Gillett, Arkansas
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Gillett is a city in
Arkansas County, Arkansas Arkansas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,019. Located in the Arkansas Delta, the county has two county seats, DeWitt and Stuttgart. The first of the state's 75 present- ...
, United States. Its population was 691 at the 2010 census. Gillett is the home of the annual Gillett Coon Supper. The
Arkansas Post National Memorial The Arkansas Post (french: Poste de Arkansea) (Spanish: ''Puesto de Arkansas''), formally the Arkansas Post National Memorial, was the first European settlement in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and present-day U.S. state of Arkansas. In 168 ...
is located southeast of the town. The largest alligator ever killed in Arkansas was harpooned near Gillett on September 19, 2010. The 13-ft, 1-in reptile weighed 680 lb.


Geography

Gillett is located at (34.119216, -91.380323). 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 t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which almost all is land.


Education

The community is served by the
DeWitt School District DeWitt School District is a school district based in the town of DeWitt, Arkansas, United States. The DeWitt School District is geographically the state's largest school district with of land and of water, encompassing portions of Arkansas, J ...
, including Gillett Elementary School, DeWitt Middle School, and DeWitt High School. Gillett High School served the community until its 2009 closure. On July 1, 2004, the Gillett School District, along with the Humphrey School District, consolidated into the DeWitt district. Gillett Elementary School serves prekindergarten through grade 5. The current facility was built in the 1950s. In 2010 the school had 81 students, and in 2012 the school had 74 students. In 2012, the DeWitt School District board voted in favor of closing Gillett Elementary, but it had to ask the
Arkansas Board 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 Osage ...
for approval. The state board denied the closure request 5-2. Several area donors promised to raise $68,000 per year to keep the school open.


Parks and recreation

The Gillett Coon Supper, held every year, was used to finance the Gillett High American football team; it became a scholarship fundraiser when the high school closed.


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 in ...
of 2000, 819 people, 356 households, and 242 families were in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was 783.5 people/sq mi (301.2/km2). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 87.18% White, 12.58% African American, 1.20% Native American, and 1.02% from other races. About 0.37% of the population were Latino of any race. Of the 356 households, 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were not families. About 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.30, and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the age distribution was 24.8% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,538, and for a family was $36,719. Males had a median income of $27,308 versus $19,219 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 $17,247. About 12.1% of families and 12.5% 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 20.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.


Coon Supper

Since the 1940s, the town has held an annual "Coon Supper", a fundraiser in which attendees are served
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
meat. ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' described it as a "
rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
" for Arkansas politicians.
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
was involved in a plane crash on the way to the supper in 1987.


References


External links


Gillett, Arkansas
entry on the
Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas'' is a web-based encyclopedia of the U.S. state of Arkansas, described by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as "a free, authoritative source of information ab ...
{{authority control Cities in Arkansas County, Arkansas Cities in Arkansas