When Bill Clinton became 42nd president of the United States, Hillary Clinton wore the “Kahn Canary”, a flawless 4.25 carat yellow diamond found at the Crater of Diamonds in 1977. This uncut stone owned by Kahn’s Jewelers in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, was set in a gold and platinum mounting for Hillary to wear as she and former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton attended Washington’s inaugural balls.
Crater of Diamonds History
This Arkansas diamond field is located about 100 miles southwest of Little Rock, just outside the town of Murfreesboro. The site is a 37-acre plowed field. It is the eroded surface of a volcanic pipe which, some 95 million years ago, spewed diamonds and semi-precious stones to the surface.
The first diamonds were found by John Huddleston in August of 1906 on a 160-acre farm he had bought earlier in the year. He once told The Arkansas Gazette that he was crawling on his hands and knees when he spotted a glittering pebble different from any other he had ever seen. “It had a fiery eye that blazed up at me every way I turned it.”
He hurried home, saddled his mule and was headed for Murfreesboro when he spotted another glitter in the lane. He picked that “pebble” up too. The diamonds were sent to Little Rock jeweler Charles Stifft, who called them blue-white diamonds and sent them to Tiffany’s in New York, who certified them as gem quality diamonds, one a 3.0 carat and the other a 1.5 carat diamond.
Huddleston Sells His Diamond Field
Huddleston soon sold his diamond field to three Little Rock men for $36,000, concluding that each person in his 6-member family would end up with $6,000, which should take care of them for the rest of their lives.
Soon the word got out and a diamond rush began. During the next year the Conway Hotel in Murfreesboro allegedly turned away 10,000 people and a tent city sprang up nearby. Several commercial mining operations were attempted during the next 30 years, but there was no single owner of the entire site and America lacked diamond mining know-how and equipment. They all failed.
After 1949 the diamond field became a tourist attraction, but in 1969 all the properties were bought by a Texas mining operation which never mined it, instead letting it continue as a tourist attraction. Finally, the land was sold to the State of Arkansas in 1972 for $750,000.
State Park Helps Visitors Find Diamonds
The staff at Crater of Diamonds State Park is available to help the diamond-seeking public. In addition to telling diamond prospectors what to wear, what to bring and how to begin, staff members are able to provide free identification and certification of diamonds. Determination of a diamond’s monetary value must be made by a qualified jeweler.
Men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds flock to the park to engage in serious treasure hunting. Basic mining tools, such as trowels, shovels, plastic buckets and sifting screens, can be purchased or rented at the park. Park personnel outline three methods for finding diamonds.
In addition to a full service campground, the park includes an information center, a water park, a gift shop and a restaurant.
Famous Diamond Discoveries
The most famous find at Crater of Diamonds is the “Strawn-Wagner Diamond” discovered in 1990 by Shirley Strawn of nearby Murfreesboro. It is the highest grade a diamond can have, a perfect diamond so rare that most jewelers and gemologists will never see one. It is believed to be a one-in-a-billion discovery.
The 40.23-carat “Uncle Sam” diamond found here by W. O. Basham in 1924 is the largest diamond ever found in North America.
What is possibly America’s biggest public treasure hunt continues at Crater of Diamonds State Park. More than two dozen diamonds of merit were found in the first eight months of 2011.
Resources for Researchers
Many people have investigated and written about John Huddleston and his discovery of diamonds on his property. Not all accounts agree. For example, some reports say he died a pauper; others say he owned considerable real estate. Here are more resources:
- John Huddleston (1862-1941): The Man Behind the Myth of “Diamond John”, by Dr. Dean Banks
- The Crater of Diamonds: A History of the Pike County, Arkansas, Diamond Field, 1906-1972, University of North Texas Digital Library
- Millar, Howard A. It Was Finders-Keepers at America’s Only Diamond Mine. New York: Carlton Press, 1976.
Sources:
- Crater of Diamonds State Park website; accessed Aug. 19, 2011
- John Wesley Huddleston, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture; website visited Aug. 20, 2011
Rosemary E. Bachelor - Rosemary Bachelor, a prize-winning journalist, has had a career as an editor, feature writer, magazine publisher and author. Her latest ...
