Hope, Arkansas
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Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern
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. Hope is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and
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 ...
counties. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,095, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 9,599. Hope is the birthplace of two former Arkansas governors:
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 ...
(who was also President of the United States from 1993 to 2001) and
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...
(who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016).
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American former political spokesperson and the governor-elect of Arkansas. She was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. She ...
, daughter of Mike Huckabee, also born in Hope, was voted in as Arkansas's new governor on November 8, 2022, and will become governor in January 2023.


History

Hope began in 1873, when a railroad was built through the area. The town was named for Hope Loughborough, the daughter of a railroad executive. In the 1902-1903 timeframe, the
St. Louis, San Francisco and New Orleans Railroad The St. Louis, San Francisco and New Orleans Railroad (“New Orleans”) ran from Hope, Arkansas to a point near Ardmore, Oklahoma, and encompassed about 219 miles of track including a branch line. It existed from 1895 (under a different name) to ...
was built into town; that line is now operated by the
Kiamichi Railroad The Kiamichi Railroad Company is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Hugo, Oklahoma. KRR operates two lines totaling which intersect in Hugo, as well as maintaining trackage rights on an additional of track. The main line (1 ...
.


Geography

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 city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.74%, are water.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 8,952 people, 3,375 households, and 2,447 families residing in the city.


2010 census

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 10,095 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 43.2% Black, 34.0% White, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from some other race and 1.4% from two or more races. 20.8% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,616 people, 3,961 households, and 2,638 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,301 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 47.71%
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 ...
, 43.17%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.38% Native American, 0.30%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.03%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 6.63% 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 1.78% from two or more races. 13.48% 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 ...
or
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 3,961 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. Of 3,961 households, 192 are unmarried partner households: 175 heterosexual. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.20. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,385, and the median income for a family was $28,445. Males had a median income of $23,525 versus $17,394 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,783. About 22.3% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.1% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Hope is also known for growing
watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
s and continues to produce records for the largest specimens in the world. The last record was set by Lloyd Bright in 2005 with a 268.8-pound watermelon. The Watermelon Festival is celebrated annually from Thursday-Saturday during the second week of August. The watermelon is used in the municipal logo and the Hope slogan: ''A Slice of the Good Life.''


Education

Public education at the elementary and secondary school level within the Hope city limits is provided by the
Hope School District Hope School District or Hope Public Schools is a school district in Hempstead County, Arkansas, headquartered in Hope. It serves Hope, Guernsey, Fulton, Oakhaven, Patmos, Perrytown, and Washington. History In 1966 the Guernsey School Distr ...
. Hope School District includes
William Jefferson 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 again ...
Primary School for Kindergarten through Fourth Grade, Beryl Henry Elementary School for fifth and sixth grade, Henry C. Yerger Middle School for seventh and eight grade, and Hope High School for ninth through 12th grades. Hope Academy of Public Service (HAPS) 5th-8th grade, HAPS Freshman Academy 9th grade, HAPS Collegiate Academy 10th-12th grade. Hope also has a private school, Garrett Memorial. Post-secondary educational opportunity is provided by the University of Arkansas at Hope. The Spring Hill School District, while having a Hope postal address, is based outside of the city limits.


Media

Hope has three forms of local media. SWARK.Today and HopePrescott serve as the city's two Social Media News websites HopePrescott also produces the city's newspaper. There are also at least three local radio stations in and around Hope. The city is served by local television stations from the Little Rock Arkansas, Shreveport, Louisiana and Texarkana, Texas
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 ...
markets. There are currently no local TV station(s) for Hope.


Infrastructure


Airport

Hope Municipal Airport Hope Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four  nautical miles (5  mi, 7  km) northwest of the central business district of Hope, a city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. It is included in th ...
is located on property that was once part of the Southwestern Proving Ground, one of six major military facilities in Arkansas during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. At the time of its construction, the airport held claim of having the third longest runway in the United States. From 1942 to 1945 the airport and surrounding 50,078-acre Southwestern Proving Ground were used by the U.S. Army to test small arms ammunition, 20 to 155 mm projectiles, mortars, rockets, grenades, and up to 500-pound bombs. The City of Hope received the airport facility in 1947. Paul Klipsch, a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
Veteran who served at the site, was among those who started businesses in the re-purposed buildings. He established
Klipsch Klipsch Audio Technologies (also referred to as Klipsch Speakers or Klipsch Group, Inc.) is an American loudspeaker company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 as 'Klipsch and Associates' by Paul W. Klipsch, the c ...
speaker company there and was known to joke that his desk was not in the same spot as the one he had during his service. "It was" he said, "on the other side of the room." In the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
in 2005,
FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
used land near the airport as a staging area for
manufactured home Manufactured housing (commonly known as mobile homes in the United States) is a type of prefabricated housing that is largely assembled in factories and then transported to sites of use. The definition of the term in the United States is regu ...
s intended as temporary housing for the hurricane victims; however, as of 2009, infrastructure and property damage remained so severe in the hurricane's path that many homes remained at the airport, eliciting criticism of the federal agency.


