| In 1995 there were 40,013 people from all
around the world try their luck in the 35 acres of cleared field at the
Crater. (The park is actually 888 pine-covered acres along the banks of
the Little Missouri River) "This park provides a unique opportunity," says Michael Hall, Park Superintendent. "Finding a diamond worth thousands of dollars is roughly a matter of luck. Babies have found diamonds, little old ladies, and big strong men have all found diamonds. No special tools are needed, no special talent is required. Anyone walking through these doors has an equal opportunity to find the diamond of their dreams!" He's right. Until recently, the mine at Murfreesboro was the only area where diamonds have ever been found in North America! Diamonds displayed in stores in town attest to the fact that MANY diamonds have been found here. |
Murfreesboro is the county seat of Pike County.
Its courthouse sits in the middle of a square.
You can drive all the way around it.
It is a veritable hub of highways.
Hwy 27 comes from Glenwood and goes to Nashville.
Hwy 301 goes to the diamond mine.
Hwy 26 comes from Arkadelphia and goes to Centerpoint.
Hwy 19 goes up to Narrows Dam at Lake Greeson.
One thing you MUST be cautioned about in Murfreesboro:
On many of the stores there is a RISE of six inches
from the street level.
Some rise up smoothly, others have a square rise like a short step
You need to watch for them.
| The Queen of Diamonds, just one block north of the courthouse square
(where I got lost) looks like the place to stay if you just can't rough
it at camp. This is a renovated 1902 Victorian home. There is TV, swimming,
a complimentary breakfast, and best of all, the help loves to talk about
the good old days. It is only two miles from the Crater so it is easy to
zip out there with the first light of dawn. Their phone number is
870-285-3105
Buddy's Ranch House Cafe is right across the street from it. Buddy's has some light prices on some very high quality food. The best waitress there is Carol White. Not only is she fast and accurate, Carol is a bundle of energy coming back many times to make sure everything is going just fine for you. She is also a treasure trove of information on most of the good guys among the local population. The one drawback and it is major, is that the restrooms are outside. There is a Piggly Wiggly grocery store right across from the hospital (four doctors in town too, and an ambulance, just in case you stub your toe) and the prices and quality are very competitive with Little Rock. When it comes to friendliness, the help at this Piggly Wiggly beats any place I've ever found in Little Rock. For Southern Cooking variety there are several buffet-type restaurants in town which are also just downright friendly, to the stomach, and to the old pocketbook. There is a Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village nearby, which I didn't get a chance to visit but Shirley Strawn (Probably the World's Luckiest Diamond Finder) says it is worth the time. Of course, if Shirley had her way she'd keep you hanging around Murfreesboro all year looking at sites in the county that she knows like the back of her hand. |
The most exciting Places on Earth * The United States * Alaska * Canada * Spain * England and the United Kingdom * Africa * South America * Europe * Australia * New Zealand * The Far East * Fishing Adventures * cars * Adventure * horses * birds * Parks * Festivals and Events * camping * crystals * travel shop * travel tips * Your Vacation World * Learn how to write your own travel articles, and get paid. FREE report shows Five Secret Ways to Get FREE Travel. Some of the land in this area is available to you at huge discounts from local tax sales. Get Your Own Survival Tools and Equipment. Thousands of items to choose from. Just for example, you will find 23 different tools to start a fire. There is one method that will easily and surely light a fire in a fierce rainstorm any time you need it. Yet the fire will extinguish instantly to avoid detection, leaving no residue, no odor, and no smoke. |
Caddo Antiques looks a little rough from the outside
But when you step through the door you will marvel at the displays
| Owned by Sam and Dolly Johnson, Caddo Antiques features Primitives,
gifts, jewelry, Indian Artifacts, Rocks, Minerals, glass and art of fine
quality. The sheer beauty of the displays had many visitors
gasping.
For a real step back in time you will thoroughly enjoy the Murfreesboro Hardware Store, kind of catty-corner from the Caddo.. It is just like entering a 1930's hardware store again.
