Bee Branch is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Van Buren County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 293. More than 70% of the local population consist of married couples. The majority of the population were born out-of-state and exclusively speak the English language. The nearest towns are Clinton and Fairfield Bay.

History

The community has had a post office since Willie D. Neal was named postmaster in 1860. When the post office moved in 1879 near the present-day intersection of

U.S. 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of In ...

and Highway 92, it applied for the name Crossroads, but was rejected as it had already been duplicated in several parts of the state. The name Bee Branch was chosen for a large beehive in a tree near the post office. Bee Branch was indirectly affected by an outbreak of tornadoes in November 2005.

Climate

The warmest summers that Bee Branch has witnessed occurred in 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Education

Public education in the townsite is provided by

South Side School District South Side School District (or South Side Public Schools) is a public school district based in Bee Branch, Arkansas, United States. The South Side School District provides early childhood, elementary and secondary education for more than 500 pr ...

,SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Van Buren County, AR
"

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

. Retrieved on June 2, 2018. - See Bee Branch on the map, compare to the school district map. which operates South Side High School.

Infrastructure

The community is located near secondary roads and no Interstate highways in the immediate area. U.S. Route 65 is the most major highway to go through Bee Branch.

Demographics

2020 census

Notable people

Bee Branch is also the home town of

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or rec ...

Larry Nixon.''Larry Nixon''
information at Bassmaster Arkansas State Representative

Kim Hammer Kim Hammer is a Missionary Baptist preacher and state legislator in Arkansas. He serves in the Arkansas Senate. He is a Republican. He hosts a weekly conservative talk radio show. Hammer was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for e ...

, a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

clergyman from Saline County, was reared in Bee Branch and graduated from South Side High School.

Jim McKnight James Arthur McKnight (June 1, 1936 – February 24, 1994) was an American professional baseball player whose career lasted for 18 seasons (1955–1972). He appeared in 63 games in Major League Baseball as a third baseman, outfielder and pinch hit ...

, professional baseball player, whose son also played in the Major Leagues, was born in Bee Branch.

Amber Straughn Amber Nicole Straughn (born 1979) is an American astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center where she serves as the deputy project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, responsible for science communications. Her research f ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

astronomer and James Webb Space Telescope Deputy Project Scientist, was raised in Bee Branch and graduated from South Side High School in 1998.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Van Buren County, Arkansas Unincorporated communities in Van Buren County, Arkansas Unincorporated communities in Arkansas