Rail service

In October 2009,
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
added Hope to its timetable brochure for its ''
Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...
'' service. On March 24, 2013, it was announced that service would begin on April 4. The ''Texas Eagle'' travels daily in each direction between Chicago and
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
.


Notable people

Hope is the hometown of former U.S. president
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 ...
, whose
childhood home ''Childhood Home'' is the twelfth studio album by American musician Ben Harper, released on May 6, 2014, under Prestige Records, Prestige Folklore. It is a collaboration with his mother, Ellen Harper. Reception The album debuted at No. 43 on '' ...
is located in the town. At the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City, then-governor Clinton ended his acceptance speech by saying, "I still believe in a place called Hope." The city adopted this statement as its unofficial motto. The city converted its railroad depot to a museum about Clinton's life. Hope is also the hometown of the former governor
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...
. In his autobiographical ''From Hope to Higher Ground'' (2007), Huckabee recalls the Hope of the 1960s as "a wonderful community. A child could leave his house in the morning on a bicycle and not return until after dark, and it caused no one alarm. It was the kind of place where I could misbehave eight blocks from home, but by the time I pedaled back to 309 East Second Street, six people would have called my parents to report my behavior. I am not sure that it took a village to raise a child, but I am quite sure that an entire village did its part to help raise me!" Mike Huckabee's daughter, former White House Press Secretary and current Arkansas governor-elect
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American former political spokesperson and the governor-elect of Arkansas. She was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. She ...
was also born in Hope. Other political figures born in Hope include former U.S. Congressman
Joseph Barton Elam Joseph Barton Elam, Sr. (June 12, 1821 – July 4, 1885), was a two-term Democratic Party (US), Democratic U.S. representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district, whose service corresponded with the administration of U.S. President Ru ...
of
Louisiana's 4th congressional district Louisiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district is located in the northwestern part of the state and is based in Shreveport- Bossier City. It also includes the cities of Minden, De ...
, former White House chief of staff
Mack McLarty Thomas Franklin "Mack" McLarty, III (born June 14, 1946) is an American business and political leader who served as President Bill Clinton's first White House Chief of Staff from 1993 to June 1994, and subsequently as Counselor to the Presiden ...
, attorney
Vince Foster Vincent Walker Foster Jr. (January 15, 1945 – July 20, 1993) was an American attorney who served as deputy White House counsel during the first six months of the Clinton administration. Foster had been a partner at Rose Law Firm in Lit ...
, California Secretary of State
Shirley Weber Shirley Weber (née Nash; born September 20, 1948) is an American academic and politician serving as the secretary of state of California. She was previously a member of the California State Assembly for the 79th Assembly District, which includ ...
, former Arkansas secretary of state
Kelly Bryant Kelly Bryant (born September 25, 1996) is a professional gridiron football quarterback for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers after previously playing for the Clemson Tigers. Early years Br ...
, and former
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
mayor
David L. Armstrong David Lawrence Armstrong (August 6, 1941 – June 15, 2017) was an American politician. He served as the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1999 to 2003. He was the city's last mayor before its merger with Jefferson County to form Louisville Me ...
. Others from Hope include talk radio host
Gary Dee Gary David Gilbert, (January 13, 1935 – November 10, 1995) on-air name Gary Dee, was a pioneer in controversial talk radio. He worked for stations which included WERE, WHK, and WWWE (now WTAM) in Cleveland, Ohio. He spent a short time in New Yor ...
; PGA golfer
Ken Duke Kenneth Wootson Duke (born January 29, 1969) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He formerly played on the PGA Tour, with his sole victory coming at the 2013 Travelers Championship. Early life Duke was born in ...
, actress/vocalist
Ketty Lester Ketty Lester (born Revoyda Frierson; August 16, 1934) is an American singer and actress known for her 1961 hit single "Love Letters", which reached the top 5 of the charts in the U.S. and the UK. She is also known for her role as Hester-Sue Terh ...
, and actress
Melinda Dillon Melinda Dillon (born October 13, 1939) is a retired American actress. She received a 1963 Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in the original production of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'', and she was nominated for the Academy Award ...
. Paul Klipsch founded Klipsch and Associates in Hope in 1946. Klipsch invented the world-famous Klipschorn speaker, a folded horn loaded speaker that revolutionized the industry. The Klipschorn and a number of other speaker lines are still manufactured in Hope by
Klipsch Audio Technologies Klipsch Audio Technologies (also referred to as Klipsch Speakers or Klipsch Group, Inc.) is an American loudspeaker company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 as 'Klipsch and Associates' by Paul W. Klipsch, the c ...
. Former U.S. representative Mike Ross of
Arkansas's 4th congressional district Arkansas's 4th congressional district is a congressional district located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Notable towns in the district include Camden, Hope, Hot Springs, Magnolia, Pine Bluff, and Texarkana. The ...
is a former resident of Hope.


Climate

The climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Hope has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
, abbreviated ''Cfa'' on climate maps.


References


External links

* {{authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Hempstead County, Arkansas Hope micropolitan area County seats in Arkansas Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Arkansas Bill Clinton Mike Huckabee