*** If you enjoy camping out -- Michael Hall says there are 60 Class A campsites at the Diamond Mine Park. You will also find picnic areas, a restaurant, a laundry, bath houses, playgrounds and a dump station. He added that they have never run out of spaces yet. The campsites are cool, clean and spacious. The trees are a mix of oak and pine, giving heady scents to the air year round. Thanks in part to the devotion of Hall and his staff, you will find (at different times of the year) up to 160 varieties of birds in this area, once in a blue moon. Just down the road from the Diamond Mine Park entrance (about 1/4 of a mile on Hwy 301) is the Miner's Camp & Rock Shop. It has 30 shaded sites. The Phone # is 870-285-2727 "This is the only place in 30 miles that does have full hook up facilities," says the owner. If you hook up an air conditioner that is $2.00 extra. The best deal they have going though are something there called the little miner's cottages. You can sleep inside on two real beds, with a fan. There wasn't a skeeter in the house. Free firewood was supplied for all the sites, with stones set up for cookouts. The owners of Miner's Camp are great fun to be with and full of enthusiastic knowledge about diamonds, opals, and mining. If you stop in for a visit, they can tell you about hunting fossils too. If you like the water, Swaha Lodge is the place to stay. Their phone number is 870-285-2272 You'll be right there on the waters of Lake Greeson. There is a complete marina with boat rentals and marine fuel, and be able to fish for trout, or bass. Condominiums with 2 br and 2 baths, living area, kitchen. I was especially delighted with the boats for rent at the Swaha Lodge. The diamonds found at the Diamond Mine are real ones. The Uncle Sam weighed 40.23 carats. The Star of Murfreesboro weighed 34.25, Star of Arkansas 15.33 In fact, since 1972 19,473 diamonds have been found here, for a total weight of 3,903.84 carats. Over six hundred of these diamonds weighed more than one carat. The park service offers everything you could possibly need to find your own diamonds with, including Cokes and candy bars. There are shovels, and screens for rent. You don't need to bring a thing but a will to dig. Without any charge you can see exhibits, demonstrations, literature and beautiful photos. For actual digging a nominal fee of $4 for adults and $2 for children six and up is charged. To get Murfreesboro from Little Rock go 67 miles south on Interstate 30. At Arkadelphia there is a highly visible sign telling you to follow Highway 26 to visit the Crater of Diamonds. Right after you get off the freeway, Highway 26 bears to the left and the signs are not adequate to get you on the right road without some neck-craning. After that, the 30 mile road to Murfreesboro is lined with pines and towering oak. You will also pass through the town of Delight on your way. It is known for being the hometown of Glenn Campbell, the entertainer. After you get into Murfreesboro you will take Hwy 301 two miles to the mine, on your right. Finding Hwy 301 is tough too. I got lost twice trying to find it. The trick is, to go AROUND the courthouse square, and turn right. The signs are INADEQUATE! you are probably lost; |
ENJOY Your Vacation.. You can feel terrific again. You can walk with a spring in your step and a sparkle
in your eye. Our FREE Quotes show you how to drive your way to saving money on your auto insurance. Some disasters will simply make travel impossible or difficult for a period of time. Other disasters might trap us in our own homes. These kinds of disaster can be prepared for with certain essentials, containers of water, perhaps an alternate way of cooking -- like an outside barbecue, more blankets or a way to open the window. A first aid kit can do wonders to boost your self-confidence. But some disasters can make home the last place we want to be. Get your very own full, nine page report today. It's a fact that food just tastes better outdoors. Now with 101 Camping & Outdoor Recipes, even campers who have never cooked anything more complicated than S'mores can make great meals and snacks over the campfire. You no longer need to sacrifice eating well just because you are not in your home kitchen. Do you want to spend more time with your kids? Then let them join you in the kitchen, creating fun foods that they will love. Kids Fun Recipes is a collection of 120 simple and easy to follow recipes that kids of all ages will enjoy. Have you enjoyed this article? All of our articles are hand picked for content and style. If you have appreciated this one, please book mark this page because you will love the rest of them. city links * city names * Birds of Arkansas * Mena * Hot Springs * Arkansas Humor * The Cossatot River Center * Flatside Wilderness * Charlton Water Resort * West of Oden * A Country Tour in Saline County * El Dorado * Eureka Springs * Geese to Hunt * Helena and West Helena * Cold Water Canoeing * Dining Out * Dude Ranch * Business in Arkansas * schools * The Old Mill * Arabians * Beebe Flea Market * Beebe Flea Market2 * Luckiest Diamond Finder in the World * Bathhouses of Hot Springs * The Fordyce Bathhouse of Hot Springs * The Lamar Bathhouse of Hot Springs * The Born Again Gangster in Hot Springs * The Maurice Bathhouse * The Growth of Grandeur in Hot Springs * Romancing The Stone, Hot Springs * Raising Elk in Arkansas * The Rich Mountain Racer Man of many links * The Irish Cowboy * The Bootlegger * Waldron * Murfreesboro * Stuttgart * The Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie * Quartz Crystals * The Arkansas Waterfowl Tour * Can your web site earn an award on Arkansas Super Vacation Site? * Click HERE for some great books about Arkansas * |
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Discover All The Beauty HereIt is easy to fall in love with the whole entire Murfreesboro area. Besides being famous for diamonds and other gem stones, Murfreesboro is centrally located to one large lake and two beautiful rivers. (*100,000 people visit this area of a July Fourth weekend!) But after that, visitors have the place virtually to themselves. There are hiking trails, great fishing and hunting. On the Little Missouri you can snag a rainbow trout below the dam, while above it, small mouth bass are waiting for you. The nearby Caddo River is regarded as the top small mouth stream in Arkansas." There are winding stairs at Albert Pike for hiking. On the west and south side of Lake Greeson is public hunting area. Whitetail deer, eastern wild turkey, squirrel and rabbits are plentiful. The bird watching is great. 200 species have been confirmed in this area, including 80 breeding species. The Bald Eagles are much more frequently seen soaring over Lake Greeson now. "When those eagles dive for a fish it is like an explosion. They go all the way under, come out and circle around the lake a few times to show off their catch. Lake Greeson is the prettiest lake I ever saw," says Shirley Strawn. "There are five thousand beautiful acres of clear water here. You will find camping facilities with four marinas and outstanding resorts." Some of the water here at Lake Greeson is 500 feet deep so bring diving gear if you want to touch bottom. See ya there! |
The End
About the author: 57 pictures of old cars taken by Lin Stone are yours to see for free. Check out Lin's home page there for links to pictures of old tractors too. Independently less than wealthy, Lin's latest illustrated travel story is about First Monday at Ripley Mississippi.
