Who Discovered Crater of Diamonds?
Diamonds were first discovered at this location in 1906 when John Huddlestone found two strange crystals in the soil of his farm. He didn’t realize that his farm was right above a volcanic pipe filled with lamproite (a volcanic rock formed from partially melted mantle materials which sometimes contains diamond-bearing rocks known as xenoliths that have been transported up from the mantle). Huddlestone suspected that his crystals might be diamonds and took them to a local jeweler for assessment. Word of the discovery leaked out and a “diamond rush” began. Soon thousands of people descended upon the Murfreesboro area, however, the Huddlestone farm and immediately adjacent land was the only location with promise of becoming a diamond mine.
