Altus ( ) is a city in Franklin County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, United States. Located within the

Arkansas River Valley The Arkansas River Valley, also known as the Arkansas Valley, is a region in Arkansas defined by the Arkansas River in the western part of the state. Generally defined as the area between the The Ozarks, Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, the River V ...

at the edge of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

, the city is within the

Fort Smith metropolitan area The Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a five-county area including three Arkansas county, counties and two Oklahoma counties, and anchored by the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The total M ...

. The epicenter of the

Altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music *Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type * Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US ** Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Ark ...

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

(AVA) within Arkansas Wine Country, the city is home to four wineries. Although founded as a coal mining community, the wine industry has driven the Altus economy since the first vineyards were planted in 1872. The population was 758 at the 2010 census, down from 817 at the 2000 census. In 2020, the population was 669 and was estimated as unchanged in 2021 and 2022. Altus was the location for the first season of the television show ''

The Simple Life ''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do menial, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fa ...

'', starring

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

and

Nicole Richie Nicole Camille Richie (; born September 21, 1981) is an American media personality, fashion designer, and actress. She came to prominence after appearing on the reality television series ''The Simple Life'' (2003–2007), in which she starred al ...

. Altus is the site of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (St. Mary's Catholic Church), which is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. St. Mary's Catholic Church was built in 1902 and is known for its beautiful paintings, ornate gold leaf walls, and Roman architecture.

History

Altus had its start in 1875 when the railroad was extended to that point. Altus station was the highest point on the track. In recognition of this highest railroad elevation between Little Rock and Fort Smith, the station was originally known as "Summit". The town's initial development was due to railroad efforts encouraging

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigration to settle lands adjacent to the railroad. In 1903, the railroad mainline was shifted to a more favorable alignment along the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. The track through Altus was removed in the 1930s, but the railroad station has been preserved as a commercial establishment. Altus is also the former site of

Hendrix College Hendrix College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled, mostly undergraduates. While affiliated with the United Methodist Chu ...

Geography

Altus is located in southeastern Franklin County, bordered to the south by the town of Denning. Wiederkehr Village is directly to the north.

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,281 miles (3,672 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route ...

passes through the center of Altus, leading northwest to

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

and east to Clarksville. The

is to the west. Altus is south of the

Boston Mountains The Boston Mountains is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Part of the Ozarks, the Boston Mountains are a deeply dissected plateau. The ecoregion is steepe ...

range between the

to the north and the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

to the south. The soil type here is generally linker on the hilltops: a sandy loam, slightly acid soil and good for grape growing. Several

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

are located in Altus, and it is the location of the Altus

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 817 people, 339 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 372 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.80%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.12%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.86% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 2.08% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 339 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average familiar size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,842, and the median income for a family was $29,286. Males had a prime meridian income of $25,000 versus $18,583 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,376. About 19.7% of families and 28.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 36.8% of those under age 18 and 19.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Altus Grape Festival - Local Entertainment I

Altus is home to three wineries and the Altus AVA (Chateau aux Arc Winery, Mount Bethel Winery, and Post Winery). The Wiederkehr Winery, founded by Johann Andreas Wiederkehr, is located north of Altus in Wiederkehr Village. The annual Springtime Gala, Grapefest, Dinner in the Vineyards, and Wineaux Fest are held in Altus each year. Altus was the location for the first season of the television show ''

'', starring

and

Education

Altus is served by the

Ozark School District The Ozark School District #14 is a public school district in western Arkansas, based in Ozark, Arkansas, serving most of northern Franklin County and a small portion of western Johnson County. The district is a member of the Western Arkansas ...

, leading to graduation at Ozark High School. The

Altus-Denning School District Altus-Denning School District No. 31 was a school district in Arkansas, serving Altus and Denning. It operated one school, the Altus-Denning School. The school building was in Altus; it was administratively divided between an elementary school ...

was closed in 2004 after an Arkansas law was passed requiring many small schools in the state to consolidate, usually with a bigger school close by. Prior to closing the Altus High School mascot was the Owls and competed in the 1A classification of the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA).

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highway 64 runs through Altus, and the city limits follow the highway west from the main population center. This highway runs west to

and east to Clarksville. Highway 186 runs north from Altus to give access to

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

, to the north. To the south, there are no highway bridges over the Arkansas River between Ozark and Morrison Bluff.

Water/Wastewater

The City of Altus Water Department, an enterprise fund of the city, manages water, sewer and trash pickup. Wastewater is collected and conveyed to the Altus Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The plant has a design capacity of per day, and discharges treated effluent to the Arkansas River in accordance with the city's NPDES permit administrated by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. The WWTP was built in 1991.

Notable people

Janice Holt Giles Janice Holt Giles (March 28, 1905 – June 1, 1979) was an American writer who lived near Knifley in Adair County, Kentucky. Personal life She was born Janice Meredith Holt on March 28, 1905, in Altus, Arkansas to John Albert Holt and Lucy El ...

, author * Florence McRaven member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

* Boss Schmidt, baseball player and manager * Johann Andreas Wiederkehr, winemaker

References

{{authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Franklin County, Arkansas Fort Smith metropolitan area