John Wesley Huddleston
"Diamond Jim" 1860-1936 The first diamonds found in Pike County, Arkansas were discovered in August 1906 by John Wesley Huddleston. These stones were sent to Charles S. Stifft, a Little Rock jeweler, who confirmed they were genuine diamonds. Stifft described them as blue-white diamonds. one weighing 2 5/8 carats and the other 1 3/8 carats. To verify his findings, Stifft sent them to New York and said "... after subjecting them to every test they were pronounced diamonds of fine grade." Early in 1906, Huddleston, a farmer, purchased the 160-acre McBrayer farm to make a home for his family, a decision that would etch him into history. Huddleston recounted the first diamond finds to Tom Shiras of the Arkansas Gazette: "I was crawling on my hands and knees when my eyes fell on another glittering pebble... I knew it was different from any I had ever seen before. It had a fiery eye that blazed up at me every way I turned it. I hurried to the house with the pebble, saddled my mule and started for Murfreesboro... riding through the lane, my eye caught another glitter, and I dismounted and picked it up out of the dust." Huddleston sold his diamond-bearing land for $36,000. According to the book, It was Finders Keepers at America's Only Diamond Mine, 1976, by Howard Millar, Huddleston became "... nationally famous, and had acquired the nickname 'Diamond John"." He was also known as the "Diamond King." Huddleston later met with misfortune and died a pauper, but was said to have had no regrets. He is buried in Japany Cemetery, about three miles east of the diamond mine. The approximate location of Huddleston's first diamond find is identified by a historical marker on the south central boundary of the diamond field.