Leslie is a city in Searcy 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. Located within the Boston Mountains, the most rugged subset of The Ozarks, the city was founded as a railroad and lumber town. Renamed from the original Wiley's Cove in 1887, the city saw prosperity relating to these industries through the 1920s. Today, this history is available to residents and visitors in the form of several properties listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

throughout the city. The population was 441 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Leslie is located at (35.829662, -92.557788). 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 ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Major highway

* U.S. Highway 65

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 482 people, 224 households, and 127 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 278 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.38%

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 ...

, 0.21% Native American, and 0.41% from two or more races. 1.24% 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 224 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% 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, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% 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 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $14,485, and the median income for a family was $21,607. Males had a median income of $23,250 versus $15,833 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 $10,446. About 23.9% of families and 31.1% 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 54.7% of those under age 18 and 25.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

In 1819 Arkansas was separated from Missouri, but was still included in what is now Oklahoma. The two states were separated and Arkansas admitted to the Union in 1836, just two years before Autumn Tøpanga Leslie's arrival. The Indians were peaceful and cooperative in Wiley's Cove. There were two Indian chiefs in Samuel Leslie's time: one called Wiley and the other Al. The Leslie area was called Wiley's Cove after Chief Wiley, and Al's Cove was in the Rumley area. Samuel built a small house on land in which he lived temporarily while the Indians moved aside, and then he built a two-story southern type home with a separate kitchen and slave quarters. This house was located where the Legion Hut now stands; the well at the north corner of the hut was the original well for the Samuel Leslie homestead. He also owned a store and trading post nearby. It is said he gave away some of the land to encourage other settlers to come into the community. The name Wiley's Cove was changed to Leslie by the Postal Department on November 9, 1887. Andrew Jackson Leslie requested the name to be changed in honor of his father, Samuel Leslie.

Education

Leslie is served by the

Searcy County School District Searcy County School District No. 17 (SCSD), formerly Marshall School District #17 (MSD), is a public school district headquartered in Marshall, Arkansas. The school district encompasses of land in Searcy, Van Buren and Marion counties.

. The zoned schools are Marshall ABC Preschool, Marshall Elementary School, Leslie Intermediate School, and Marshall High School. The community was originally served by the

Leslie School District Leslie School District No. 23 or Leslie Public Schools was a school district headquartered in Leslie, Arkansas. It operated the Leslie School a.k.a. the Leslie Public School, which had all grades in a single building; high school students occupied ...

, which operated a single K-12 facility.Leslie Public School
"

. June 4, 2003. Retrieved on October 16, 2017. On July 1, 2004, the Leslie district and the Marshall School District consolidated to form the

,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. with the Marshall district annexing Leslie. This was done because the Leslie district had fewer than 350 students and an Arkansas law passed in 2004 required school districts to have at least 350 students. Leslie High School closed in 2007, and high school students moved to Marshall HS. Originally a PreK-6 school named Leslie Elementary School, the remaining school in Leslie was reconfigured in 2012 as a 5-6 school named Leslie Intermediate School now serving the entire Searcy County district, and it was reconfigured as 4–6 in 2014. In 2012 Marshall Elementary School in Marshall was reconfigured as a lower elementary school serving the whole district.Executive Summary Searcy County Public Schools
." AdvancED. p. 2 (PDF p. 4). Retrieved on October 16, 2017.

References

External links

Map of Leslie
(US Census Bureau)
Map of Searcy County
(US Census Bureau)
Searcy County School District

Searcy County Historical Society
{{authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Searcy County, Arkansas