MURFREESBORO, Ark. — Visitors to the Crater of Diamonds State Park have unearthed an early 20th-century wooden water pipe that a park interpreter says once was used to help mine gems.
The 4-foot-long pipe was buried about four feet underground. Park interpreter Waymon Cox says it was made in a style similar to wooden barrels with boards, or staves, held together by spring-like metal hoops.
He says the pipe likely was used before the Great Depression to supply water from the nearby Little Missouri River for hydraulic sluice mining. Cox says that mining technique used high-pressure water hoses to break down the soil and uncover diamonds.
Cox says the pipe was in good condition and had only minimal deterioration of the wood or hoops. He says park officials are working to preserve the pipe.