Editing Altheimer, Arkansas (section)

==History==
The city was named for brothers Joseph and Louis Altheimer, two Pine Bluff merchants.<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring Counties, Arkansas|url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalhistpjlf00good/page/148/mode/2up|location=Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis|publisher=[[Goodspeed Publishing|Goodspeed Publishing Co.]]|date=1889|page=149|lccn=01001243|ol=24190554M|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Louis, who was born in [[Darmstadt-Eberstadt|Eberstadt]] in 1850, read stories by German adventurer Frederick Gerstacker telling of the rich natural resources in Arkansas, and left for America as a teenager, eventually settling in Pine Bluff.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansasties.com/People/AltheimerLouis.htm|title=Louis Altheimer|website=Arkansasties.com|access-date=June 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002074706/http://www.arkansasties.com/People/AltheimerLouis.htm|archive-date=October 2, 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="eoa" >{{cite encyclopedia |last= Teske |first= Steven |title= Altheimer (Jefferson County) |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=907 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= [[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |date= January 5, 2012 |access-date= March 29, 2014 }}</ref> Louis brought his brother Joseph with him to the land that would eventually bear their name. Joseph's son, Benjamin, became a successful attorney, establishing the prominent Chicago law firm of Altheimer, Mayer, Woods, and Smith (later known as [[Altheimer & Gray]]), and serving twice as president of Chicago's Iroquois Club, the city's oldest [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] political club.<ref>{{cite book|author=Andreas, Thomas Alfred|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THd5AAAAMAAJ&q=Iroquois+Club+%22Democratic+Party%22&pg=PA402|title=History of Chicago|volume= 3|publisher= [[Chicago]]: A.T. Andreas, 1884-1886.|pages= 398–407|isbn= 1236331788|year = 1886|access-date=June 8, 2013}}</ref> Benjamin owned {{convert|15000|acre|km2}} of land in Arkansas. His foundation, the Ben J. Altheimer Foundation, provided scholarships and funding for projects throughout the state and continues today as the Ben J. Altheimer Charitable Foundation, Inc.<ref name=ben>LeMaster, Carolyn Gray. [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1577 "Benjamin Joseph Altheimer Jr."] [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]]. Retrieved June 10, 2013.</ref>

Altheimer is home to many restored pioneer-era [[log cabins]], [[Victorian era]] [[Plantation complexes in the Southeastern United States#Plantation house|plantation house]]s and [[museums]]. One of the most prominent locations is [[The Elms (Altheimer, Arkansas)|The Elms]], a former plantation house on the Collier Estate built in 1886, renovated by Ben Altheimer in the 1930s. Listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], The Elms is open to the public for retreats, [[family reunion]]s and tours.<ref name=ben /> Also located on the property are the Elms Duck Lodges, which provides hunting and fishing in the private lake and pond.<ref name=elms /> [[Roselawn (Altheimer, Arkansas)|Roselawn]], also known as the Collier-Barnett House, was built in 1875 and added to National Register of Historic Places in 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/AR/Jefferson/state.html|title=Arkansas-Jefferson County|publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]]|access-date=June 10, 2013}}</ref> [[Lake Dick, Arkansas|Lake Dick]] is an [[oxbow lake]] located {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} south of Altheimer.<ref name=oxbow>Norman, Bill. [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=537 "Lake Dick."] [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]]. Retrieved June 10, 2013.</ref> This area formerly held [[farmsteads]] of eighty [[white American]] families who were moved into the area in 1936 as part of the [[Farm Security Administration]]. Lake Dick was added to the register in 1975.<ref name=oxbow />

In 2007 and 2013, respectively, Altheimer's secondary and elementary schools closed. As a result, a number of residents moved to Pine Bluff to be closer to the zoned schools operated by the [[Dollarway School District]], and multiple businesses lost revenue.<ref name=Colvinclosing>{{cite web|last=Colvin|first=Eplunus|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/oct/02/closing-schools-took-life-out-of-altheimer/|title=Closing schools took life out of Altheimer, residents recall|newspaper=[[Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]]|date=October 2, 2020|accessdate=February 24, 2021}}</ref>