October 6, 2010

An unidentified man points to the spot near Murfreesboro (Pike County) where the first diamond in Arkansas had been found. In 1906, farmer John Huddleston’s find of the first diamond on the site led to a Pike County diamond rush. As of 2010, the largest diamond unearthed there, the “Uncle Sam” found in 1924, weighs in at an amazing 40.23 carats. While commercial mining has found little success, the Crater of Diamonds State Park, where the public is allowed to dig for diamonds, is one of Arkansas’s most popular state parks.