East Camden is a city in Ouachita 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 Osage ...

, United States. The population was 931 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area. East Camden was originally called Billkitts Rental Housing and began as a planned community created to support the nearby

Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot The Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot was a munitions manufacturing facility of the United States Navy located in Calhoun and Ouachita counties in southern Arkansas. It operated from 1945 until 1957, producing Sidewinder missiles and other weapon ...

. As he did for the rest of the facility, the depot's Chief Maintenance Engineer, A.T. Smith, designed the general layout of the town and named its streets. U.S. Senator

John Little McClellan John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) from ...

later arranged for Smith, who boasted the most intimate knowledge of the depot, to travel to Washington D.C. and negotiate "over White House tea" with Lyndon B. Johnson to transfer ownership of the sprawling NAD complex to Johnson's

Brown and Root KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is a U.S. based company operating in fields of science, technology and engineering. KBR works in various markets including aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence. After Halliburton acquired Dress ...

. Brown and Root's Highland Resources would later transform the depot into an industrial park catering primarily to defense contractors who could be enticed by the local eight-mile (13 km) long rocket range, the vast array of underground storage bunkers, highly specialized building infrastructure, low cost of labor and excellent railroad system. As part of the transfer agreement, the Brown Foundation also donated of land and six buildings to establish a two-year technical college now known as Southern Arkansas University Tech.

Geography

East Camden is located at (33.607429, -92.741740). According to the

United States 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 ...

, the town has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 931 people living in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 64.2% White, 31.0% Black, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian and 1.4% from two or more races. 2.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 902 people, 365 households, and 251 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 621.9/km² (1,607.0/mi²). There were 401 housing units at an average density of 276.5/km² (714.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 70.18%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 26.83%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.22% Native American, 1.11% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.66% from two or more races. 3.33% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 365 households, out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,804, and the median income for a family was $40,568. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $20,114 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,272. About 9.2% of families and 11.9% 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 t ...

, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Cities in Ouachita County, Arkansas Cities in Arkansas Planned communities in the United States Camden, Arkansas micropolitan area