Forrest City, Arkansas
Encyclopedia
Forrest City is a city in and the county seat
of St. Francis County, Arkansas
, United States
. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest
, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis
and Little Rock
, shortly after the Civil War
. The population was 14,774 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 14,078 in 2006. The city refers to itself as the "Jewel of the Delta
."
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 16.3 square miles (42.2 km²), of which, 16.3 square miles (42.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.37%) is water.
Forrest City is located on Crowley's Ridge, a geological phenomenon that rises above the flat Mississippi Delta
terrain that surrounds it. This north-south running highland
is some three miles wide and 300 feet above sea level
. Several species of trees not indigenous to Arkansas
are found here, including beech
, butternut
, sugar maple
, and cucumber tree
s.
of 2000, there were 14,774 people, 4,581 households, and 3,165 families residing in the city. The population density
was 908.7 people per square mile (350.8/km²). There were 5,164 housing units at an average density of 317.6 per square mile (122.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 35.52% White
, 60.93% Black
or African American
, 0.19% Native American
, 0.74% Asian
, 0.30% from other races
, and 2.31% from two or more races. 8.26% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 4,581 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were married couples
living together, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 116.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,111, and the median income for a family was $27,432. Males had a median income of $29,313 versus $21,295 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $11,716. About 29.0% of families and 33.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.9% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.
, was officially organized by the Arkansas Territorial Legislature in Little Rock
. Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest
, became interested in the area around Crowley's Ridge
during the American Civil War
. In 1866 General Forrest and C. C. McCreanor contracted to finished the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad from Madison located on the St. Francis River
to DeValls Bluff on the west bank of the White River
. The route traversed the challenging Crowley's Ridge and L'Anguille River
bottoms. The first trains came through in 1868.
General Forrest later built a commissary
on Front Street. Colonel V.B. Izard began the task of designing the town at the same time. Most residents were calling the area "Forrest's Town," later to be known as Forrest City, incorporated May 11, 1870. The county seat
was initially located in the now defunct town of Franklin until 1840 when it was moved to Madison. In 1855 it was moved to Mount Vernon where the court house burned in 1856 destroying county records prompting a move back to Madison. The county seat was moved to a wooden structure in Forrest City in 1874, which burned shortly thereafter, again destroying county records.
Evidence that giant mastodons roamed the slope was revealed in 1949 when workmen excavating for sewer improvements found fossils of the massive beasts within the city limits.
is located in the 100-year-old Becker House. This house has served a variety of functions since being sold by the Becker family. It was an antique store and later a home furnishings boutique before being occupied by the Chamber.
Federal Correctional Complex, Forrest City
is in Forrest City.
The United States Postal Service
Forrest City Post Office is in Forrest City.
Lt. Colonel Lawrence Rea WWII
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of St. Francis County, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, shortly after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The population was 14,774 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 14,078 in 2006. The city refers to itself as the "Jewel of the Delta
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
."
Geography
Forrest City is located at 35°0′36"N 90°47′19"W (35.010131, -90.788716). Technically Forrest City is in northeast Arkansas using standard navigational methods..According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 16.3 square miles (42.2 km²), of which, 16.3 square miles (42.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.37%) is water.
Forrest City is located on Crowley's Ridge, a geological phenomenon that rises above the flat Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
terrain that surrounds it. This north-south running highland
Highland (geography)
The term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...
is some three miles wide and 300 feet above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. Several species of trees not indigenous to Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
are found here, including beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, butternut
Butternut
Butternut may refer to:*Butternut tree, Juglans cinerea, or its fruit*Butternut squash, an edible winter squash.*Butternut, a shade of yellow similar to khaki and the color of the butternut squash...
, sugar maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
, and cucumber tree
Cucumber tree
Magnolia acuminata, commonly called the cucumber tree , cucumber magnolia or blue magnolia, is one of the largest magnolias, and one of the cold-hardiest. It is a large forest tree of the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario Canada...
s.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 14,774 people, 4,581 households, and 3,165 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 908.7 people per square mile (350.8/km²). There were 5,164 housing units at an average density of 317.6 per square mile (122.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 35.52% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 60.93% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.19% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.74% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.30% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.31% from two or more races. 8.26% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 4,581 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 116.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,111, and the median income for a family was $27,432. Males had a median income of $29,313 versus $21,295 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $11,716. About 29.0% of families and 33.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.9% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.
