It was tiny treasures offered by our rivers that first attracted European eyes back to this area, and ultimately, provided a name for this place.
According to local historian Gus Clemens’ foundational book on the settlement of this area, “The Concho Country,” published by Mulberry Avenue Books in 1981, the European history of the Concho Valley begins with the river being named “Nueces” by Hernando Coronado on his trip through these parts in 1541.
Impressed by all the pecan trees lining the riverbanks in the area, he thought “River of Nuts” a fitting name.
Lady in Blue Changes Local History Forever
In 1629, a large band of Jumano natives trekked hundreds of miles northwest to the Isleta Pueblo Mission, in what is now New Mexico, inviting priests to come to this this area.
The Jumano told the priests that a “Lady in Blue” had appeared miraculously to them many times, sharing a message of Christian faith, and instructing them to seek out the reverend fathers there.
Father Juan de Salas, during two mission trips to the Jumanos here in 1629 and 1632, was shown some precious little freshwater pearls.
Later, Hernán Martín and Diego del Castillo, on their 1650 foray into what became San Angelo searching for the Jumanos, managed to accumulate some of the little seed-sized pearls and brought them back to the governor.
That narrative goes on to relate that the pearls were received with great excitement 500 miles northwest, in Santa Fe, and with that discovery, the river systems here took on two names: “Rio Nueces” and “Rio de las Perlas” or river of pearls, on new maps.
The gem-quality freshwater pearls they were seeking come from the mussels now known as the Tampico pearlymussel (Cyrtonaias tampicoensis), and in those times, a pearl might be found in one out of every 100 mussels, a lesson learned by Diego de Guadalajara when he was sent to this place in 1654, specifically to locate and harvest as many of the uniquely-lustrous lilac-colored jewels as possible.
After strip-mining the riverbeds around here for mussels, they decided to call it the “River of Shells,” and that’s the name that stuck.
The “Rio de los Conchos,” slowly became known as the source of Concho pearls, which are still prized for their exceptional beauty.
(Explorer Alonso de León found another waterway to call “Rio de las Nueces” in 1689.)
Although typically very small, Concho pearls commanded impressive prices at home and abroad, as seen in the Saturday, Nov. 19, 1887, edition of the Dallas Daily Herald, which advised “A Galveston man wants all the Concho river pearls to send to France where they find a good market.”
In San Angelo, there were always some to be found for sale, at jewelers here and there, and prospecting for the pearls became a favorite pastime for local boys.
A 1903 news item from a San Angelo paper noted that “Charles Hobbs purchased a handsome Concho pearl last week from Frank Cole, of Sterling, at $75.”
That was about the top price paid for large and exceptionally beautiful specimens for many years, which according to the internet, is the equivalent of about $2,550 today.
For instance, on Sept. 6, 1911, it’s reported that “Tom Vestal, of the Trust Building Barber Shop, is exhibiting a Concho Pearl which he found Monday at the junction of the North and South Concho rivers. The pearl is valued at $75, according to a local jeweler, and is a beauty, being perfect. It is almost one-quarter of an inch in diameter at the base.”
Most pearls in that era sold for somewhere between $1 and $15, becoming a little gold-mine for anyone who didn’t mind spending time in the river.
Advertisements for jewelers outside of town began appearing in the local newspaper not long after that, like Simmons & Gosch of San Saba, who promised the highest market price for the little pearls, by registered mail.
A Local Trade Develops
Not long after the turn of the 20th Century, the grocery store owned and operated by Silas Keeton became one of the principal markets for the trade, where he kept a large selection for sale, along with Navajo blankets and other curios of the southwest.
Displaying a few of his more interesting pearls in a glass case, he found they attracted some new customers. He talked to a reporter about his hobby in 1926:
“Silas Keeton, the top quality grocer has been in business here for a quarter of a century and during that time has had a hobby of collecting Concho pearls. He has a fine collection, with some rare specimens. At this season of the year, there are many who would like a pearl of rare beauty, or a collection to make up a necklace or some other ornament. Mr. Keeton has them in their original shape and beauty. Anyone interested in rare pearls should see Mr. Keeton’s collection. They represent extreme beauty in all sizes and shapes and will permit the making of any design of ornament, ring or pin to suit the buyer.”
