Diamonds - Free in Arkansas for the Digging!

It's finder's keepers at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. The only public diamond mine in the world, Crater of Diamonds offers you a one-of-a-kind adventure - the opportunity to hunt for real diamonds and to keep any you find.

You'll search over a 37-acre plowed field - the eroded surface of an ancient, gem-bearing volcanic pipe. Begin your diamond hunting adventure at the visitor center featuring exhibits and an audio/visual program that explains the area's geology and offers tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.

Since diamonds were first discovered on the site in 1906, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed. The Park offers 59 Class A campsites, picnic sites, a summertime café, laundry, gift shop, hiking trails, interpretive programs and a water play area.

When John Huddleston plucked two diamonds from the greenish-colored dirt of his farm, a hysteria known as "diamond fever" ensued. Although the excitement has since waned, interest in Arkansas's diamond mine remains high. About 60,000 people come to Huddleston's old farm site, now the Crater of Diamonds State Park, each year to search for these precious gems. The crater is the only diamond mine in the world where the public can pay a fee to dig and keep any gems they find.

The Legend of "Diamond John"

Howard Millar, a former operator of a tourist operation at the Crater of Diamonds and an expert on the crater's history, wrote in his book, "It Was Finders-Keepers at America's Only Diamond Mine," that two geologists had studied the crater site several years before Huddleston found diamonds here. However, they didn't find any diamonds.

In 1906, Huddleston bought a farm on the site that the geologists had studied and on Aug. 8 of that year, he found two diamonds. According to Millar, Huddleston discovered the Arkansas diamonds while he was spreading rock salt on his hog farm. He saw some shiny specks in the dirt that he thought might be gold. But instead of gold, he found two stones.

Huddleston declined an offer from the local bank cashier, who said he would pay Huddleston 50 cents for the stones. Eventually, the stones were sent to a gem expert in New York City and it was determined that the stones were indeed Arkansas diamonds. One was a 3-carat white diamond and the other was a 1.5-carat yellow diamond.

Word soon got out about the diamonds and "Diamond John" Huddleston became famous. Thousands of people flocked to the little town of Murfreesboro, sparking a boomtown atmosphere. In one year, over 10,000 people were turned away from the Conway Hotel in Murfreesboro. Soon after his find, Huddleston sold his farm for $36,000 and this portion of the crater was closed to the public.

"Crater of Diamonds" is Born
M. M. Mauney owned another portion of the diamond mine, and he originated the idea of letting visitors pay to hunt for diamonds. Some diamond mining operations also began in the years after the discovery, but for many reasons, shrouded in mystery, lawsuits, fines, bankruptcy and other reasons, they were unsuccessful. Then, in 1952, Millar opened a tourist operation at the mine. He dubbed the site, the "Crater of Diamonds."

Millar promoted the site aggressively and received lots of national publicity. A museum, gift shop and restaurant were built and Millar, who was a geologist, gave lectures about the diamonds and also identified the visitors' finds. He received a 20 percent royalty on the value of any stone over 5 carats.

During those years, thousands of diamonds were found. The most famous find was made in 1956 by Mrs. A. L. Parker of Dallas. Millar wrote that Parker found the diamond after heavy rains had fallen on the freshly plowed field. The white diamond was 15.33 carats. It fueled "diamond fever" here again as the crater was "almost overrun with diamond hunters," Millar wrote.

In 1969, the crater was sold to a mining company and in 1972, and the state of Arkansas purchased it. The site was developed into an 888-acre park nestled in a mixed pine and hardwood forest along the banks of the Little Missouri River. There is a visitor's center, gift shop, picnic area, restaurant (summer only), a 1.3-mile trail and 60 campsites with water and electricity.

Although thousands of people have dug and sifted through the volcanic "kimberlite" soil, there are still plenty of diamonds waiting to be discovered. Since the park opened in 1972, more than 19,000 diamonds have been found, many of which are of gemstone quality. Tom Stolarz, the park's superintendent, says about two diamonds are found by visitors to the park each day. "Most of them are about the size of a match head or smaller, and people usually keep them for souvenirs," he adds.

Not all of the finds have been small. The largest documented diamond find is the 40.23-carat "Uncle Sam" diamond, which was discovered in 1924. The largest diamond found since the Crater of Diamonds became a state park was the 16.37-carat "Amarillo Starlight," discovered in 1975.

Other notable finds include the "Star of Murfreesboro," which weighed 34.25 carats; the "Star of Arkansas," which was 15.33 carats and the 8.82-carat "Star of Shreveport." The 4.25-carat "Kahn Canary" diamond was found here in 1977 and was worn by Hillary Clinton during the presidential inaugural balls as well as for two gubernatorial inaugurations. The 3.03-carat "Strawn-Wagner Diamond," found in 1990 was cut to a 1.09-carat gem graded D-flawless 0/0/0 (the highest grade a diamond can achieve) by the American Gem Society.

Geologists believe these diamonds were formed millions of years ago and shot to the earth's surface during a violent volcanic eruption. The portion of the crater that is known to be diamond bearing is about 35 acres and is the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic pipe. Test drilling at the crater has shown that the reserve is shaped like a martini glass; it is believed to be the eighth largest diamond reserve in the world.