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There is still an estimated 80 million tons of diamond bearing rock to sort through and diamond finds are made on a regular basis yielding about 600 diamonds every year at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro.
History Timeline - Famous Diamonds found at Crater
of Diamonds State Park
Diamonds are Forever... 1924: The Uncle Sam diamond was discovered by W. O. Bassum who was a worker at the Arkansas Diamond Corporation. The stone weighed 40.23 carats as a rough diamond crystal, was colored white and was the biggest diamond ever found in the US. 1956: The "Star of Arkansas", a white 15.33-carat crystal was found at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1967: The 1967 Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation designating the diamond as the official gem of the State. 1975: The white “Amarillo Starlight” weighing 16.37 carats was discovered by W. W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas. The stone was cut to a 7.54-carat marquise-shaped gem, valued at between $150,000 and $175,000. 1975: The brown Dunn diamond weighing 6.75 carats was discovered at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1977: The yellow “Kahn Canary” weighing 4.25 carats was discovered at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1978: The brown Lamle diamond weighing 8.61 carats was discovered at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1981: The white “ Star of Shreveport” weighing 8.82 carats was discovered at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1986: The white Connell diamond weighing 7.95 carats was discovered at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1990: The white Strawn-Wagner Diamond weighing 3.03 carats) was discovered by park visitor Shirley Strawn of Murfreesboro, Arkansas 1994: The "Star of Arkansas" was auctioned at Christie's of New York for $145,000. 1997: The brown Cooper Diamonds weighing 6.72 and 6.0 carats were found at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 1998: The yellow Stevens/Dickenson diamond weighing 7.28 carats was discovered at the Murfreesboro Crater State Park 2006: June 9, 2006 a 1.11-Carat, Flawless White Diamond was found nine-year-old Courtney Conder from Illinois. She named her diamond 'The Sparkles Diamond' 2006: 1.11-Carat, Flawless White Diamond was found nine-year-old Courtney Conder from Illinois - 'The Sparkles Diamond' 5.47-carat canary diamond found by Bob Wehle of Ripon, Wisconsin Melissa Lacey weight 1.3 carats found Donald and Brenda Roden weight 6.35 carats found The Star of Thelma weight 2.37 carats (white) found The above History Timeline provides details of famous diamond discoveries (weighing over 1 carat) found at Crater of Diamonds State Park Murfreesboro, Arkansas.
Crater of Diamonds
State Park - Location
The Crater of Diamonds State Park
- Facilities
Crater of Diamonds State Park
- The Diamond Field in Arkansas!
Crater of Diamonds State Park
- Where do the Diamonds come from?
Crater of Diamonds State Park
- Searching for Diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park
History Timeline
of the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro, Arkansas Diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park have taken over 100 million years to reach the Murfreesboro diamond field 1906: Farmer John Wesley Huddleston found two stones on his land and sent the stones to a jeweller called Charles S. Stifft to verify their authenticity 1906: John Huddleston sold his 160 acre diamond-bearing land for $36,000 and the Arkansas Diamond Company was established 1906: M.M. Mauney, a farmer who owned the Arkansas site's remaining 40 acres charging visitors 50 cents for ice cream and the exclusive chance to hunt for free diamonds 1907: The publicity attracted by the idea of finding free diamonds resulted in the Arkansas Diamond Rush! 1909: A South African diamond mine expert tested the Murfreesboro site confirming that diamonds were found throughout the depths of a 205-foot test shaft 1910: M M Mauney sold most of his land to Horace Bemis who formed the Ozark Diamond Corporation and leased the remaining 10 acres to Austin Millar who was an excellent businessman and began recovering a lot of diamonds. 1910 - 1919: Bemis was sold his land to the Millar family. M M Mauney then wanted to break the lease and take over operation of one plant, but Austin Millar refused leading to over 30 lawsuits 1919: In 1919 there was a huge fire and all three of the Millar's plants burned down. Arson was strongly suspected but never proved 1949: In 1949 a major attempt was made by the Millar family to open the diamond deposit to the public. 1951: The Millar family opened it in 1951 as the Diamond Preserve of the United States 1951: The adjacent property had passed through various owners and was in the hands of Mrs. Ethel Wilkinson. She opened the Arkansas Diamond Company to the public as The Big Mine 1952: Austin Millar's son, Howard, renamed the Diamond Preserve of the United States as the "Crater of Diamonds." 1964 and 1968: Roscoe Johnston leased the land previously owned by the Arkansas Diamond Company and operated it as a tourist attraction under the name: "Crater of Diamonds State Park" or the Big Mine. 1967: The 1967 Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation designating the diamond as the official gem of the State. 1969: The Arkansas diamond-bearing site came under single ownership when it was purchased by General Earth Minerals of Dallas, Texas who continued to run the land as a tourist attraction until 1972 1972: The State Of Arkansas bought the land for $750,000 calling it the Crater of Diamonds State Park of Arkansas. 1978 - 1979: Campsites, a visitor center, a gift shop, and other amenities were built during 1978 and 1979 The above History Timeline provides details of important dates and events in the Arkansas Diamond mine - Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
- Murfreesboro Information
Facts - Information - Timeline - Murfreesboro - Arkansas - Guide -
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