GREENLANDITE, LABRODORITE, ANDULUSITE … many gemstones are named for their origins, but I am one of the few to have given my name to a town: a spot in North Carolina that is the only place in America open to the public for emerald mining. My discovery in 1879 kicked off a minor mining frenzy, but since then I have lived mostly in obscurity. Which is strange, because my finest greenery rivals emerald, and I’m the only precious gemstone that can’t be synthesized.