History
On October 13, 1827, St. Francis County, located in the east central part of ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, was officially organized by the Arkansas Territorial Legislature in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
. Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, became interested in the area around Crowley's Ridge
Crowley's Ridge
Crowley's Ridge is an unusual geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most prominent feature in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain between Cape...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In 1866 General Forrest and C. C. McCreanor contracted to finished the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad from Madison located on the St. Francis River
St. Francis River
The Saint Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States...
to DeValls Bluff on the west bank of the White River
White River (Arkansas)
The White River is a 722-mile long river that flows through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Missouri.-Course:The source of the White River is in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest southeast of Fayetteville...
. The route traversed the challenging Crowley's Ridge and L'Anguille River
L'Anguille River
L'Anguille River is a tributary of the St. Francis River, approximately 110 mi long, in northeastern Arkansas in the United States. Via the St...
bottoms. The first trains came through in 1868.
General Forrest later built a commissary
Commissary
A commissary is someone delegated by a superior to execute a duty or an office; in a formal, legal context, one who has received power from a legitimate superior authority to pass judgment in a certain cause or to take information concerning it.-Word history:...
on Front Street. Colonel V.B. Izard began the task of designing the town at the same time. Most residents were calling the area "Forrest's Town," later to be known as Forrest City, incorporated May 11, 1870. The county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
was initially located in the now defunct town of Franklin until 1840 when it was moved to Madison. In 1855 it was moved to Mount Vernon where the court house burned in 1856 destroying county records prompting a move back to Madison. The county seat was moved to a wooden structure in Forrest City in 1874, which burned shortly thereafter, again destroying county records.
Evidence that giant mastodons roamed the slope was revealed in 1949 when workmen excavating for sewer improvements found fossils of the massive beasts within the city limits.
Local landmarks
The Forrest City Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
is located in the 100-year-old Becker House. This house has served a variety of functions since being sold by the Becker family. It was an antique store and later a home furnishings boutique before being occupied by the Chamber.
Government and infrastructure
The Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
Federal Correctional Complex, Forrest City
Federal Correctional Complex, Forrest City
Federal Correctional Institution, Forrest City is a federal low and medium security prison in Forrest City, Arkansas. It is in the Judicial district of United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. It is west of Memphis, Tennessee and east of Little Rock, Arkansas.-Notable...
is in Forrest City.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
Forrest City Post Office is in Forrest City.
Notable natives
- Al GreenAl GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, singer and minister - John W. HenryJohn W. HenryJohn William Henry II is a futures and foreign exchange trading advisor who founded John W. Henry & Company . He is the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C., and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. In March 2006, Boston Magazine estimated his net worth at $1.1 billion, but noted...
, principal owner of the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"... - Don KessingerDon KessingerDonald Eulon Kessinger is a former American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox...
, born in Forrest City, major league baseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - Albert KingAlbert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, blues artist - Charlie RichCharlie RichCharles Rich was an American country music singer and musician. A Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres.In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver...
see Colt, ArkansasColt, ArkansasColt is a city in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 368 at the 2000 census. It was the birthplace of country singer Charlie Rich.-Geography:Colt is located at .... - Cal SlaytonCal SlaytonCal Slayton is an American comic book artist and designer.-Biography:Slayton grew up in Forrest City, Arkansas and now lives in Texas with his wife. His most prominent work was on the indie comic book Shades of Blue published first by AMP Comics and then by Digital Webbing...
, comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist - Dennis WinstonDennis WinstonDennis Edward Winston is a former professional American football linebacker in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at the University of Arkansas....
, NFL player - Sonny ListonSonny ListonCharles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer and ex-convict known for his toughness, punching power, and intimidating appearance who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round...
, born in Forrest City on the Morledge Plantation Heavyweight Champion of the WorldHeavyweight Champion of the World"Heavyweight Champion of the World" is the "top ten" debut single by Reverend and The Makers, as well as the first single from their debut album The State Of Things. The single was released on May 6, 2007 on download only and was subsequently released on CD and 7" vinyl on May 28 that year... - Jimmy RogersJimmy RogersJimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
, NFL player
Lt. Colonel Lawrence Rea WWII
External links
- City of Forest City
- History of Forrest City's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)
- Times Herald News