The Black Diamond Story by Beulah McKelvy Black Diamond is located in Miller county, Arkansas- Sulphur Township, about five miles Northeast of Olive Branch Church and about three miles north of Dodridge, Arkansas. The first settlers came as early as 1850. A railroad was built in 1894 - called the T.S.N. (Texarkana, Shreveport, Natchez) Two freight trains ran daily. Each train had a caboose, in which passengers rode. There was a small depot for passengers and freight. This small town became known as Black Diamond because of coal being discovered there. A Mr. John Kennedy discovered the vein of coal and dug for it. We do not know if it existed in paying qualities or brought in any wealth for it to be really black diamonds., or merely the fact a coal vein was found. But like all the names of places, "how it cam to be" always made an interesting story. The writer of the Black Diamond Story is Mrs. Beulah McKelvry, a long time citizen of Bloomburg. At this writing, she is 91 years young. She is a charter member of the First Methodist Church of Bloomburg, a devoted Christian, faithful and loyal to her church and community. It is with love and respect that we relate the history just as she has written it. She was born and reared at Black Diamond; married to C.A. McKelvy and had four sons, Alton, Ruel, K.P., and John. "Once I was going to Fouke, Arkansas, not very far away. I was a bit late getting my baby dressed. I heard the train blow, I knew I could not get to the depot in time, so I took a winding path the fishermen had made down to the "cut". Just as I got to the track, the caboose passed me. I yelled, MR. HILL, real loud. He was the engineer. He stopped the train, backed up, sent a brakeman to take my baby, and loaded me on his train." "Mr. and Mrs. Hill (engineer and his wife) were such fine people. When he retired, they moved back to Marshal Texas, their hometown. My brother, Jewell Evers, who helps at the office at the Miller County Courthouse, attended Mr. Hills funeral. Jewel had spent so much time at the Hills home when he was young, and loved them so much." She continues her history saying "The T.S.N. built a spur from Black Diamond through the country side to bring logs from the huge Waldrop Farm and others to the big sawmill. "A very sad accident happened at this "Spur". Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bigby lived near the spur. Their little two and one-half year old son was playing on the railroad track and several loaded cars ran over him, befor the train could stop. The only hurt he got was his little left hand was cut off." The little train dumped the logs on a skidway at Black Diamond. A train picked the logs up, carried them to Ft. Lynn Arkansas, to be cut into lumber. It was a huge sawmill at Ft. Lynn and employed many workmen. The company operated a commissary, which paid the men in "chips". They were made of material like our present day plastics. They were different colors and sizes, each denoting it's value. They could only be spent at the commissary. It took a long time to build the T.S.N. They had to build a turntable. J.E. Evers furnished the rocks and was glad to get them off his 160-acre farm. Mrs. McKelvy's mother, Mrs. J.E. Evers boarded the employees of the sawmill. She gave the men a large eighteen-foot room with three beds in it. Later, two more men, Taylor Sikes and Charlie long, came and they had to sleep on mattresses on the floor. They have a bit of fun out of Mr. Long., the men tell him that Taylor Sikes had fits and not to be scared if he had one. So Taylor had a fit the first night. The next night Charley Long picked up a sad iron (old-fashioned iron) from the hearth and placed it on the floor at the head of his bed. He was asked, " Why the iron?" He replied, "If Sikes has a fit tonight, I plan to have one too." Mr. Long had sensed the joke and turned the tables on the jokesters, and Mr. Sikes had no more fits. Mrs. McKelvey gives us this story, clearing up what the "cut" meant mentioned in the story earlier. When her son, Ruel, was six or seven years old, he walked the rail of the bridge across this deep cut through a high hill. This bridge was sixty feet or more long over this deep cut and she continues, "Boys will be boys." This old T.S.N. Railroad was sold to T.P. R.R. and still operates from Hosston, Louisiana, south. The track has been removed from Hosston to Texarkana. Black Diamond exists only in name today. It is a rural area with many nice farm homes, with cattle grazing, feed crops, and truck patches, taking the place of huge cotton crops and saw mills. We relate an interesting story of an old family, Mr. Simon Waldrop. Mrs. Waldrops sister, Mrs. Brown, lived with them. They were all old people when Mr. I.D.Davis lost his wife by death and started out to find himself a cook. He went to the widow Templeton, trying to court her, but was turned down., then to see Mrs. Orleana Brown who also turned him away. Some time later, Mrs. Orleana came top Mrs. J.E. Evers crying. She said " Alice, I want you to wite a letter to Mr. I.E. Davis. Tell him to turn his horses right down this way and not stop until he gets here, and if he'll marry me, I'll marry him, if he treats me good, I will treat him good." Mr. Davis did that very thing. They set a date on a Monday morning, 9 A.M. The young girls thought it so funny. Sarah Waldrop, Woodie Manley, Ada Sams, Belle Evers, and others, dressed Mrs. Brown, who was tall with big hands and feet, small head and little hair, which they twisted into a little knot, the size of a hickory nut and tied a large blue ribbon on it, accenting her long neck. The girls were out on the grass to see the bride and groom come out of a small room on the end of the front porch. Mrs. Brown was pigeon toed and had a long southern drawl. When they came out, she noticed that they were standing crosswise of the plank, took Mr. Davis by the arm, pulled him straight wit the plank saying, "It's bad luck to marry standing crosswise of the plank". The girls had quit a laugh. Mr. Davis lived a few years. After his death, his heirs shooed Mrs. Davis out. Mr. and Mrs. John Waldrop took the poor old women in and kept her until her death. Our schoolhouses were small; built in the pines. The terms were short, beginning with the laying by of the crops to gathering of the crops. In those days, one could teach school on a third grade certificate. That is when they finished tenth grade, which was high as out highschool taught. Should one want to get what was called "higher learning", they would have to go to some larger town, for the eleventh and twelfth grades. Then they would get a second and first grade certificate. The same way with doctors. They'd take their higher learning in medicine, come home, buy saddlebags, throw them across their saddle and start out as a doctor. At one time we had several doctors from Olive Branch to Red River. Dr. Dodd, Dr. Adcock, Dr. Kellet, Dr. Cabiness, Dr. Bryant, Dr, Westbrook, and two Mr. McCaslands- Dr. Jeff and either his brother or father who went by the name of "Old Doc". They were all good doctors for the time and age.In those days, they used powdered drugs which they measured on the point of their pocket knives, put it on a small square of paper, then folded it. Before I was grown, capsules came on the market and we were glad, for mother put our quinine in coffee and the bitter taste lingered a long time! Money was scarce and the doctors received very little pay for services. Mother and dad owned a grocery store and ran the post Office (Bigby post Office, Black Diamond), Until Mother retired due to age. This post office was moved to Dodridge, Arkansas. Prior to this, around 1900, Mr. Carl Bigby and my father were in the business together and Mr. Bigby had the post office. When Mr. Bigby moved to Doddridge, my father bought him out, and my mother ran the post office. Her salary was the amount of stamps sold.