Marked Tree is a city in

Poinsett County, Arkansas Poinsett County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 22,965. The county seat is Harrisburg, Arkansas, Harrisburg. Poinsett County is incl ...

, United States, along the

St. Francis River The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along th ...

, at the mouth of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

. The population was 2,286 at the 2020 census. It is included in the

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...

, metropolitan statistical area. Geologically, the area marks the southern end of the New Madrid Fault.

History

The city got its name from a tree located on the bank of the St. Francis River until 1890 that had been

blazed Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

to mark a section of the river where Native Americans could walk about across land to reach the Little River and avoid paddling upstream. Marked Tree has been noted on lists of unusual place names. In 1896, ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

'' reported that around eight years prior, the town had been a place where " no negroes were allowed to live in Marked Tree, and a delegation of citizens was organized to drive them out."

Geography

Marked Tree is located on the St. Francis River at the intersection of

US Route 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the north ...

and Arkansas Highways 140, 149, and 308. The south end of the Marked Tree Floodway lies just west of the city.''Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, Second edition, 2004, p. 37 According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and (0.85%) is covered by water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,286 people, 922 households, and 585 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 2,800 people, 1,126 households, and 731 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 1,234 housing units averaged 532.7 per square mile (205.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 50.36% White, 47.07% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 1.25% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. About 2.07% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 1,126 households, 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were not families. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was distributed as 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,591, and for a family was $30,197. Males had a median income of $26,305 versus $19,602 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $11,867. About 25.6% of families and 32.3% 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 28.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education for early childhood, elementary, and secondary-school students is provided by the Marked Tree School District. Until 1966, a dual system of education was provided with one set of schools for White children, and a different set for Blacks. The first school for Blacks was built in 1938, and was named

George Washington Carver George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American Agricultural science, agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent bla ...

from 1952 until it was closed in 1966. As of 2018, the Marked Tree School District consists of: * Marked Tree Elementary School, serving prekindergarten through 6th grade * Marked Tree High School, serving grades 7 through 12

Notable people

* Fannie Lewis,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

's longest-serving councilwoman, was from Marked Tree.

References

External links

Crittenden County Open Portal Website
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070114112944/http://www.markedtreearkansas.org/index.htm {{authority control Cities in Poinsett County, Arkansas Cities in Arkansas Jonesboro metropolitan area Sundown towns in Arkansas