THE STORY OF SCOTT RESOURCES

The story of Scott Resources begins with Samuel Scott, a man whose life embodied the curiosity, resilience, and pioneering spirit that still define the company today. Born in 1844 in Milton, Kentucky, and raised on an Illinois farm, Sam served in the Union Army during the Civil War before setting his sights on the untamed frontier of the American West. He arrived in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the mid-1870s, where he helped found Rapid City using nothing more than a pocket compass and a vision for what a new town could become. To this day, Rapid City’s original grid remains angled 18 degrees off true north, aligned perfectly with Rapid Creek just as Sam laid it out.

Sam’s life in the Black Hills read like something between a geology textbook and a Western adventure. On August 2, 1876, while walking through Deadwood, he overheard a drunken drifter named John McCall threatening to kill the gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok. Sam rushed to the Number 10 Saloon to warn Hickok, who thanked him calmly and said, “Have a chair, Sam. I will move as soon as I play out this hand.” Moments later, McCall entered and fired the shot that made Hickok a legend and Sam Scott an eyewitness to one of the most famous events in frontier history.

After settling in the Black Hills with his wife Edna Everly Scott, Sam turned his passion toward geology and education. He helped stock the first trout in the region’s streams and in 1897 wrote Rocks, Minerals, and Other Resources of the Golden Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, one of the first geological surveys of the area. His fieldwork and maps introduced scientists to pegmatite deposits that would later prove economically significant.

In 1902, while picking wild raspberries with his family near Custer, Sam discovered what would become the Scott Rose Quartz Mine, a glittering vein of pink crystal that would shape his family’s story for generations. The mine quickly became known worldwide for producing the deepest and most brilliant rose quartz found in the United States. The material was shipped to Germany for fine jewelry, carved into a spectacular bowl that still resides at the Field Museum in Chicago, and even presented by Edna Scott to First Lady Grace Coolidge as a necklace in 1927. Rose quartz from the Scott Mine marks Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grave in Massachusetts and continues to be admired for its exceptional color and clarity.

After Sam’s death in 1917, Edna Scott took the helm of the mining operation, a rare and remarkable role for a woman of her time. She managed the business with both strength and grace, keeping the mine alive through decades of change and preserving a family tradition rooted in craftsmanship and integrity.

Their son George Washington Scott carried that same spirit into education. Born in 1889, George combined his love of science and teaching to found Scott Scientific, Inc. in 1936. What began as a small family workshop assembling rock and mineral kits soon grew into a respected educational supplier known nationwide for its elegant, accurate, and beautifully crafted geological collections. Under George’s leadership, Scott Scientific became a trusted name among teachers and universities, helping generations of students explore the natural world.

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.

By the mid-1980s, Scott Resources joined American Educational Products (AMEP) of Boulder, Colorado, becoming part of a growing family of science education companies that included Hubbard Scientific and Redco Science. Under AMEP, the Scott brand reached classrooms around the world. Even as corporate ownership changed, the heart of the company, the care, detail, and authenticity behind every specimen, remained true to its roots.

When AMEP closed its doors in 2019, Scott Resources could easily have become just another forgotten name in science education. Instead, three longtime employees, Lane Miller, Eric Miller, and Ginny Lohkamp, refused to let that happen. Along with Ginny’s husband Mike Lohkamp, they acquired the original rock and mineral materials, re-established the business as Scott Resources 2, Inc., and kept the legacy alive for a new generation.

That legacy deepened again in 2025 when Scott Resources moved to West Milton, Pennsylvania, a town that fittingly shares its name with Sam Scott’s birthplace. There, under the stewardship of Chris Kling, Scott Kling, Jay Herrigel, and Joanna Folami, the company entered a new chapter rooted in both education and craftsmanship. They were joined by Maurice Segura II, who moved his family from Colorado to Pennsylvania out of love for the company and belief in its future. Together, this team continues to build on nearly 150 years of history, connecting classrooms, collectors, and communities through the enduring story of Earth’s treasures.

Scott Resources is deeply grateful to those who continue to make this work possible. We would like to acknowledge Carl Scott for his continued interest and help in providing us with various specimens that you will find in our kits, and whose grandfather founded the original Scott Resources.

We are thankful for our loyal employees who work tirelessly and faithfully to create the products you receive, and for our many dealers who share these products with teachers, parents, and grandparents who want kids to explore the world of rocks, minerals, and fossils through hands-on learning.

As our long-time employee Brad reminds us daily, let’s “Keep on rockin’!”