Judsonia, Arkansas
Encyclopedia
Judsonia is a city in White County
, Arkansas
, United States
. Rickey Veach is the current mayor. The population was 1,982 at the 2000 census.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 3 square miles (7.8 km²), of which 3 square miles (7.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (1.31%) is water.
of 2000, there were 1,982 people, 733 households, and 529 families residing in the city. The population density
was 659.5 people per square mile (254.2/km²). There were 816 housing units at an average density of 271.5/sq mi (104.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.05% White
, 2.32% Black
or African American
, 0.71% Native American
, 0.10% Asian
, 0.05% Pacific Islander
, 1.31% from other races
, and 1.46% from two or more races. 2.32% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 733 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples
living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% 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 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,660, and the median income for a family was $31,176. Males had a median income of $25,774 versus $16,852 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $11,891. About 12.0% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 20.8% of those age 65 or over.
school, Judsonia University, was established in the area. A few months later the name Prospect Bluff was changed to Judsonia, after Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson
, to help promote the school, which drew many northerners to the area.
Though the school died in 1883, the town streets still bear the names of several well known 19th century Baptists: Judson and Hasseltine (after Adoniram Judson
and his wife, Ann Hasseltine Judson
), Wayland (after Francis Wayland
, president of Brown University
in Rhode Island
), Wade (after missionary Jonathan Wade) and Boardman (after missionary George Boardman
, whose widow, Sarah Hall Boardman
became Judson's second wife).
On the evening of March 21, 1952, tornadoes
swept Arkansas
leaving 111 dead. Fifty of those fatalities were in Judsonia and the near vicinity. It was reported that the only building in the town not damaged was the Methodist church, which stands today in the city's downtown area along Van Buren Street.
"That's Judsonia" by William Ewing Orr (1957, White County
Printing Company) is the most complete history of the community.
Beth Ditto
, member of the band The Gossip
grew up in the town before moving to Portland, Oregon
.
Judsonia is home to a yearly festival called Prospect Bluff Days in honor of the towns origins.
from the band The Gossip
is from Judsonia.
White County, Arkansas
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 77,076. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, Jackson, and Pulaski counties and named for Hugh Lawson White, a...
, 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...
. Rickey Veach is the current mayor. The population was 1,982 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Judsonia is located at 35°16′30"N 91°38′17"W (35.274885, -91.638092).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 3 square miles (7.8 km²), of which 3 square miles (7.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (1.31%) is water.
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 1,982 people, 733 households, and 529 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 659.5 people per square mile (254.2/km²). There were 816 housing units at an average density of 271.5/sq mi (104.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.05% 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...
, 2.32% 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...
, 0.71% 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...
, 0.10% 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...
, 0.05% Pacific Islander
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...
, 1.31% 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 1.46% from two or more races. 2.32% 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 733 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% 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, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% 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 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,660, and the median income for a family was $31,176. Males had a median income of $25,774 versus $16,852 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 $11,891. About 12.0% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 20.8% of those age 65 or over.
History
Originally known as Prospect Bluff, the town was founded in 1840 by Erastus Gregory. In 1871 a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
school, Judsonia University, was established in the area. A few months later the name Prospect Bluff was changed to Judsonia, after Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson, Jr. was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma...
, to help promote the school, which drew many northerners to the area.
Though the school died in 1883, the town streets still bear the names of several well known 19th century Baptists: Judson and Hasseltine (after Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson, Jr. was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma...
and his wife, Ann Hasseltine Judson
Ann Hasseltine Judson
Ann Hasseltine Judson was one of the first female American foreign missionaries. She attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education by Hannah More, which led her to "seek a life of 'usefulness'". Born in Bradford, Massachusetts,...
), Wayland (after Francis Wayland
Francis Wayland
Francis Wayland , American Baptist educator and economist, was born in New York City, New York. He was president of Brown University and pastor of the First Baptist Church in America in Providence, Rhode Island. In Washington, D.C., Wayland Seminary was established in 1867, primarily to educate...
, president of Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
), Wade (after missionary Jonathan Wade) and Boardman (after missionary George Boardman
George Boardman
George Dana Boardman was born in Livermore, Maine, the son of the Rev. Sylvanus Boardman. He attended Colby College, and was the school's first graduate in 1822. He served as tutor for a year at Colby, then continued his education at Andover Theological Seminary. On February 16, 1825, he was...
, whose widow, Sarah Hall Boardman
Sarah Hall Boardman
Sarah Hall Boardman , born in Alstead, New Hampshire, spent 20 years of her life in Burma doing missionary work. She and her husband George Boardman sailed to Burma in 1824, just one week after their wedding. She was widowed in 1831...
became Judson's second wife).
On the evening of March 21, 1952, tornadoes
Arkansas-Tennessee tornado outbreak of 1952
The March 1952 Southern United States tornado outbreak was the ninth deadliest tornado outbreak in the history of the United States. Affecting the American South, it produced 209 deaths, fifty of which were related to a single tornado in Arkansas...
swept 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...
leaving 111 dead. Fifty of those fatalities were in Judsonia and the near vicinity. It was reported that the only building in the town not damaged was the Methodist church, which stands today in the city's downtown area along Van Buren Street.
"That's Judsonia" by William Ewing Orr (1957, White County
White County, Arkansas
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 77,076. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, Jackson, and Pulaski counties and named for Hugh Lawson White, a...
Printing Company) is the most complete history of the community.
Beth Ditto
Beth Ditto
Mary Beth Patterson, known by her stage name Beth Ditto , is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band Gossip.-Personal life:...
, member of the band The Gossip
The Gossip
Gossip is a three-piece American indie rock band formed in 1999. The band consists of singer Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie. After releasing several recordings, the band broke through with their 2006 studio album, Standing in the Way of Control . A follow-up, Music for...
grew up in the town before moving to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
Judsonia is home to a yearly festival called Prospect Bluff Days in honor of the towns origins.
Famous Judsonians
Singer Beth DittoBeth Ditto
Mary Beth Patterson, known by her stage name Beth Ditto , is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band Gossip.-Personal life:...
from the band The Gossip
The Gossip
Gossip is a three-piece American indie rock band formed in 1999. The band consists of singer Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie. After releasing several recordings, the band broke through with their 2006 studio album, Standing in the Way of Control . A follow-up, Music for...
is from Judsonia.