|
Dates in History of
the
Arkansas
Diamond Mine |
Timeline & History of
Arkansas
Diamond Mine
|
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Diamonds at
the Arkansas Diamond Mine have taken over 100 million
years to reach the diamond field |
|
1906 |
A farmer called John Wesley Huddleston found two stones
on his land and sent the stones to a jeweller in
Little Rock called Charles S. Stifft to verify they were
genuine |
|
1906 |
Further verification was requested and the stones were
sent to New York where "…after subjecting them to every
test they were pronounced diamonds of fine grade." |
|
1906 |
In 1906
John Huddleston sold his 160 acre diamond-bearing land
for $36,000 to a group of men who began the Arkansas
Diamond Company. |
|
1906 |
M.M. Mauney, a farmer who owned
the Arkansas site's remaining 40 acres and charged
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
led to the Arkansas Diamond Rush |
|
1909 |
In 1909 a former South African
diamond mine operator tested the Arkansas site. His
findings confirmed that diamonds were found throughout
the depths of a 205-foot test shaft |
|
1910 |
Mr Mauney sold most of his land
to
Horace Bemis who formed the Ozark Diamond Corporation.
Mr Mauney then leased the remaining 10 acres to Austin
Millar. |
|
1910 - 1919 |
Austin Millar was an excellent
businessman and began recovering a lot of diamonds.
The Arkansas land bought by Bemis was sold to the Millar
family. Mr. Mauney then
wanted to break the lease and take over operation of one
plant, but Austin Millar refused which led to over 30
lawsuits |
|
1919 |
In 1919 there was a huge fire
and all three of Mr. Millar's plants burned down. Arson
was strongly suspected but never proved |
|
1924 |
In 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. |
|
1949 |
In 1949 a major attempt was
made by the Millars to open the diamond deposit to the
public. |
|
1951 |
The Millars opened 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 of Logansport, Indiana. 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." |
|
1956 |
In 1956 the "Star of Arkansas",
a white 15.33-carat crystal was found at 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:
"Arkansas Diamond Mine" or the Big Mine. It was during
this time that the "Star of Murfreesboro" and the
"Phillips 66" diamonds were found. |
|
1967 |
The 1967 Arkansas General
Assembly passed legislation which became Act 128
designating the diamond as the official gem of the
State. |
|
1969 |
The Arkansas diamond-bearing
site came under single ownership
when it was purchased in 1969 by General Earth Minerals
of Dallas, Texas who continued to run the land as
tourist attractions until 1972 |
|
1972 |
1972 when
the State Of Arkansas bought the land for $750,000. It
is called the Crater of Diamonds State Park of Arkansas. |
|
1975 |
In 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 |
In 1975 the
brown Dunn diamond weighing 6.75 carats was discovered |
|
1977 |
In 1977 the
yellow “Kahn Canary” weighing 4.25 carats was discovered |
|
1978 |
In 1978 the
brown Lamle diamond weighing 8.61 carats was discovered |
|
1978 -
1979 |
Campsites, a
visitor center, a gift shop, and other amenities were
built during 1978 and 1979 |
|
1981 |
In 1981 the
white “ Star of Shreveport” weighing 8.82 carats was
discovered |
|
1986 |
In 1986 the
white Connell diamond weighing 7.95 carats was
discovered |
|
1990 |
In 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 |
In 1997 the
brown Cooper Diamonds weighing 6.72 and 6.0 carats were
found |
|
1998 |
In 1998 the
yellow Stevens/Dickenson diamond weighing 7.28 carats
was discovered |
|
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 |
This October
14 2006 5.47-carat canary diamond found by Bob Wehle of
Ripon, Wisconsin
2006 Melissa Lacey weight 1.3 carats found
2006 Donald and Brenda Roden weight 6.35 carats found
2006 The Star of Thelma weight 2.37 carats (white) found
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|
Timeline & History |
Timeline & History of
the
Arkansas
Diamond Mine |
