Augusta, Arkansas

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Augusta, officially the City of Augusta, is a city in Woodruff County, Arkansas, United States, located on the east bank of the White River. The population was 1,998 as of the 2020 Census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city is the county seat of Woodruff County.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

In 1848, Thomas Hough had the village of Chickasaw Crossing, Arkansas, surveyed and laid out. The location was a natural riverboat landing spot on the navigable White River.<ref name=Woodruff>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1850, Hough renamed the settlement after his niece, Augusta Cald. Incorporated on July 9, 1860, in Jackson County, the town of Augusta became a part of Woodruff County when it was formed in the 1860s.<ref name=Augusta>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

After the chaos of the American Civil War and its immediate aftermath, Augusta entered its greatest period of prosperity in the 1870s as a year-round riverboat transport point for a wide variety of goods, serving vessels from as far away as Memphis and New Orleans.<ref name=Augusta/> Thus, when railroads began entering the county in the late 1800s, Augusta opted out of the apparently-unnecessary innovation and allowed their town to be bypassed by the tracks.<ref name=Augusta/> When river traffic began to decline, the citizens realized their mistake, and decided to build their own railroad to link to the national rail grid.<ref name=Augusta/> What became the Augusta Railroad lasted from 1886 to 1958 or 1959.<ref name=Augusta/><ref name=ICC>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Augusta is located approximately Template:Convert northeast of Little Rock and Template:Convert west of Memphis, Tennessee.<ref group="Note">Mileages are based on highway miles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> </ref> According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.

Region

Template:See also Augusta is located in the Arkansas Delta, one of the six primary geographic regions of Arkansas. The Arkansas Delta is a subregion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, which is a flat area consisting of rich, fertile sediment deposits from the Mississippi River between Louisiana and Illinois. Prior to settlement, Woodruff County was densely forested, with bayous, sloughs, and swamps crossing the land. Seeking to take advantage of the area's fertile soils, settlers cleared the land to better suit row crops.

County

Although some swampland has been preserved in the Cache River NWR and some former farmland has undergone reforestation, the majority (56 percent) of the county remains in cultivation.<ref group="Note">In 2014, 114 thousand acres of soybeans, 58.7 thousand acres of rice, 14.6 thousand acres of wheat, 17 thousand acres of corn and 7 thousand acres of sorghum were planted in Woodruff County.<ref name=AgStats>Template:Cite web</ref> Total acreage for those two crops is 211,600. Woodruff County is 594 square miles, which is 380,160 acres based on 640 acres per square mile. Acreage for the total crops (211,600) divided by acreage for the county (380,160) is 55.7 percent.</ref>

The nearby Cache River NWR, owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, is a preservation area maintaining the original features of the area. Stretching approximately Template:Convert across adjacent counties, the NWR is listed as a Ramsar wetlands of international importance, and serves as a key wintering area for ducks and the largest contiguous tract of bottomland hardwood forest in North America.

Climate

Woodruff County has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Woodruff County experiences all four seasons, although summers can be extremely hot and humid and winters are mild with little snow. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of Template:Convert and an average low of Template:Convert. Temperatures above Template:Convert are not uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of Template:Convert and an average low of Template:Convert. The highest temperature was Template:Convert, recorded in 1936 and 1972. The lowest temperature recorded was Template:Convert, on January 8, 1942.

Demographics

2020 census

Augusta Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	959	48.0%
Black or African American	908	45.45%
Native American	3	0.15%
Asian	4	0.2%
Other/Mixed	87	4.35%
Hispanic or Latino	37	1.85%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,998 people, 966 households, and 597 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 2,665 people, 1,070 households, and 741 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,164 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 55% White, 42.99% Black or African American, 2% Native American, 0.08% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,070 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 22.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,500, and the median income for a family was $24,506. Males had a median income of $24,781 versus $18,176 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,865. About 23.6% of families and 28.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.9% of those under age 18 and 24.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

File:Augusta, AR 001.jpg

Augusta High School

Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Augusta School District, which leads to graduation from Augusta High School.

Transportation

Augusta sits on US Route 64 and State Highway 33.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Woodruff County Airport Template:Airport codes is a county-owned public-use airport four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) east of the central business district of Augusta.<ref name="FAA">Template:FAA-airport. Federal Aviation Administration, effective 7 September 2023.</ref>

Historic places

Template:Main Multiple sites in and around Augusta are on the National Register of Historic Places including the Augusta Commercial Historic District (roughly bounded by 1st, Main, 2nd, and Pearl streets), the Augusta Electrical Generating Plant, the Augusta Memorial Park Historic Section, the Augusta Presbyterian Church, the Ferguson House, the George Washington Carver High School Home Economics Building, Gregory House, the Jess Norman Post 166 American Legion Hut, the Mathis-Hyde House, and the Woodruff County Courthouse.

Tourist attractions

Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, headquartered in Augusta but located just south of town, protects wetland habitats for migrating waterfowl together with other wildlife, and includes some of the most intact and least disturbed bottomland hardwood forests in the Mississippi Valley region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 64 Speedway was a popular short track motor racing location which closed in 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

• Michael John Gray, Democratic former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2015-2019) and state Democratic Party chairman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jimmy Gunn, professional football player.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• John D. Price, U.S. Navy admiral who held five aviation world records.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Billy Ray Smith, Sr., professional football player; father of Billy Ray Smith, Jr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

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