Editing Blytheville, Arkansas (section)

==History==
Blytheville was founded by [[Methodism|Methodist]] clergyman Henry T. Blythe in 1879. It received a post office the same year, was incorporated in 1889, and became the county seat for the northern half of Mississippi County (Chickasawba District) in 1901. Blytheville received telephone service and electricity in 1903, and natural gas service in 1950.<ref name="Keffer">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Keffer | first = Rigel | title = Blytheville (Mississippi County) | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture | year = 2012 | url = http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=935}}</ref>

[[Forestry]] was an early industry, spurred by the massive harvesting of lumber needed to rebuild Chicago following the [[Great Chicago Fire|Great Fire]] of 1871. The lumber industry brought sawmills and a rowdy crowd, and the area was known for its disreputable saloon culture during the 1880s and 1890s.<ref name="Keffer"/>  The [[Paragould Southeastern Railway]], which served the logging industry, arrived in town in 1907.<ref name=ICC>{{cite web|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yqUIjbBgY-IC&q=Paragould |title= Valuation Docket No. 142, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, et al|date= April 22, 2024|accessdate=March 26, 2024}}</ref>

The cleared forests enabled [[cotton]] farming to take hold, encouraged by ongoing [[levee]] building and waterway management; the population grew significantly after 1900. On Blytheville's western edge lies one of the largest [[cotton gin]]s in North America. [[Soybean]]s and [[rice]] have also become important crops.<ref name="Keffer"/>

The area northwest of the town was developed into an "advanced" pilot training school for the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] in 1942. The school hosted the [[Vultee BT-13 Valiant|BT-13]], [[Beechcraft T-6 Texan II|AT-6]], [[Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep|AT-9]], and [[Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita|AT-10]]. The facility closed after the end of WW2 and briefly served as the city's municipal airport.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Hartley |first=Jillian |date=August 19, 2023 |title=Eaker Air Force Base |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/eaker-air-force-base-2795/ |access-date=November 24, 2023 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |publisher=Central Arkansas Library Systems |publication-place=Little Rock, AR}}</ref>

The area around Blytheville continues to be farmed, though family farms have given way to large factory operations.<ref name="Keffer"/>

The former Blytheville Army Airfield was reopened by the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] in 1956 as [[Blytheville Air Force Base]], and from 1959 to 1991 hosted the [[97th Air Mobility Wing|97th Wing]] as part of the [[Strategic Air Command|Strategic Air Command's]] Ground Alert Program. The base was closed in December 1992 as part of the 1991 [[Base Realignment and Closure|BRAC Commission]].<ref name=":0" /> In the 1980s, Blytheville began to develop an industrial base, much of which centered on the [[iron and steel industry in the United States|steel industry]]. [[Nucor|Nucor Steel]] opened a plant east of Blytheville, on the Mississippi River, in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nucor-Yamato Steel |url=http://www.nucoryamato.com/ |access-date=November 24, 2023 |website=www.nucoryamato.com}}</ref> 
[[File:Aeroplextower2023.jpg|alt=A grey, multi-story airport control tower. A P-51 mustang plane is parked in the foreground.|left|thumb|The control tower of the Arkansas Aeroplex (former Blytheville Air Force Base) in 2023.]]James Sanders was elected as the mayor of Blytheville in 2011. He was the first [[African-American]] to serve in that position.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newsdesk |first=Region 8 |date=July 18, 2022 |title=Blytheville mayor to end career after 45 years of public service |url=https://www.kait8.com/2022/07/18/blytheville-mayor-end-career-after-45-years-public-service/ |access-date=November 24, 2023 |website=kait8.com |language=en}}</ref> After James Sanders’ retirement in 2023, local accountant and veteran Melissa Logan was elected as the city’s first female black mayor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Imani |date=November 18, 2022 |title=Winner declared in Blytheville mayoral race |url=https://www.kait8.com/2022/11/18/winner-declared-blytheville-mayoral-race/ |access-date=November 24, 2023 |website=kait8.com |language=en}}</ref>