Batesville, Arkansas

Lyon College

Batesville is the second oldest municipality after the town of Georgetown — and the oldest city — in the state of Arkansas. It was named for the first territorial delegate from Arkansas to the Congress of the United States, James Woodson Bates, who settled in the town. The town has also gone by the names of Napoleon and Poke Bayou.

In early days, Batesville was an important port on the White River and served as an entry point to the interior of northern Arkansas. Batesville played a large role in the settling of the Ozark Mountains region and served as the central land office for northern Arkansas.

The first known settlement of the Batesville area was in 1810 near the mouth of Polk Bayou, and by 1819 the town had a ferry across the White River and about a dozen houses. The town was partially laid out in early 1821, and on March 3, 1822 a bill of assurance was recorded and executed and the town's plat was laid out. Batesville became the county seat in 1821. In January 1822, Judge Richard Searcy opened the town's first state circuit court. The town's first post office was established in 1822, and in 1830 became the home of a county court. On 25 September 1836, shortly after Arkansas was granted its statehood, Governor Conway incorporated Batesville Academy, the state's first academy. In the past, the area in and around the city had extensive quarries of manganese ore, phosphate rock, sandstone, limestone, and marble.

Between 1940 and 1941, Batesville had its own minor league baseball team within the Northeast Arkansas League known as the Batesville Pilots. The team later disbanded in 1941.

Batesville currently has only one high school within the city limits, Batesville High School. Also, Batesville is the home of Lyon College, a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and noted for the annual Arkansas Scottish Festival each spring. In addition, the city is home to the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB), and NASCAR driver Mark Martin. It contains three National Register Historic Districts and many properties separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was listed in Norman Crampton's 1992 book The 100 Best Small Towns in America, ranking at #75.

Batesville is located at 35°46′25″N 91°38′29″W (35.773488, -91.641338).[5] Batesville lies on the White River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.11 square miles (28.8 km²), of which 10.98 square miles (28.4 km²) is land and 0.13 square miles (0.3 km²) (0.12%) is water.

As of the census[7] of 2010, there were 10,243 people, 3,777 households, and 2,383 families residing in the city. The population density was 907.3 people per square mile (350.3/km²). There were 4,146 housing units at an average density of 398.3 per square mile (153.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.2% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. 4.6% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

There were 3,777 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.92.

The age distribution was 22.0% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,133, and the median income for a family was $42,634. Males had a median income of $31,068 versus $20,506 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,753. About 11.1% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.

Batesville Public Schools are part of the Batesville School District, Arkansas. The district has one early learning center, one junior high school, one high school and three elementary schools. Students attend Batesville High School.[8]

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Batesville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[10]

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  Looking down Main street 1990

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Batesville, Arkansas.

• City of Batesville, the official website of the City of Batesville
• MyBatesville.org, the official page of the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
• GuardOnline.com, the online edition of the Batesville Daily Guard newspaper
• Batesville Preservation Association, a local organization dedicated to preservation and restoration of the area's historic buildings
• Old Independence Regional Museum
• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Batesville (Independence County)
• Ozark Weather & Radar