Booneville, Arkansas

Booneville is a town in Logan County, Arkansas, United States and the county seat of its southern district.[3] Located in the Arkansas River Valley between the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains, the town is one of the oldest in western Arkansas. The town’s economy was first based upon the railroad and Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, but has evolved into a diverse economy of small businesses and light industry as the early drivers have disappeared. Booneville's population was 3,990 at the 2010 census.

Booneville, Arkansas
Town
Logan County Courthouse, Southern District in downtown Booneville
Location of Booneville in Logan County, Arkansas.
Coordinates: 35°8′23″N 93°55′17″W
CountryUnited States
StateArkansas
CountyLogan
Established1828
Incorporated1878, 1899
Area
 • Total3.99 sq mi (10.32 km2)
 • Land3.97 sq mi (10.28 km2)
 • Water0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation
502 ft (153 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total3,990
 • Estimate 
(2019)[2]
3,785
 • Density953.88/sq mi (368.31/km2)
Time zoneUTC−06:00 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−05:00 (CDT)
ZIP Code
72927
Area code(s)479
FIPS code05-07720
GNIS feature ID0062143

Booneville supports a community center, a senior-citizens center, a community hospital, a municipal airport, and new school facilities. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and other outdoors activities are readily available in nearby national forests and state parks.

History
View of Booneville's intersection of Main Street and Broadway during the turn of the 20th century

Naming

The town was founded in 1828 when Walter Cauthron, an early explorer of the Arkansas Territory, built a log cabin and store along the Petit Jean River. Intending to name the community "Bonneville" for friend Benjamin Bonneville, the name was later changed. Another theory is that the name was to honor Daniel Boone, a friend of the Logan family for which the county is named.[4]

State Tuberculosis Sanatorium
Sanatorium administration on the left and Nyberg Building on the right

The Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium was established in 1909 about 3 miles (5 km) south of Booneville. Once fully established, the sanatorium was the relocation center for all Arkansans with tuberculosis. By the time the facility was closed in 1973, it had treated over 70,000 patients. The main hospital, named the Nyberg Building after Leo E. Nyberg, a former sanatorium patient and state legislator, who sponsored the bill funding the construction, was completed in 1941. The facility became known worldwide as one of the most successful and modern hospitals for the treatment of tuberculosis of its day.

The sanatorium complex was self-sustaining, with dormitories, staff entertainment buildings, a chapel, laundry, dairy, water-treatment plant, independent telephone system, and even a fire department. At the height of its use, the complex employed nearly 300 staff members. At one point, the total population of the center was greater than that of Booneville, in the valley below.

With the introduction of more effective drug therapy, the patient population began to decline. Eventually, the sanatorium was closed in 1973. The campus is currently used as the Booneville Human Development Center, a state-run residential program for adults with mild and moderate intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

2008 explosion of meat-packing plant

On March 23, 2008, Easter Sunday, a series of explosions destroyed the Cargill Meat Solutions plant, which employed about 800 people, making it by far the town's largest employer. The plant exploded when 88,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia reacted with 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, ignited by sparks from a welder, causing the evacuation of at least 1,000 of Booneville's roughly 4,000 residents, and leaving nearly 800 people without a job. Because of this tragic event, the town's population drastically dropped in size and went into what many people began calling the "small-town recession". On May 2, 2008, Cargill announced that the plant would not be rebuilt.[5]

Geography

Booneville is located at 35°8′23″N 93°55′17″W (35.139650, -93.921272).[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.1 square miles (11 km2), all land.

Booneville is near Blue Mountain Lake, a lake popular for fishing, boating, and swimming. Five United States Army Corps of Engineers recreation areas are available for public lake access. At the east end of the lake, the Blue Mountain Wildlife Demonstration Area is a world-class bird-dog field area. This area also hosts visitors interested in hiking, birding, and mountain bike riding.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1880275—
189049680.4%
190098899.2%
19101,63165.1%
19202,19934.8%
19302,099−4.5%
19402,32410.7%
19502,4334.7%
19602,69010.6%
19703,23920.4%
19803,71814.8%
19903,8042.3%
20004,1178.2%
20103,990−3.1%
2019 (est.)3,785[2]−5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
2014 Estimate[8]

As of the census[9] of 2000, 4,117 people, 1,619 households, and 1,109 families were residing in the city. The population density was 1,010.0 people per square mile (389.6/km2). The 1,863 housing units averaged 457.0 per square mile (176.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.62% White, 0.05% African American, 1.12% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 1.72% from two or more races. About 0.87% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 1,619 households, 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were not families. About 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city, the population was distributed as 28.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,627, and for a family was $31,012. Males had a median income of $25,238 versus $20,092 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,076. About 13.1% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education
First grade class standing in front of Booneville Elementary School, former Booneville Co-Educational Institute, 1954

From its early days, Booneville has supported education. In 1874, as a response to needs for higher learning in western Arkansas, the Fort Smith District of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, authorized the establishment of the Fort Smith District High School in Booneville, 40 miles to the west. Local church members donated the land, building materials, and labor. The school, located on South College Street, was to be supported by student tuition fees. Students came from towns all over western Arkansas to board with Booneville families and attend a school that offered an advanced curriculum, including Latin, German, advanced mathematics, literature, and music. The school functioned until the early 1900s.

After the school closed, a group of residents and business leaders formed the Booneville Education Association and acquired 9 acres (36,000 m2) of land in the northwest part of town. The new school was called the Booneville Co-Educational Institute and also offered a more advanced curriculum than the public school around. Graduates were admitted as sophomores at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. In 1920, state funds were made available for the support of public high schools and the school's property was transferred to the Booneville School District. The building continued to be used as the city's high school until a new building was built in 1929. The old Co-Educational Institute building was used as the Booneville elementary school for several decades after that.[10]

Infrastructure

Transportation
Highway 23 in downtown Booneville

The town is located at the intersection of Highway 23 (commonly known as the "Pig Trail") and Highway 10. Both routes are designated as Arkansas Scenic Byways near Booneville. Highway 217 also runs north and south from the town.

Rights-of-way for downtown streets dedicated during the original town plat are wider than in most communities.

Water/wastewater

The town of Booneville owns the Booneville Water Department, which treats and distributes potable water from Lake Booneville to the residents and commercial users of the town in accordance with Arkansas Department of Health regulations.[11]

The Booneville Water Department also collects and treats wastewater in accordance with a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued and administrated by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.[12] Treated effluent is discharged to Booneville Creek, ultimately draining to the Arkansas River.[12]

Notable people

See also
  •  United States portal

References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. Curry, Patricia L. (October 24, 2011). "Booneville (Logan County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  5. Cargill Meat Solutions: Cargill will not rebuild in Booneville, Ark.
  6. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  10. Booneville Democrat, Special Edition, June 30, 1999, Pg. 13
  11. "Booneville Water Department" (PDF). Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. ADH. 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  12. "Authorization to Discharge Wastewater Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act". NPDES Permit AR-0021571. ADEQ. April 23, 2013. Missing or empty |url= (help)
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