Walnut Ridge is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5,098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north of Hoxie. The two towns form a contiguous urban area with approximately 8,000 residents. Williams Baptist University is in College City, a formerly separate community that merged into Walnut Ridge in 2017.

History

Walnut Ridge was formally established in 1875 as a result of the railroad coming through the area. There was settlement in the area known as Old Walnut Ridge not far from the current city since about 1860. In 1964,

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

briefly stopped at Walnut Ridge Regional Airport on the way to and from a retreat in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. This visit inspired a monument, a plaza, and a music festival in Walnut Ridge.

Geography

Walnut Ridge is in northeastern Lawrence County in the Upper Delta region of northeastern Arkansas. It is bordered to the south by the city of Hoxie. U.S. Route 412 passes through the center of Walnut Ridge on Main Street, leading east to Paragould and northwest to Hardy. Interstate 57/

U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues ...

passes through the east side of Walnut Ridge on a four-lane bypass; the highway leads north to

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

and southwest to Newport. Arkansas Highway 34 runs northeast out of the center of Walnut Ridge on Front Street, leading to Delaplaine. 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 of Walnut Ridge has a total area of , all of it recorded as land. Village Creek flows through the western side of the city, leading southwest to the White River near Newport.

Climate

Climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,384 people, 1,754 households, and 1,230 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, there were 4,925 permanent residents, 2,065 homeholds, and 1,305

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

living in the town. The population density was . There were 2,283 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.04%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.59%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.51% Native American, 0.12% Asian, and 1.75% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 2,065 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.85. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age >18, there were 77.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,953, and the median income for a family was $36,735. Males had a median income of $27,458 versus $20,169 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 $14,974. About 10.0% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the international poverty limit, including 15.9% of those under 18 and 18.6% of those 65 or older.

Education

Public education for elementary and secondary school students in most of the city is provided from the Lawrence County School District, which includes Walnut Ridge Elementary School and Walnut Ridge High School. Some portions are within the Hoxie School District, which operates Hoxie High School. The Walnut Ridge School District was in operation until July 1, 2006, when it merged with the Black Rock School District to form the Lawrence County district.ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls
."

Arkansas Department of Education The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) is a cabinet-level agency of the Arkansas state government overseeing public education for K-12, higher education institutions, and career and technical education. The ADE also contains the Arkansas ...

. Retrieved on October 13, 2017.

Infrastructure

Transportation

* Walnut Ridge station

List of highways

* * U.S. 67 Business * U.S. 412 * U.S. 412 Business * Highway 34 * Highway 91

Airport

* Walnut Ridge Regional Airport (KARG)

Notable people

* James T. Conway, 34th

Commandant of the Marine Corps Commandant of the Marine Corps may refer to: * Commandant of the Marine Corps (Indonesia) * Commandant of the Netherlands Marine Corps * Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps * Commandant of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps * Commandant of th ...

* Michelle Gray, Republican member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from Izard County, former Walnut Ridge resident * David J. Sanders, member of the Arkansas State Senate from District 15, including part of

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

* Ehron VonAllen,

Electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

ian, singer (birth name: Aaron Allen) *

Washboard Sam Robert Clifford Brown (July 15, 1910 – November 6, 1966), known professionally as Washboard Sam, was an American blues musician and singer. Biography Brown's date and place of birth are uncertain; many sources state that he was born in 191 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician * Glenn Yates Jr., architect and Virginia state legislator

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities in Lawrence County, Arkansas Cities in Arkansas County seats in Arkansas Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Arkansas