Where Was the Largest Diamond Ever Found in the United States?

The United States is not known for its diamond production, but one unlikely place produced the largest diamond ever found in the country.

While the size of this diamond pales in comparison to the largest diamonds ever found throughout the world, the Uncle Sam diamond discovered near Murfreesboro, Arkansas, holds the record for the largest diamond found in the United States. The spot where it was discovered can even be mined by the public today.

Arkansas might not be your first guess on the state with the most diamonds, but diamonds have been found here more than in any other state. And diamonds aren’t the only gems known to be in Arkansas. The state had prolific commercial pearl operations in the late 1800s. The first diamonds were discovered in 1906, and from 1919 to 1932, there was a commercial diamond mine operated by the Arkansas Diamond Corporation.

The Arkansas Diamond Corporation used high-pressure hoses to wash rock into troughs and through a wash plant. In 1924, an employee of the company named Wesley O. Basham spotted the largest diamond to be discovered in the United States going through one of those troughs. The uncut pink and brown diamond weighed 40.23 carats (by comparison, the largest diamond in the world, the Cullinan Diamond, was 3,106 carats uncut and was discovered in…