Emerson is a town in Columbia County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, United States. The population was 368 at the 2010 census.

History

Eponym

Emerson derives its name from Reuben Loggins Emerson, an early settler of Columbia County, who was a teacher, merchant, banker, owner of the newspaper ''The Columbia Banner'', and state representative. In 1905, he founded the town which today bears his name. Emerson celebrated its 100th birthday February 8, 2005.

Geography

Emerson is located in southern Columbia County and is located along U.S. Route 79, south of Magnolia, the county seat, and north of

Haynesville, Louisiana Haynesville is a town in northern Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States, located just south of the Arkansas border. The population was 2,039 in 2020. Haynesville is known as the "Gateway to North Louisiana" and ...

. Emerson is also from

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, and from

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. 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 ...

, Emerson has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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 368 people, 138 households, and 97 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 165 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 66%

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 ...

, 32.60%

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 ...

, and 0.3% from other races. 1.1% 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 138 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% 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, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.16. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,969, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $32,333 versus $17,500 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 town was $14,988. About 17.7% of families and 27.2% 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 46.9% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Major industries in the area are timber,

bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

and bromine-based products, and oil.

Infrastructure

Highways

U.S. Highway 79 U.S. Route 79 (US 79) is a United States highway in the Southern United States. The route is officially considered and signed as a north–south highway, but its path is actually more of a diagonal northeast–southwest highway. The highway's n ...

Arkansas Highway 98 Arkansas Highway 98 (AR 98 and Hwy. 98) is an east–west state highway in Columbia County, Arkansas. The route travels essentially in an incomplete loop with Magnolia at its center. The route begins at U.S. Route 82 (US&nb ...

Arts and culture

Annual cultural events

Each year since 1990, on the last Saturday of June, Emerson hosts the Purple Hull Peas Festival & World Championship Rotary Tiller Race.

Education

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

Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District Emerson–Taylor-Bradley School District (ETBSD) is a public school district headquartered in Taylor, Arkansas, United States. The school district supports more than 950 students in prekindergarten through grade 12 in the 2015-2016 school yea ...

(formerly the Emerson-Taylor School District), which includes Emerson Elementary School and Emerson High School. The district was established on July 1, 2004, by the consolidation of the Emerson School District and the

Taylor School District The Taylor School District is a public school district in the city of Taylor, Michigan, Taylor in Metro Detroit, Michigan. The district serves Taylor and portions of Brownstown, Michigan, Brownstown, Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Dearborn Heig ...

.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. The Emerson Pirates have won five state basketball championships and 25 state track and field titles.

References

External links

PurpleHull Pea Festival
{{authority control Towns in Columbia County, Arkansas Towns in Arkansas 1905 establishments in Arkansas