Editing Wynne, Arkansas (section)

==Early history==
[[File:Wynne AR 2012-04-07 016.jpg|thumb|left|The Commercial District is one of ten sites in Wynne listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cross County, Arkansas|National Register of Historic Places]].]]
Wynne was named for Captain Jesse Watkins Wynne, a [[Texas|Texan]] who achieved the rank of captain in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] at the age of just 21. He was famed for leading a group of his captors up to the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] lines, where he then marched them to headquarters as his own prisoners.

In 1867, Captain Wynne moved to [[St. Francis County, Arkansas]], and joined the finance company of Dennis & Beck. At that time, the Dennis & Beck company held savings for other companies and for individuals, but eventually, it became the Bank of Eastern Arkansas, and Wynne became its first president.

From 1880 to 1885, as the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad was under construction, active steamboat riverports like [[Wittsburg, Arkansas|Wittsburg]], at that time the county seat of Cross County, were deserted for the railroads.

The location of the settlement of Wynne was first chosen in 1882, when a train derailed, leaving one boxcar without wheels and off the tracks. That boxcar was then turned upright as a building, and as a compliment to Captain Wynne, it was designated the "Wynne Station". On September 27, 1882, the Wynne Station Post Office was opened.

When the east–west railroad line was completed, it crossed the north–south line near the boxcar, and the name "Wynne Junction" became well known in the area. On May 28, 1888, the "Junction" part of the name was dropped, and the town of Wynne was formed.

By the 1890s, the railroad traffic and the resulting activity in Wynne made it a more vibrant town than the town of [[Vanndale, Arkansas|Vanndale]], which had been the county seat since 1886. In 1903, the county seat of Cross County was moved to Wynne.

With the advent of the [[U.S. Numbered Highways|U.S. Highway System]] in the 1920s and 30s, [[U.S. Route 64]] was built west from [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], through Wynne, and to points west. Also, the north–south [[Arkansas Highway 1]] was built through Wynne, making it an important highway crossroads for several decades, in addition to being a railroad town. Since the advent of the [[Interstate Highway System]], [[Interstate 40]] has largely diverted long-distance travel away from Wynne.

On Friday, March 31, 2023, shortly after 4:30 P.M., an intense [[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF3]] [[tornado]] with winds reaching 150 miles per hour [[2023 Wynne-Parkin tornado|struck the community]]. Four people died and 26 people were injured. Numerous homes and businesses, including Wynne High School, were damaged or destroyed. The tornado was on the ground for 73 miles, dissipating in [[Tipton County, Tennessee]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=NWS Memphis Results from the March 31st - April 1st tornado outbreak |url=https://www.weather.gov/meg/march31april1tornadooutbreak |access-date=May 31, 2023 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>