Blue Diamond is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Clark County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, United States. The population was 268 at the 2020 census.

Description

The community includes a park, private pool, library, elementary school, event hall, church, and mercantile / gas station. The mercantile (general store) was built in 1942 and originally sold household staples and sundries to residents who were mostly miners at the Blue Diamond Mine. The store has maintained its original external look. Walls inside the store showcase many of the town's historical photos, courtesy of the Blue Diamond Historical Society, a 501c3 all-volunteer organization.

History

Blue Diamond is the site of Cottonwood Spring (formerly known as Ojo de Cayetana, or Pearl Spring), a watering place and camp site on the Old Spanish Trail and the later

Mormon Road Mormon Road, also known to the 49ers as the Southern Route, of the California Trail in the Western United States, was a seasonal wagon road pioneered by a Mormon party from Salt Lake City, Utah led by Jefferson Hunt, that followed the route of ...

between Mountain Springs and

Las Vegas Springs The Las Vegas Springs or Big Springs is the site of a natural oasis, known traditionally as a cienega. For more than 15,000 years, springs broke through the desert floor, creating grassy meadows (called ''las vegas'' by Spanish New-Mexican explo ...

. The springs are located on a mountainside south of the town at at an elevation of 3409 feet. The nearby

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...

mine was purchased in 1923 by the Blue Diamond Corporation of California. The company opened a

wallboard Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thic ...

manufacturing plant at the site in 1941, and then began building a company town in 1942. The village of Cottonwood became known as Blue Diamondville that year, when a post office opened under that name. The name was changed to Blue Diamond later in the year, although some authorities continued to refer to it as Blue Diamondville until at least 1950.

Geography

Blue Diamond is located at (36.047090, -115.403166).

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 282 people, 118 households, and 77 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 125 housing units at an average density of 17.0 per square mile (6.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.35% Native American, 1.42% Asian, 0.35%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.35% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.19% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 1.42% of the population. There were 118 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. Of all households 25.4% were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.85. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 19.9% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 36.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,091, and the median income for a family was $54,432. Males had a median income of $47,604 versus $47,692 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $30,479. About 15.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 21.2% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

Education

Blue Diamond has a public library, a branch of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in Clark County, Nevada Census-designated places in Nevada Las Vegas Valley Populated places in the Mojave Desert