Editing Hickory Ridge, Arkansas

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Hickory Ridge, Arkansas
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|image_skyline            = 
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_seal               = 
|image_map                = File:Cross County Arkansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Hickory Ridge Highlighted 0531900.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Hickory Ridge in Cross County, Arkansas.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Arkansas|County]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_name1        = [[Arkansas]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Cross County, Arkansas|Cross]]
|established_title        = Incorporated
|established_date         = November 7, 1949
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_05.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027174357/https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_05.txt|url-status=live}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 1.68
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.65
|area_land_km2            = 1.68
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.65
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|elevation_ft             = 230
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 228
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_km2   = 135.94
|population_density_sq_mi = 351.85
|timezone                 = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|35|24|03|N|90|59|52|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 72347
|area_code                = [[Area code 870|870]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 05-31900
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2404695<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2404695}}</ref>
|footnotes                = <ref name="eoa">{{Cite encyclopedia |author= Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas |date= December 19, 2016 |title= Hickory Ridge (Cross County) |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]] |publisher= [[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |url= https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/hickory-ridge-cross-county-6084/ |access-date= December 27, 2020 |archive-date= April 23, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210423165725/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/hickory-ridge-cross-county-6084/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
|website                  = 
}}
'''Hickory Ridge''' is a city in [[Cross County, Arkansas|Cross County]], [[Arkansas]], United States. The population was 272 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0531900| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212180538/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0531900| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hickory Ridge city, Arkansas| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=June 20, 2014}}</ref> Always a small farming community with an economy based on agriculture, a post office was first established in 1875, but the community did not incorporate until 1949.

==History==
A post office in [[Brushy Lake Township, Cross County, Arkansas|Brushy Lake Township]] was named '''Hickory Ridge''' on October 5, 1875. The post office was closed shortly thereafter, and the area remained very sparsely populated because the soils were too wet to grow cotton. Following the [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway|Cotton Belt railway]] extension through the settlement around 1882, the community saw prosperity from timber and agriculture; reestablishing the Hickory Ridge post office in 1892.<ref name="eoa" />

The city was racially segregated along the railroad tracks (similar to the [[Delmar Divide]]), and around 1910, white residents dynamited the black section of town, expelling all black residents. The city became completely white and evolved into [[sundown town]] through unwritten rules.<ref name="eoa" />

==Geography==
Hickory Ridge is located in northwestern Cross County. [[U.S. Route 49]] passes through the community, leading north {{convert|37|mi}} to [[Jonesboro, Arkansas|Jonesboro]] and south {{convert|35|mi}} to [[Interstate 40]] at [[Brinkley, Arkansas|Brinkley]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Hickory Ridge has a total area of {{convert|1.7|km2|disp=flip}}, all land.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

Hickory Ridge is within the [[Mississippi embayment]] of the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain]], a flat fertile floodplain of the [[Mississippi River]]. In Arkansas, an economic and cultural region roughly following this geography is known as the [[Arkansas Delta]] (or "the Delta"). Roughly the western third of Cross County is within the [[Mississippi Alluvial Plain (ecoregion)#Western Lowlands Pleistocene Valley Trains (73g)|Western Lowlands Pleistocene Valley Train]] subregion of the Delta. This region is characterized as flat windblown deposits of silty, sandy soils, and [[loess]] with a high groundwater table. [[Post oak]] and [[loblolly pine]] are native in the higher elevations, with [[overcup oak]], [[water hickory]], [[willow oak]], and [[pin oak]] and [[pondberry]] native in [[wetlands]]. Today, [[row crop|row agriculture]] is extensive (mostly soybeans and cotton), with commercial [[aquaculture]] ([[crawfish]], baitfish, and [[catfish]] farms) also common.<ref name=ark4>{{USGS|title=Ecoregions of Arkansas|comment=color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs |author=Woods, A.J. |author2=Foti, T.L. |author3=Chapman, S.S. |author4=Omernik, J.M.|display-authors=et al |url=ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/ar/ar_front.pdf }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1950= 345
|1960= 364
|1970= 410
|1980= 478
|1990= 436
|2000= 384
|2010= 272
|2020= 228
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015|archive-date=August 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829184404/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

At the 2000 [[census]],<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website|archive-date=December 27, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/http://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref> there were 384 people, 155 households and 110 families residing in the city.  The population density was {{convert|599.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 165 housing units at an average density of {{convert|257.7|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 99.48% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.26% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], and 0.26% from two or more races. 0.26% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 155 households, of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% 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 3.01.

