Hardy is the 2nd oldest city in Sharp and Fulton counties in the

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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 ...

. The population was 770 in 2024.

Geography

Hardy is located at (36.320553, -91.480645). The Spring River, which begins in Mammoth Spring, flows through Hardy. The Spring River flows into the Black River, which flows into the White River, and the White River eventually empties into the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. US 63 is the main highway which runs through the town. In its course through Arkansas, Route 63 runs from the

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

state line at Mammoth Spring to connect with I-55 near Gilmore. When roads were poor and travel much more difficult, Hardy was one of two county seats of Sharp County. The other was

Evening Shade ''Evening Shade'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 21, 1990, to May 23, 1994. The series stars Burt Reynolds as Woodrow "Wood" Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural ...

. In 1963, Ash Flat was named the county seat, and Hardy and Evening Shade lost that designation. Hardy is served by the

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. Formerly, the railroad through Hardy was part of the Frisco ( St. Louis – San Francisco Railway) which had about of trackage, and served Arkansas, Missouri,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

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 ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. In 1980, the much larger

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

acquired the Frisco and integrated it into its own system. 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.63%, is water.

Climate

History

In the early 1950s, the Horrell and Clay families both had grocery stores there. Conway Horn ran a general mercantile store. Charles Cone ran the Western Auto Store. Two places to eat were Bonnie's Cafe and Mrs. Rogers' sundries store. Arthur Snow was a pharmacist and owned a drugstore. The agent for the Frisco Railroad was Virgil L. Walker, Jr. Dink Booth was the barber. The Thomsons ran the movie theater, and Ben Dalton published a newspaper. Ottie Cate ran a poultry and ice house, and Bill Shaver had the Standard Oil service station. Tom Walker was in charge of the local bank, and Woodrow Wilson ran a Mobil service station. "Peavine" Clouse was the city marshal. "Guinea" Gray was a local painter, and Clifford Brummet had the contract to carry the mail between the post office and the arriving trains. He also had a farm near Hardy. Arthur Garner sold real estate. Dewey Dark ran the Rose Hill Resort. Doctor Miller was a local medical doctor. Leonard Johns worked at the Post Office. The

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series ''Clash of the Ozarks'' is set in Hardy. The program focuses on the lives of the people in the community.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 743 people, 352 households, and 181 families residing in the city.

2000 census

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 2000, there were 578 people, 298 households, and 159 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 489 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.33%

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 ...

, 1.04% Native American, 0.52% Asian, and 3.11% from two or more races. 0.52% 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 298 households, of which 17.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 43.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.67. In the city, the population was spread out, with 16.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 28.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,375, and the median income for a family was $25,500. Males had a median income of $20,208 versus $17,857 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 $12,204. About 12.2% of families and 23.4% 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 23.6% of those under age 18 and 28.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is served by the Highland School District, which operates Highland High School. The Highland district was formed from the 1962 consolidation of the Ash Flat School District and the Hardy School District. Due to the previous rivalry between the two districts, some members of the community were unsure whether the vote to consolidate would succeed.

Notable people

* The Wilburn Brothers Doyle and Teddy born here in 1930 and 1931.

References

External links

Hardy Arkansas Online Resource GuideHardy in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & CultureOfficial City Web Site
{{authority control Cities in Sharp County, Arkansas Cities in Fulton County, Arkansas Cities in Arkansas