Emmet is a city in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and Hempstead counties in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 67 and Arkansas Highway 299 in the Arkansas Timberlands region of southwest Arkansas. It is part of the larger

Ark-La-Tex The Ark-La-Tex (a portmanteau of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas; also stylized as Arklatex or ArkLaTex) is a socio-economic tri-state region where the Southern U.S. states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas join together. The region contains por ...

tri-state region. As of the 2010 census, the population of Emmet was 518.

History

The area around Emmet had long been inhabited by the

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, w ...

people, prior to

European colonization of the Americas During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short t ...

. It consisted of gently rolling hills and prairies, interspersed with dense timber and fertile lowlands. By the time of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

, the natural fauna was being removed in favor of more profitable crops. Wildlife that had been an important sustenance for the Natives was also being removed, and over time the Caddo population was greatly diminished. In the years following Arkansas statehood, settlers began flowing steadily in. Some were following the Southwest Trail to Fulton on the Red River, while others saw opportunity in the area where Emmet would be established. In 1837, Martin Edwards secured one of the first land patents in Arkansas. His property encompassed the area that would include the community of Burkville, precursor to the city of Emmet.

Geography

Emmet is located in western Nevada County. A small portion of the city extends west into Hempstead County. The city is situated near the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the Terre Rouge Creek watershed which meanders northeastward for before joining the Little Missouri River at a point east of Prescott and northwest of

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

. The Prairie d'Ane is northeast of Emmet, and the Prairie de Roan is to the southwest. Both prairies were noted by

Robert T. Hill Robert Thomas Hill (August 11, 1858 – July 20, 1941) was a significant figure in the development of American geology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a pioneer Texas geologist, Hill discovered and named the Comanche series of t ...

during the Arkansas Geological Survey of 1888. U.S. Highway 67 passes through the northwest side of Emmet, leading northeast to Prescott and southwest the same distance to

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

. Arkansas Highway 299 passes through the center of Emmet, leading east to Bluff City and west to

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, A ...

, that highway's closest access to Emmet. 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 th ...

, Emmet has a total area of , of which , or 1.43%, are water.

Demographics

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 506 people, 186 households, and 129 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 220 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.67%

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 ...

, 20.16%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 0.40% Native American, 0.20% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 0.40% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 186 households, out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% 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 ...

living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.31. In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,386, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $24,107 versus $22,250 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 city was $11,726. About 30.0% of families and 33.4% 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 47.4% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education for elementary and secondary school students is available from the

Blevins School District Blevins School District is a school district based in Blevins, Arkansas. The district encompasses of land primarily in Hempstead County and portions of Nevada County. The Washington School District was dissolved on July 1, 1990. A portion o ...

, which leads to graduation from Blevins High School. On July 1, 2004 the Emmet School District consolidated into the Blevins School District.ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls
."

Arkansas Department of Education 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 Osa ...

. Retrieved on April 25, 2018. Emmet Elementary School and Emmet High School were formerly in operation.

Notable places

National Register

* Emmet Methodist Church, one of the few

Akron Plan The Akron Plan was a scheme for the design of churches and other religious buildings that housed Sunday schools. It was characterized by a set of wedge-shaped classrooms that radiated from the direction of a central superintendent's platform. Do ...

church buildings in Arkansas * Ephesus Cemetery, burial site for many of Emmet's early settlers

Commerce

* B & P Pattern Lumber Sales, custom materials provider * CenterPoint Energy (Ark-La Gas Company), regional offices * Flaherty's Fish Farm, a fish hatchery

Ark-La Village

In 1959, Arkansas Louisiana Gas Company opened a western-themed tourist attraction at the direction of Wilton R. Stephens, founder of

Stephens Inc. Stephens Inc. is a privately held, independent financial services firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. As one of the largest privately owned investment banks in the United States, Stephens has 28 offices worldwide and employs more than 1, ...

and ''Arkla Village''. ''Ark-La Village'' was a re-creation of an 1880s western settlement where patrons could participate in the "daily life" of early pioneers. It was located on the company's property inside Emmet's northern city limits. When first constructed, the "village" featured a saloon and general store, a livery stable, and a museum. Other attractions included a miniature train ride, a paddlewheel boat ride, a bowling alley, a restaurant, and a "jail" where comical, behind-the-bars photos could be taken. Connected with the village was a factory that built horse-drawn carriages and horse saddles. In 1961, a shooting roundup was held and Harold M. Terry was the invited marksman. Though popular with tourists and local citizens, it was the traffic along U.S. Highway 67 between

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

that provided Ark-La Village with most of its patrons. That customer base was lost when the final section of

was completed in 1972. As a result, the village was closed in the early 1970s, with the restaurant and bowling alley closing a few years later. In the following years, some portions of the property have been donated to the city of Emmet. Re-development has included a new city park and a building for public meetings.

Media

Emmet is served by the Hope Prescott News, a local paper owned by a partnership of Mark Keith and Wendell Hoover. The Hope Star and the Nevada County Picayune, owned by GateHouse Media, closed in 2019. Larger newspapers that serve the area include the ''

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of ...

'', the ''

Texarkana Gazette The ''Texarkana Gazette'' is a daily newspaper founded in 1875 and currently owned by WEHCO Media, Inc. It serves a nine-county area surrounding Texarkana. History The newspaper was acquired through the consolidation of several newspapers in ...

'', and the '' Shreveport Times''. Local radio stations include KHPA (104.9 MHz FM) and KTPA (1370 kHz AM). In addition, the city is served by radio and television stations from

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, and

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

. A variety of telephone, cable TV, and internet providers are available to subscribers in Emmet, including SWARK.Today (Southwest Arkansas), Hope-Prescott.com, a local internet-news web site.

Infrastructure

* U.S. Highway 67 * Arkansas Highway 299

Notable person

* Tom Hughes (born 1907 in Emmet), MLB

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

, 1930

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

References

External links

Historic photographs

1900 - 1930 Emmet School
Nevada County Depot and Museum - DepotMuseum.org
Hood's Cotton Gin at Emmet, early 1900s
Nevada County Depot and Museum - DepotMuseum.org
Ark-La Village (Storefronts)
Nevada County Depot and Museum - DepotMuseum.org
Ark-La Village (Blacksmith & Stable)
Nevada County Depot and Museum - DepotMuseum.org {{authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Nevada County, Arkansas Cities in Hempstead County, Arkansas Hope micropolitan area