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History · Diamond

Diamond’s post office opened in 1883, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and the census since 1950.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Diamond’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Diamond began

When was Diamond founded?

1883

The Diamond post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 405 in 19502020 census: 831143 years
Founding year: the first Diamond post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Diamond’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Diamond’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Diamond’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMoses Carver House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Diamond came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Diamond.

Read it all →

The Diamond area's origins lie in a rolling prairie grassland; large remnants of the prairie survive or are being re-seeded as the Diamond Grove Prairie Conservation Area. The origins of the town started with the building of a log house owned by Dr. and Mrs. Leathers. Initially known as Center, a blacksmith's shop opened for business in 1878.

The town changed its name to Diamond when, in 1883, a post office came into operation. The area was named for a diamond-shaped tract of land near the original town site. Mining was historically the primary industry in Diamond.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Diamond, 1864 to 1906

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Born hereGeorge Washington Carver is born here
  3. 1883Post officeThe Diamond post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906Born herePaul Miller is born here
By decade

Diamond, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Moses Carver HouseDate?Moses Carver House
Today15 recent
Diamond, Missouri - post office2024Diamond, Missouri - post officeDiamond, Missouri - entrance to Veterans' Memorial Park2024Diamond, Missouri - entrance to Veterans' Memorial Pa…Diamond, Missouri - downtown2024Diamond, Missouri - downtownDiamond, Missouri - downtown with main street2024Diamond, Missouri - downtown with main streetDiamond, Missouri - downtown block2024Diamond, Missouri - downtown blockDiamond, Missouri - downtown area2024Diamond, Missouri - downtown areaDiamond, Missouri - back of Diamond Memorial Hall2024Diamond, Missouri - back of Diamond Memorial HallDiamond, Missouri - Veterans' Memorial Park and City Hall2024Diamond, Missouri - Veterans' Memorial Park and City …Diamond, Missouri - Sideline Cafe2024Diamond, Missouri - Sideline CafeDiamond, Missouri - Diamond Telephone Office2024Diamond, Missouri - Diamond Telephone OfficeDiamond, Missouri - Diamond Memorial Hall2024Diamond, Missouri - Diamond Memorial HallDiamond, Missouri - City Hall and Southern Notes Salon & Co2024Diamond, Missouri - City Hall and Southern Notes Salo…Bust of George Washington Carver, at a National Park Service unit honoring the renowned American scientist and agricult…2020Bust of George Washington Carver, at a National Park …An array of barns and silos outside the rural town of Diamond in Newton County, Missouri2020An array of barns and silos outside the rural town of…MOMap-doton-Diamond2004MOMap-doton-Diamond
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Moses Carver House
Retake this viewMoses Carver House

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Diamond’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Diamond, census by census

02004006008001,0001960198020002020Peak: 902

Between 405 and 902 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Diamond’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Diamond

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
George Washington CarverAfrican American botanist and inventor · b. 1864
P
Paul MillerAmerican newspaper executive and journalist · b. 1906

Questions about Diamond’s history

What year was Diamond founded?

The Diamond post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.