Editing Dumas, Arkansas (section)

==History==
In 1870, a planter, merchant and surveyor of French descent, William B. Dumas, bought acres of farmland from the Abercrombie Holmes family.<ref>.[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=876 Dumas (Desha County)], Retrieved September 24, 2017, Sally Wolff, Encyclopedia of Arkansas.</ref> The area was named Watson District and the town continued to develop. Then, the District was renamed Dumas and was incorporated in 1904.<ref>[https://www.arkansas.com/places-to-go/cities-and-towns/city-detail.aspx?city=dumas Cities & Towns - Dumas], Retrieved September 24, 2017, on "Arkansas.com".</ref>

Dumas proudly proclaims itself as "Home of the Ding Dong Daddy", a reference to the [[vaudeville]] song "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas" by [[Phil Baxter]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/whats-in-a-name-slogans-can-make-or-break-a-city-experts-say/ | title=What's in a Name? Slogans Can Make or Break a City, Experts Say | publisher=Fox News | date=May 26, 2011 | access-date=March 19, 2014 | author=Griffin, Pete}}</ref> However, this is up for debate, as the city of [[Dumas, Texas]], also lays claim, with some documentation, to the song being about them.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ci.dumas.tx.us/visitors/docs/Legend_of_the_Ding_Dong_Daddy.pdf |title=Legend of the Ding Dong Daddy |access-date=September 8, 2014 |archive-date=May 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508164807/http://www.ci.dumas.tx.us/visitors/docs/Legend_of_the_Ding_Dong_Daddy.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On February 24, 2007, Dumas [[Tornadoes of 2007#February 23–24|was struck by a long-tracked EF3 tornado]]. Twenty-eight people were injured, and many homes and business were damaged or destroyed. Police said on [[CNN]] that "the feed mill was the local employer and now it is gone".<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2007-02-24-arkansas-storms_x.htm?csp=34 USA Today: Acting governor: Tornado acted like 'high explosives.']  Retrieved February 26, 2007.</ref> Following the storm, [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Mark Pryor]] criticized the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]]'s response to the recovery and cleanup efforts.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornados/2007-03-08-fema-response_n.htm USA Today: Ark. pols blast FEMA for tornado response]</ref>

On March 19, 2022, two gunmen killed one person and injured at least 26 others, including six children, at the Hood-Nic Festival, an annual car show held in the city. One suspect was later arrested and admitted to firing a gun at another man present at the festival.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moritz |first=Rob |last2=Medina |first2=Eduardo |last3=Mzezewa |first3=Tariro |last4=Fausset |first4=Richard |date=March 20, 2022 |title=1 Dead and 24 Wounded in Shooting at an Arkansas Car Show |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/20/us/arkansas-car-show-shooting-dumas.html |access-date=March 20, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Raja Razek and Andy Rose |title=One person killed and 28 wounded &ndash; including children &ndash; in shooting at Arkansas car show |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/19/us/arkansas-car-show-shooting/index.html |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/dumas-arkansas-hood-nic-shooting.html|title= After Mass Shooting, a Town in Arkansas Struggles to Move Forward|last=Faussett|first=Richard|agency=New York Times|accessdate=April 4, 2022}}</ref> In 2023, The shooter, Brandon Knight, was sentenced to 60 years for 10 counts of aggravated assault.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Knight enters guilty plea, sentenced for 10 counts of aggravated assault |url=https://www.dumasclarion.com/knight-enters-guilty-plea-sentenced-10-counts-aggravated-assault |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Dumas Clarion |language=en}}</ref>