DeValls Bluff 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 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 the southern district of Prairie County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 619 at the 2010 census.

History

Prairie County has always been important to Arkansas for the transportation of people and goods throughout the state. Initially, it was the White River that gave the agricultural county its importance for transport, since waterways were the primary means of long-distance transportation in the period before the development of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s. Prairie County was cut from

, Pulaski, Monroe, St. Francis, and

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 o ...

counties in 1846 and included present-day

Lonoke County Lonoke County is located in the Central Arkansas region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,356, making it the 11th-most populous of Arkansas's 75 counties. The county seat is Lonoke and largest city is ...

. European settlement in Prairie County came in the 19th century, with Jacob M. DeVall and his son, Chappel, becoming the first recorded settlers around DeValls Bluff according to 1851 tax records. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the city was a trading center on the White River, which continued to be the primary shipping corridor when the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

was innavigable. A railroad connection between

North Little Rock North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

and DeValls Bluff gave the city further strategic importance. Union forces traveling up the White from Arkansas Post under the command of Brigadier General

Willis Gorman Willis Arnold Gorman (January 12, 1816 – May 20, 1876) was an American lawyer, soldier, politician, and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Gorman was born near Flemingsburg, Kentucky. He was the only child of D ...

captured DeValls Bluff on January 18, 1863. However, the Union forces eventually returned to Arkansas Post, and the city returned to Confederate control. Following the capture of Little Rock, Union cavalry led by Brigadier General John Wynn Davidson joined with gunboats under the command of Lieutenant George Bache in Clarendon on August 9, 1863 and traveled up the White River to capture DeValls Bluff. Major General

Frederick Steele Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arka ...

proceeded to DeValls Bluff from Helena, and the city was used to house supplies and injured Union soldiers for the remainder of the war.

Geography

DeValls Bluff is located at (34.784760, -91.460346). The city is located within the Grand Prairie section of Prairie County, a subdivision of the

Mississippi embayment The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the fluvial sediments of the Mississippi River Delta to its conflue ...

within the

Mississippi Alluvial Plain The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lie parts of seven U.S. states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Lo ...

. Historically, the Grand Prairie was a flat grassland between the

and the White River. However, the area was subject to clear cutting for row agriculture by early settlers. Today, the area is defined by rice cultivation, aquaculture and duck hunting. 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 town has a total area of 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²), of which 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²) is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) (6.42%) is 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 in ...

of 2000, there were 783 people, 334 households, and 218 families residing in the town. 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 293.5/km² (762.8/mi²). There were 389 housing units at an average density of 145.8/km² (379.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 67.82%

, 31.80%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.13%

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 ...

, and 0.26% from two or more races. 0.13% 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 forme ...

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 334 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,534, and the median income for a family was $32,708. Males had a median income of $28,088 versus $16,771 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 town was $13,582. About 18.4% of families and 23.6% 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 28.7% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hazen School District Hazen School District is a school district in Prairie County, Arkansas, headquartered in Hazen. In addition to Hazen, it includes DeValls Bluff, Fredonia (Biscoe), and Ulm. The mascot is the hornet, and it has two schools: Hazen High Schoo ...

operates public schools. The

DeValls Bluff School District DeValls Bluff School District No. 1 (DVBSD) was a school district headquartered in DeValls Bluff, Arkansas. It had two schools: Devalls Bluff Elementary School and Devalls Bluff High School. The mascot was the scrapper. The DeValls Bluff district ...

consolidated into the Hazen district on July 1, 2006.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 October 13, 2017.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry
{{authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Prairie County, Arkansas County seats in Arkansas