Arp is a city in Smith County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is part of the Tyler metropolitan statistical area. 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 population was 892 in the 2020 census.

History

The area where the town of Arp now sits was occupied by Caddoan peoples in pre-Columbian periods and was a part of the Treaty of Bowles Village in 1836 that granted Smith and Cherokee counties along with parts of Rusk, Gregg and Van Zandt counties to the Texas Cherokee and twelve associated tribes. The Cherokee War of 1839 forced the Native Americans out. However, the area was again occupied by Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Creek Indians after 1845. The descendants of these people formed the Mount Tabor Indian Community and a number continue to reside in Smith and Rusk counties today. The settlement that would become Arp was called Bissa, from the Choctaw/Chickasaw word for blackberry, as early as the 1800s. It was later called Jarvis Junction and then Strawberry, after the fruit that was grown in the area. It was finally renamed "Arp" for Bill Arp (pen name of Charles Henry Smith), a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

humorist who was nationally known in the late 19th century. Supposedly, the three-letter name was also chosen for its brevity, which allowed local strawberry producers to spend less time hand-marking their crates.

Geography

According to the

, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.3 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 892 people, 383 households, and 292 families residing in the city. 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 2010, there were 970 people, 361 households, and 259 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 405 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.34%

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 ...

, 3.22%

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 ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.44% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races.

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 were 2.55% of the population. There were 361 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% 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, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $38,807. Males had a median income of $27,443 versus $22,202 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 $16,619. About 4.2% of families and 4.9% 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 5.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Arp is served by the

Arp Independent School District Arp Independent School District is a public school district based in Arp, Texas ( USA). It includes Arp and the Smith County portion of Overton. Finances As of the 2010-2011 school year, the appraised valuation of property in the district ...

, and includes an elementary school, junior high school and high school.

Notable people

* Joe B. Foster, founder of Newfield Exploration *

Guy Lewis Guy Vernon Lewis II (March 19, 1922 – November 26, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston from 1956 to 1986. Lewis led his Houston Cougars to five appearan ...

, legendary men's basketball coach for

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

* DeMarvion Overshown,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

linebacker for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

References

{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Smith County, Texas