Earle is a city in Crittenden 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. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,831.

Geography

Earle is located in western Crittenden County at (35.270405, -90.464841).

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

passes through the northern part of the city, bypassing the downtown area. US 64 leads west to

Wynne Wynne is a surname of Welsh origin. This is a list of notable people with the surname, sorted by profession: Art, literature, and music * Bill Wynne (1922–2021), American photographer and writer * David Wynne (composer) (1900–83), Wels ...

and east to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

. 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 th ...

, Earle has a total area of , all land.

History

In 1918, an African-American man named Elton Mitchell was eviscerated with a knife and hanged from a tree after he refused to work for a white landowner for free. In 1928, the widow and family of local figure George Berry Washington had a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

(known as "the Angel in the Field") built to honor Washington's life. Born into slavery in 1864, Washington established a thriving business as a landlord, and through this enterprise provided a means of income for hundreds of Black Arkansans. The 2022 Earle mayoral election resulted in a historic victory for Jaylen Smith, who at 18 years old became the youngest Black person to be elected mayor for any U.S. town.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 3,036 people, 1,074 households, and 727 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,247 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 23.45%

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 ...

, 75.23%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.10% 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 0.59% from two or more races. 0.53% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 1,074 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.0% were

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

living together, 27.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.54. In the city, the population was spread out, with 36.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,344, and the median income for a family was $22,775. Males had a median income of $26,510 versus $18,011 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 $13,260. About 40.2% of families and 45.4% 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 58.7% of those under age 18 and 36.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is primarily provided by the

Earle School District Earle School District is a public school district based in Earle, Arkansas, United States. The school district encompasses of land, The district includes portions of Crittenden County, serving Earle and most of Jennette. It also includes po ...

, which leads to graduation from

Earle High School Earle High School is an accredited public high school in Earle, Arkansas, United States. Earle High School is one of four public high schools in Crittenden County and the only high school of the Earle School District. Earle High School was dama ...

. The Old Earle High School with its Mission/Spanish Revival style served as the city's high school from 1919 to 1978 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

May 2, 2008 tornado

On May 2, 2008,

WMC-TV WMC-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Television. Its studios are located on Union Avenue in midtown Memphis, and its transmitter is located in northeast Memphi ...

reported that a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

which was reported to be large and very dangerous affected the Earle area causing major damage in parts of the town and some injuries. There were also reports of people missing or unaccounted for. Homes were reportedly destroyed, while businesses and the high school were also damaged. The tornado was later confirmed on the same day as an EF3 on the

Enhanced Fujita Scale The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repl ...

with winds near 150 to 160 mph.

Notable people

* Charles T. Bernard (born 1927), businessman and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician *

Carroll Cloar Carroll Cloar (January 18, 1913 – April 10, 1993) was a nationally known 20th-century painter born in Earle, Arkansas, who focused his work on surreal views of Southern U.S. themes and on poetically portraying childhood memories of natural scene ...

(1913–1993), surrealist painter and

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

recipient. *

Shakey Jake Harris James D. "Shakey Jake" Harris (April 12, 1921 – March 2, 1990) was an American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. He released five albums over a period of almost 25 years. He was often musically associated with his nephew Magi ...

(1921-1990),

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

singer,

harmonicist The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

and songwriter * George Berry Washington (born 1864), a former slave who became one of Crittenden County's largest landowners * Wilson Douglas Watson (1922–1994), recipient of the

Congressional Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. T ...

for actions on Iwo Jima * Jaylen Smith (born 2004), Mayor-Elect of Earle, youngest Black Mayor in the US and one of the youngest US mayors of any race

References

{{authority control Cities in Crittenden County, Arkansas Cities in the Memphis metropolitan area Cities in Arkansas