Age distribution was 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The [[median household income]] was $22,778, and the median family income was $28,906. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $15,750 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $13,053. About 11.2% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 29.3% of those age 65 or over.

== Education ==
Public education for elementary and secondary students is provided by the [[Cross County School District]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st05_ar/c05037_cross/DC10SD_C05037_001.pdf|title=SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Cross County, AR|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=February 27, 2021|archive-date=November 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107001027/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st05_ar/c05037_cross/DC10SD_C05037_001.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> which leads to graduation from [[Cross County High School (Arkansas)|Cross County High School]]. The district's mascot and athletic emblem is the Thunderbird.

The Cross County district was established in 1965 by the merger of the [[Cherry Valley, Arkansas|Cherry Valley]], Hickory Ridge, and [[Vanndale, Arkansas|Vanndale]] school districts.<ref name=Goatcherp14>{{cite web|last=Goatcher|first=Truett|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED458075.pdf|title=School District Consolidation Will Save Millions of Dollars: Fact of Myth?|publisher=Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators|date=January 1999|page=11 (PDF p. 14/27)|access-date=September 2, 2024|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328001827/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED458075.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> As a part of the Cross County district the community previously had its own elementary school, Hickory Ridge Elementary.<ref name=2001page>{{cite web|url=http://tbird.crsc.k12.ar.us/|title=Home|publisher=Cross County School District|date=April 2, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010402031428/http://tbird.crsc.k12.ar.us/|access-date=February 27, 2021|archive-date=April 2, 2001}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
Hickory Ridge is located at the intersection of [[U.S. Route 49]] (US&nbsp;49) and [[Arkansas Highway 42|Highway&nbsp;42]]. The [[Union Pacific Railway]] closely parallels US&nbsp;49 through Hickory Ridge.<ref>{{Cite map |publisher=Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department |author=Transportation Planning and Policy Division |title=General Highway Map, Cross County, Arkansas |url=http://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/CrossCounty.pdf |format=PDF |orig-date=July 11, 2007 |date=October 2, 2014 |location=Little Rock |edition=Revised |scale=1:62500 |oclc=911045270 |accessdate=December 27, 2020 |archive-date=September 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922102646/http://arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/CrossCounty.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Utilities===
{{See also|List of public utilities in Arkansas}}
[[Entergy|Entergy Arkansas]] is the sole provider of electricity in Hickory Ridge.<ref>{{ cite map |title=Electric Utility Service Territories (polygon) |date= October 16, 2014 |orig-year=June 5, 2009 |edition= Update |url= http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgis.arkansas.gov%2Farcgis%2Frest%2Fservices%2FFEATURESERVICES%2FUtilities%2FFeatureServer%2F11&source=sd |publisher= Arkansas GIS Office |access-date= December 27, 2020 }}</ref> Telephone communication service is provided by [[AT&T]], cable television is provided by [[WEHCO Media|East Arkansas Video]]. [[Centerpoint Energy]] is the natural gas utility in Cross County.

The [[Arkansas Department of Health]] (ADH) is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems throughout the state. Hickory Ridge Waterworks is a small water utility that treats and distributes groundwater to under 1000 customers.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= Arkansas Department of Health |year= 2019 |title= Hickory Ridge Waterworks Annual Drinking Water Quality Report |url= http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/eng/ccr/159.pdf |work= Consumer Confidence Report |location= Little Rock |access-date= December 27, 2020 |archive-date= December 27, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161227051011/http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/eng/ccr/159.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of sundown towns in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{ cite book |last1= Diebold Jr. |first1=L. A. “Buddy,” |title=My Home Town—Hickory Ridge, Arkansas |date=May 22, 1961 |work=Folklore Class Reports, [[Mary Celestia Parler]] Research Materials |publisher= Special Collections, [[University of Arkansas]] Libraries |location= Fayetteville, Arkansas }}

{{Cross County, Arkansas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1875 establishments in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Cities in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Cities in Cross County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1875]]
[[Category:Sundown towns in Arkansas]]