the first trout in the Black Hills in 1890. Mr. Scott remained in Rapid City until 1893, when he relocated to a ranch near Custer, South Dakota. His passion for rocks and minerals gained recognition in 1896, following the completion of a geological map of the Black Hills region spanning South Dakota and Wyoming. Then in 1897, Samuel Scott wrote “Rocks, Minerals, and other Resources of the Golden Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, which included the first description of pegmatite  (a valuable igneous rock that is made up of large, interlocking crystals) in the region. Today, this work is highly sought after as a Black Hills mining relic. If you are interested in learning more tales about Samuel Scott’s adventure-filled life, read The Black Hills Story, Written by A Pioneer. 

On August 15, 1902, Samuel Scott discovered what was to become the Scott Rose Quartz Mine near Custer, South Dakota, while gathering wild raspberries with his family. It became one of the most famous and probably the longest-producing pegmatite mines in the Black Hills. It has been owned and mined by Samuel Scott’s descendants since its discovery. Mr. Scott’s wife, Edna Scott, successfully owned and oversaw operations at the mine for many years following his death in 1917. Over the decades, the Scott Rose Quartz Mine has been passed down through the Scott family. The mine is now owned and operated by Carl Scott, a great-grandson of Samuel Scott, who continues to supply Scott Resources with the high-quality rose quartz used in our rock and mineral kits.   

The Scott Red Rose Quartz mine is located southeast of Custer and is best known for the largest deposits of high-quality rose quartz in the United States. The mine has yielded the most desirable colored rose quartz in the US and is recognized worldwide as a source of deep rose-colored quartz. The original rose quartz vein was located on the face of a predominantly granite mountain and was about 1200 feet long by 50 feet wide and 75 feet high. The rose quartz from the Scott Mine is celebrated worldwide for its exceptional quality and striking color, which ranges from soft pink to deep rose. Its remarkable clarity and the presence of delicate gold traces make it especially prized among collectors. Unlike most rose quartz, which tends to fade over time, specimens from the Scott Mine are renowned for retaining their vibrant color, thanks to trace amounts of iron that help preserve their brilliance for years to come.

Before World War II, the Scott Mine shipped about 1,000 pounds of rose quartz annually to Germany for over 25 years, where it was crafted into jewelry. Scott presented a necklace of rose quartz to the First Lady of the United States, Grace Coolidge, in 1927 at a dedication ceremony of the Community Hall in Custer, South Dakota, supported by the Ladies Civic Club. An exquisite bowl carved from Scott’s rose quartz was donated to the Field Museum in Chicago by Edna Scott and is still there on display. Rose quartz from the Scott Mine was used to mark Ralph Waldo Emerson's grave in Concord, Massachusetts. While the Scott Mine is known primarily for its spectacular rose quartz, other minerals such as mica, feldspar, and beryl are also found and harvested at the site.  

Their son George Washington Scott carried that same spirit into education. Born in 1889, George graduated from Custer Public Schools and attended Spearfish Normal School, now Black Hills State University, before earning a B.S. from Colorado College and later degrees in Mining Engineering and Civil Engineering. An accomplished athlete, he lettered in football and track and was named to the All Rocky Mountain Conference football team.

George's career combined engineering, education, and leadership. He spent more than two decades teaching mathematics and coaching athletics at Fort Collins High School before coaching at the Colorado School of Mines, serving as Dean of Trinidad Junior College, and later becoming Coordinator of Pilot Training at Colorado A&M College during World War II.

In 1936, George's lifelong passion for geology and education led him to found Scott Scientific, Inc. What began as a small family workshop assembling rock and mineral kits grew into a respected educational supplier known nationwide for its accurate, beautifully crafted geological collections. George believed students learned best from authentic specimens, carefully selected from nature, accurately identified, and paired with informative study guides and manuals. His philosophy transformed simple rock collections into complete educational tools that helped generations of students explore Earth science through hands-on discovery.

Many of the collections featured specimens gathered throughout the western United States, including material from the Scott family's famous Red Rose Quartz Mine near Custer. As Scott Scientific expanded, the company became known not only for its beautiful collections, but also for its commitment to quality, authenticity, and craftsmanship. By the 1960s, Scott Scientific offered dozens of educational collections, study manuals, charts, and classroom materials used by schools and universities across the country, establishing itself as one of America's most respected names in geological education.

In 1967, George’s nephew Dr. Charles Scott, a science educator himself, took over and renamed the company Scott Resources. The business expanded beyond geology into math and science education, maintaining the same commitment to quality and discovery that had defined it since the first day Sam set foot in the Black Hills.

To be continued very soon...