Do you know there’s a place where you can dig your diamond and keep it too? 

You must have heard of Arkansas, one of the fifty states of the USA. Wondering why we are talking about it suddenly? Well, it is home to the only place on earth where tourists can search for diamond and keep it for themselves. The place is called Crater of Diamonds State Park. Curious to know all about it? Keep reading.  

Crater of Diamonds State Park: A bird’s eye view  
Deemed as the world’s only diamond-bearing site open to the public, the Crater of Diamonds State Park is located in Pike County of Arkansas. It is spread across 911 acres, out of which 37.5 acres has a ploughed field under which remains rich diamond deposits. Since 1906, diamonds have been found in this site. However, it was made accessible to tourists in 1972. Originally the property of Arkansas Diamond Company and Ozark Diamond Mines Corporation, it is now owned and maintained by Arkansas State Department of Parks and Tourism. Interestingly, the area is part of a 95 million-year-old eroded volcano, the rocks in which contains crystallised diamonds.  

How did it all begin? 
As it turns out, in 1906, a local Arkansas miner named John Huddleston traced two strange looking crystals near the surface of his 243-acre farm in Murfreesboro, Pike County. Suspecting it was something invaluable, John and his wife Sarah contacted the local government, but the effort went in vain. This is when they approached a group of investors based in Little Rock region of the state led by banker cum attorney cum gemstone connoisseur Samuel F. Reyburn.  

Being experienced, it didn’t take long for Reyburn to figure out that the crystals were diamond. He didn’t waste any time and started mining for diamonds almost immediately. Unfortunately, in the first few attempts he found absolutely nothing. But that didn’t shake his enthusiasm. He kept digging in different parts of the land, until he hit the original volcanic source called Black Gumbo. It was full of volcanic breccia or kimberlite, the primary ingenious rock that houses diamonds. In between 1907 and 1932, he found more than 1600 pounds of concentrated diamonds in the region.  

Now, as it happened, back in those days, the mining equipment had large-sized meshes. This often allowed the small diamonds to pass through. A bulk of these ended up in the drainage both towards the east and the west of the site. However, both these eventually ended up in a singular source, the present-day Crater of Diamonds State Park.  

Crater of Diamonds State Park is established 
Now, all these places where the small diamonds got stored were privately owned lands. So, it was only fair that people who owned the lands claimed the precious stones. But things aren’t always as easy as they seem. As soon as word spread that this particular Arkansas region was full of diamond reserves, there was a diamond rush (yes, much like the famous California Gold Rush). Around tens of thousands visited the area and called themselves recreational diamond diggers. As you can imagine, there were constant conflicts between the owners and the visitors. However, during the First World War, the US government took charge of the mines to finance the war. In 1951, after the wars were over, the properties were returned to the original owners. But these people were smart to realise that they can’t enjoy the diamonds alone. Instead, they figured a way out to enhance their profits. They opened several private tourist attractions where people could come with permits and look for diamonds. Till 1972, things were running smoothly until commercial mining companies started to intrude.  

Realising they might end up with nothing, the local owners of the diamond sites unanimously handed over the charge to the Arkansas state government in exchange for a small cut of the profits. Following this, the Crater of Diamonds State Park was established.  

Since then, tourists are allowed to dig for diamonds and keep the ones they find. They are also offered complimentary identification and registration of their diamonds.  

Notable diamonds found in the site 
The Crater of Diamonds State Park will always be famous because it is the source of many notable diamonds. One such is Strawn-Wagner Diamond found in 1990 by local resident Shirley Strawn. It is 3.09 carat and white in colour. It is popular for its graded perfection. The 1924 Uncle Sam also deserves a special mention as this 40.23 carat diamond is still the largest diamond ever found in the USA. Another notable mention is the Kahn Canary which is a canary yellow coloured diamond of 4.25 carats. It was discovered in 1977 and is a naturally flawless uncut stone. Perhaps the most famous of all Craters of Diamonds gems, this one was set into a ring for Hillary Clinton. She wore to a 1993 political ball.