What Is Crater of Diamonds State Park?
This is America’s only active diamond mine and one of the only places in the world where the public can look for diamonds in their original location!
What Makes It Historical?
In August of 1906, John Wesley Huddleston stumbled upon some particularly sparkly stones on his 160-acre farm, which he’d just bought a few months earlier! It was in the middle of an area that had been passed over 17 years earlier by state geologist, John Branner, who’d suspected diamonds in this peridotite soil but not found any himself! Mr. Huddleston sent his find to Little Rock, where jeweler, Charles S. Stifft, pronounced them legitimate diamonds, and within a month, Mr. Huddleston already had an offer for his land: $36,000, or over a million by today’s measurement!
While Sam Reyburn started digging on Mr. Huddleston’s former farm, nearby, Walter Mauney found two more diamonds on his dad’s farm in March of 1907. Unlike the Huddleston farm, the Mauneys opened their land for public prospecting, sparking a diamond rush, which led to tent cities and the creation of Millard Mauney’s “boomtown” of Kimberley! Tourism and speculation exploded in the area, even bringing a “Diamond Route” extension of the Memphis, Dallas, & Gulf Railroad into Murfreesboro, up until the diamonds started to go scarce in 1910 causing both the tent city and Kimberley to collapse!
As the land transitioned to a tourist destination then state park, it still churned up some remarkable stones! In 1924, Wesley “Uncle Sam” Basham dug up a 40.23-carat pink diamond, the largest ever found in the USA! In 1990, Shirley Strawn found the 3.03-carat Strawn-Wagner Diamond, cut into the most perfect “Triple Zero” diamond the American Gem Society (AGS) ever certified! All in all, over 35,000 diamonds have been found at Crater of Diamonds State Park since its foundation in 1972 and can still be found there today!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
- Volunteer with Arkansas State Parks!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
209 State Park Rd
Murfreesboro, AR 71958
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Except for major holidays, the park is open daily starting at 8:00 AM! The diamond search area closes at 4:00 PM, but the visitor center stays open until 5:00 PM!
More Photos
