Lake Village is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Chicot 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 2,575 at the 2010 census. It is located in the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. Lake Village is named for its location on Lake Chicot, an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

formed by 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 ...

History

According to legend, the remains of Spanish explorer

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

might be buried under Lake Chicot. His expedition visited ''Guachoya'', a native village along the edge of the lake, which is recorded as the site of his death (

list of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition This is a list of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition in the years 1539–1543. In May 1539, de Soto left Havana, Cuba, with nine ships, over 620 men and 220 surviving horses and landed at Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Thi ...

). Lake Village was later founded at this location by European-American colonists. The area was developed for cotton plantations, and the county seat was the center of government and county trading. The antebellum years were when the county generated its greatest wealth, at least for planters. Solo pilot

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

made his first nighttime flight in April 1923 over Lake Chicot and Lake Village. Lake Village has nine properties listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: Carlton House,

Chicot County Courthouse The Chicot County Courthouse is a courthouse in Lake Village, Arkansas, the county seat of Chicot County, built in 1956. Located at the end of the Lake Village Commercial Historic District along Lake Chicot, the courthouse is a culturally signif ...

Sam Epstein House The Sam Epstein House is a historic house at 488 Lakeshore Drive in Lake Village, Arkansas. The Colonial Revival house is notable for its association with Sam Epstein, a Jewish immigrant who was one of Lake Village's first shopkeepers, and even ...

Gregory Dipping Vat The Gregory Dipping Vat is a historic cattle dipping facility at 122 Rogers Street on the outskirts of Lake Village, Arkansas. The vat is a concrete structure long, wide, and deep. It is located on a grassy lane off Rogers Road, in a wooded ...

Lake Village Confederate Monument The Lake Village Confederate Monument is located on the median of Lakeshore Drive, between Main and Jackson Streets in Lake Village, Arkansas. The marble monument depicts a Confederate Army soldier standing in mid stride with his left foot forwar ...

Lake Village Post Office The Lake Village Post Office is a historic post office at 206 South Cokley Street in Lake Village, Arkansas. The single-story brick Colonial Revival building was built c. 1939; it is roughly square in shape, with a four-sided cupola topped by a b ...

, Dr. E.P. McGehee Infirmary, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery (Historic Section), and the

John Tushek Building The John Tushek Building is a historic commercial building at 108 Main Street in Lake Village, Arkansas. The two story brick building was built in 1906 by John Tushek, an Austro-Hungarian immigrant who ran a mercantile store on the premises. Th ...

. In addition, the

Lake Village Commercial Historic District The Lake Village Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic commercial heart of Lake Village, Arkansas, the county seat of Chicot County in the Mississippi River delta region of southeastern Arkansas. The district covers about six ...

is listed, as is the nearby

Lakeport Plantation Lakeport Plantation is a historic antebellum plantation house located near Lake Village, Arkansas. It was built around 1859 by Lycurgus Johnson with the profits of slave labor. The house was restored between 2003 and 2008 and is now a part of A ...

. The antebellum mansion of the latter is the only one in the state that is located near the Mississippi River.

Geography

Lake Village is located north of the center of Chicot County and is situated on the west bank of Lake Chicot, a former course of the Mississippi River that is and now an oxbow lake. U.S. Routes 65 and 82 pass through the city. US 65 leads north to McGehee and south to Eudora, while US 82 leads west to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and east to

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, ninth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, and the largest city by population in the Mississippi Delta region. It is the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, Was ...

. U.S. Route 278 follows US 65 north out of town and US 82 east to Mississippi. 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 ...

, Lake Village has a total area of , all land. The city is located in the southernmost section of the Delta Lowlands of Arkansas and boasts beautiful scenic vistas of the Mississippi River.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,065 people, 960 households, and 552 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 2,823 people, 1,090 households, and 705 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,233 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 56.15%

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 ...

, 40.74%

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 ...

, 0.21% Native American, 1.13% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 1.38% 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 1,090 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% 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, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.16. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $20,625, and the median income for a family was $28,438. Males had a median income of $37,031 versus $14,872 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 $12,677. About 29.1% of families and 36.1% 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 49.6% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The economy of the area is based on agriculture. The crops grown are mainly

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

s and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

. There is also a large aquacultural base, consisting mainly of

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

farmers. In addition, county government is an important employer as Lake Village is the county seat of Chicot County. The state Tourist Information Center in Lake Village is located on a pier extending into Lake Chicot. It is the only tourist center in the state to be completely heated and cooled by

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

. It is scheduled to be replaced by a more modern center.

Education

Public education is provided by Lakeside School District, which leads to graduation from Lakeside High School. The Southeast Arkansas Public Library operates the Lake Village Branch Library. - Check the hours and locations tab: "108 Church Street Lake Village, AR 71653"

Transportation

In June 2008, construction was completed to convert the two-lane combined highway of 82, 65 and 278 inside of the city limits of Lake Village into a four-lane highway, with an added stoplight and sidewalks on both sides of the road. There has been no indication of whether plans for widening the highway further south to the Greenville Bridge over the Mississippi are still viable, or when construction might begin. Image:Lake Village Road Construction.JPG, Road construction in June Image:New Stoplight in Lake Village.JPG, Stoplight in December

Notable people

Herm Bagby Herman Carlton Bagby (February 21, 1903 – February 29, 1980) was an American football back who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Lions and Cleveland Bulldogs. Professional career Bagby was born on Febru ...

, American football player * Daniel Reynolds,

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Brigadier General * Lamar McHan, National Football League Player & Coach

References

External links

City of Lake Village official website

Lakeside School District

Lakeport Plantation
official website
''Delta News Online''
official website {{authority control Cities in Chicot County, Arkansas Cities in Arkansas County seats in Arkansas