City of Black Diamond

Many settlements, towns and cities in United States, evolved due to the discovery of resources in a particular region. In the same way, the City of Black Diamond, came into being due to the coal mining industry in this region.

Geography

The city of Black Diamond is located in King county, state of Washington. It is situated in the northern region of the Washington State. The total area occupied by city of Black Diamond is approximately 5.9 square miles (which is equivalent to 15.2 square kilometers). The land area is about 5.4 square miles and the area occupied by water is about 0.5 square miles.

History

As mentioned above, city of Black Diamond developed due to the coal mining industry that was set up in 1880's. The city in fact was named after the Black Diamond coal company that owned and operated the mine, and was based in California. In the early 1990's, the town came into being as a result of the coal mine that was owned and operated by the Black Diamond coal company. During this time, the town housed about 3,500 people who were basically employed by the company or were engaged in activities allied or auxiliary to the mining company.

The people who were employed by the company, were basically immigrants from Europe and Canada. The European immigrants were hard working, honest, and provided a very efficient yet cheap labor. In the early days, the town was not equipped with proper coal processing facilities. Hence, the coal was shipped to Seattle with the help of Pacific coast coal train. A considerable fall in coal production of the mine was seen in the World War One era. The mine was shut down by the end of the war and it looked as if the town was destined to become extinct. In the 1930's, after the war, the Morris brothers revived the mining industry with the help of Palmer Coking coal company. The Morris brothers initiated the use of multiple mining operations and discovered many new sources of coal. This revolution in technique of mining brought about a significant change in the mining process. In later stages, mining in the city of Black Diamond was dominated by the Pacific Coast Coal Company. The mining operations are till today an important part of the economy of the city, where another uprise in the coal production is anticipated.

City of Black Diamond in early years was a mining town. It was officially marked on the map of the United States of America on 9th February, 1954. This day is considered to be the national birthday of the city. Due to a steady growth of population and size of the town, it was incorporated as a city, on the 19th of February 1959.

Demographics

According to the census conducted in the year 2000, total population of the city was 3,970 counting with 1,456 households and 1,131 families. The per capita income of the city was counted as $26,936, and 0.9% of total population was below the poverty line.

Some of the significant land marks of the city are the Black Diamond Cemetery, Black Diamond Miners cabin and Luigi and Aurora Pagani House.

Though the city of Black Diamond is a lonely and quiet place, it has a very eventful history and scenic beauty, and is certainly worth a visit.