VT College of Science Magazine Summer 2008 | Page 7

He is also listed as the draftsman on a 1:500,000 Geological Map of
Virginia published in 1913.

M a g a z i n e

It appears that prior to 1910 Watkins was employed as a geologist by
the Southern Railroad. While working for the railroad, he is reported to
have discovered a deposit of crystalline turquoise at the Bishop Copper
Prospect, near Lynch Station in Campbell County, Va.

S c i e n c e

In 1911, Watkins published a book called Cotillion Figures (New York, The
Neale Publishing Co.) that showed diagrams of floor patterns for more
than 20 party game ballroom dances. This book is available as a free
download on the Web at 2020ok.com/books/4/cotillion-figures-9404.htm.

o f

The first graduate of the geology (now geosciences) program at Virginia
Tech was Joel Hill Watkins from Charlotte Court House, Va., who successfully and proudly finished all requirements with the VPI Class of 1907.
And what ever became of the department’s first graduate?

C o l l e g e

First Graduate Prominent in
Southeastern Mining Operations

5

Watkins was perhaps the first kyanite entrepreneur in the United States.
During the 1920s, he began purchasing kyanite deposits in the south-

Watkins published at least two articles on kyanite mining. His article,
“Economic Aspects of Kyanite,” in the Virginia Geological Survey Bulletin
38 (1932) describes the mining operation at Bakers Mountain, and in
1942, he published “Kyanite in Graves Mountain, Georgia” in the Bulletin
of the American Ceramic Society.
Last fall, more than a dozen descendants of Joel Watkins, including his
son, David Watkins Sr., gathered for the Department of Geosciences
100th anniversary celebration at The Inn at Virginia Tech.
Top Portrait of Joel Watkins
Center Watkins as a child with mother and
brothers (circa 1890)
Bottom Descendents of Joel Watkins gather
at the Department of Geosciences 100th year
celebration

“It was a most distinguished honor to have the Watkins family with us
at our celebration,” said Robert Tracy, department chair. “One of them
even traveled from England to celebrate the geosciences department’s
first century of accomplishments.”

Issue No. 5 SUMMER 2008

east. By 1927, he was involved with kyanite mining at Bakers Mountain,
located in Prince Edward County, Va., as a partner in the McLanahanWatkins Company. This mining operation changed ownership several
times until 1943, when a group of local investors bought the mine and
began operating it under the name Kyanite Products Corporation. In
1945, Gene Dixon Sr. and his father, Guy A. Dixon, bought out the other
owners and formed Kyanite Mining Corporation. This company, currently owned by Gene B. Dixon Jr., is the world’s largest kyanite producer. At
one time, Watkins owned a famous mineral locality at Graves Mountain,
Ga., which he bought in 1940.