Keaton closed his store in the 1930s, but continued to buy and sell the little pearls for the rest of his life, usually placing an advertisement offering them from his home address on Pecos Street around the beginning of December, for Christmas gifts.
A New Chapter
By the time Mr. Keaton died in 1950, Bart Mann had been in business for a few years — but not as a jeweler; he was in the warehouse and shipping business.
Known for building a successful Mayflower Van Lines business in town, Mann took up the interesting hobby of goldsmithing in the early 1950s.
In time, his exceptional work began to draw praise from the press when he entered his creations in showcase exhibitions around the state, and this led to him being commissioned by President Lyndon Johnson to create a collection of gifts for presentation to foreign dignitaries in the 1960s.
In 1968, Mann and his friend Jack Morgan, another successful businessman in town, opened Bart Mann Originals, which before long became famous for their creations involving Concho pearls.
When Mann died in 1974, Morgan kept the business going, hiring a young jeweler by the name of Mark Priest in 1975.
Bart Mann Jewelers continued to be a center for Concho pearls, and in 1995, Priest bought the business from Morgan, who stayed on for many years following his official retirement.
You can still see an excellent selection at his store located at 18 E. Concho Ave., and at other fine jewelers in San Angelo.
Silence of the Clams
All joking aside, according to federal officials, C. tampicoensis has been an endangered species since 1976, primarily due to over-harvesting in search Concho pearls.
Several rules have been changed in an effort to protect the fragile population, and the state no longer issues licenses for commercial harvesting, so technically any gathering for commercial purposes is illegal.
However, current Texas law allows for a recreational bag limit of not more than 25 pounds a day of whole mussels and clams, or 12 pounds of mussel and clam shells for personal consumption or use with a valid fishing license.
According to 31 Tex. Admin. Code § 57.157, mussels and clams may only be taken by hand.
Locally, the gathering of mussels is prohibited on the Concho River from the mouth of Kickapoo Creek, downstream to the bridge at U.S. Highway 83 in Concho County, and in the San Saba River from Farm-to-Market Road 864 in Menard County, downstream to the bridge at U.S. 83.
It’s Dangerous Out There
Prospecting for pearls can be a dangerous hobby.
The best method for finding them involves bare feet, but navigating local waterways without shoes can be hazardous with the sharp rocks and other pointed debris hidden in the silt, along with abandoned fishing lures and broken glass. So, it’s probably a good idea to make sure your tetanus shot is up to date.
There are also wildlife hazards to consider.
The Concho River’s banks are a favorite place for snakes, and several water serpents call the Conchos home, including the cottonmouth AKA, the water moccasin.
Also: all snakes can swim, and rattlesnakes have been known to fall out of trees, sometimes into the river, and occasionally landing in the vicinity of a very surprised person.
The rivers around here are also the habitat of the non-venomous Concho Water Snake and the Diamondback Water Snake, often killed needlessly by nervous humans on fishing expeditions.
There are also snapping turtles, poison ivy, chiggers, ticks, hornets’ nests and other toothed, clawed, stingered or thorn-bearing species to be found on just about every stretch of river in West Texas.
A Giant Waste of Time and Resources
If you or someone you know is thinking about getting rich through Concho pearls, please consider the following:
Unlike historical times, when the ratio of losers to winners was on the order of 100 -to-1, experts now say the likelihood of finding a pearl is closer to 500 or 1,000-to-1, depending on which stretch of the river you’re on, making it entirely possible — and even likely — that you will kill hundreds of mussels over the course of several days, just to find a single pearl.
If you decide to go, don’t go alone: use the buddy system, or at least let someone else know where you’re going to be.
