Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is 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 Columbia County. Magnolia is home to the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship Steak Cookoff, part of the Magnolia Blossom Festival. The city is also home to Southern Arkansas University.

History

The city was founded in 1853. At the time of its incorporation in 1858, the city had a population of about 1,950. On November 11, 1919 Jordan Jameson was lynched in the town square of Magnolia. A large white mob seized Jameson after he allegedly shot the local sheriff. They tied him to a stake and burned him alive. The city grew slowly as an agricultural and regional cotton market until the discovery of oil just east of the city in March 1938, with the Barnett #1 drilled by the Kerr-Lynn Company. The Magnolia Oil Field was an important discovery for the city as well as for the nation, as it was the largest producing field (in volume) during the early years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, helping to sustain the American war effort. In March 2013, more than 5,000 barrels of oil leaked from a Lion Oil Trading & Transportation storage tank in Magnolia, with some flowing into a

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

Geography

Magnolia is located in southwest Arkansas, north of the center of Columbia County. The average altitude is above sea level according to NOAA. The surrounding region is a mix of dense forest, farm prairies, and low rolling hills. 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 , or 0.21%, is water. Magnolia is located about east of Texarkana, about south of

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, and about northeast of

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 ...

Climate

The average temperature is , and the average annual rainfall is . The winters are mild but can dip into the teens at night and have highs in the 30s and even some 20s but average out around 50. The springs are warm and can be stormy with strong to severe storms and average highs in the mid 70s. Summers are often hot, humid and dry but with occasional isolated afternoon storms, highs in the mid to upper 90s and even 100s. In the fall the temps cool from the 90s and 100s to 80s and 70s. Early fall temps are usually in the 80s but can reach 90s and at times has reached 100. Late fall temps fall to 70s and 60s. It is not uncommon to see snow and ice during the winter.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,162 people, 3,935 households, and 2,338 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 10,858 people, 4,204 households, and 2,577 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,821 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 58.24%

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 ...

, 39.38%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.48% from other races, and 1.00% 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 1.07% of the population. There were 4,204 households, out of which 28.6% 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 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, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. Of 4,204 households, 101 are unmarried partner households: 91 heterosexual, 4 same-sex male, 6 same-sex female households. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,897, as of 2005, and the median income for a family was $35,269. Males had a median income of $31,577 versus $20,840 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 $15,403. About 15.2% of families and 23.0% 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 32.9% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Magnolia when it was founded was a cotton, farm production, and marketing town. Slowly the town grew, and in 1909 the Third District Agricultural School, subsequently known as Magnolia A&M and Southern State College, now known as Southern Arkansas University, was founded. During World War II Magnolia became a heavy manufacturing city. In 1938 oil and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

were discovered near the city in what was called the Magnolia Oil Field, the largest producing field by volume in the nation during the war. The city soon became a producer in steel, lumber, aluminum,

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 ...

, rubber-coated products and

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

s for the military. The town's primary economic focus is heavy industrial, including Albemarle Corporation's Bromine Products Division (which has two facilities near town), Amfuel (which produces fuel cells for the military), and Sapa Group's extruded aluminum products facility. Also located in the area are several oil and brine drilling companies, many of which are locally owned, and timber companies, such as Deltic and Weyerhaeuser. Major industrial employers: SAPA (750), Albemarle (739), Amfuel (380), CMC (344), Weyerhaeuser (250), Deltic Timber (125), Partee Flooring (95), and Southern Aluminum (90). Largest non-manufacturing employers: *Magnolia Public School System, 346 *Southern Arkansas University, 304 *Magnolia Hospital, 253 *Columbia County government, 110 The unemployment rate in Magnolia is 9.40%, with job growth of -0.40%. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 29.70%, according to Sterling's, The U.S. unemployment rate average for the month of June is 9.2%, Arkansas' average is 7.2%.

Arts and culture

Magnolia is home to the Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff. The festival has been featured on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

and attracts more than 40,000. A 'Festival of Lights' is held from late November through late December. Magnolia is known locally for its downtown shopping on the square and for its murals - one of which was signed by

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Government

The city operated under a city council form of government until 2003. Voters elected to convert the city to a strong-mayor form of government, making the mayor's position a full-time position with veto power. Lane Jean was elected mayor in 1996. The city employs approximately 50 individuals in seven different departments, including the Police Department, the Fire Department, and Parks and Recreation.

Animal shelter rescue

The city operated a shelter designed for approximately 20 dogs. On August 14, 2014, this facility was found to have 59 dogs in unclean conditions, without heat, air conditioning or even walls for the animals. With the city's permission, the local H&P Animal Alliance assisted in removing the dogs from the over-crowded shelter. A number of dogs were sent to an out-of-state animal rescue group specializing in saving large-breed working dogs, Big Fluffy Dog Rescue. Big Fluffy Dog Rescue is a Nashville, Tennessee-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. The rescue effort cost an uncompensated $50,000.

Education

Public and private schools

Public schools in the Magnolia School District include: * Walker Pre-K Center (PK) * Magnolia Eastside Elementary (K-3) * Magnolia Central Elementary (4-6) * Magnolia Junior High School (7-9) * Magnolia High School (10-12) Private schools in Magnolia include: * Columbia Christian School Magnolia High School is known for its boys' track teams and baseball program. The track team has won the State Championship five out of the last six years. The Panther baseball team was crowned State Champions in 2011 and have won four straight conference titles. The Magnolia Panthers compete in the Arkansas Activities Association 5A-Southwest conference. Since 1999 Magnolia High School graduates have received well over $1 million in college scholarship money each year, with the class of 2008 being first to reach $2 million in scholarship offers. Graduation rates for the city are: High school or higher, 75.4%; Bachelor's degree or higher, 24.1%; Graduate or professional degree, 7.0%.

Colleges and universities

Magnolia is the home of Southern Arkansas University, a public university that offers four-year and advanced (Master's level) degrees in business, public administration, computer information systems, education, counseling, education administration, and criminal justice. With an enrollment of 4,771, its most notable programs are agriculture, business, and education. The university's cultural focus is Harton Theatre, which provides a venue for both departmental plays, concerts, and local cultural events.

Infrastructure

Airport

Magnolia Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

located three

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...

s (6 km) southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Magnolia.

Highways

* U.S. Highway 82 * U.S. Highway 79 * U.S. Highway 371 * Arkansas Highway 19 * Arkansas Highway 355 * U.S. Highway 82 Business * U.S. Highway 79 Business

Notable people

* Harvey C. Couch (1877-1941), Arkansas entrepreneur who controlled a regional

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

empire; raised in Magnolia * Billy Joe Daugherty (1952–2009), founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

* Roy Green, former wide receiver in the National Football League *

Charlaine Harris Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in mysteries. She is best known for her book series '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series '' True Blood''. The television sh ...

, author who writes what are referred to as the Sookie Stackhouse novels * Lane Jean (born c. 1959), former mayor of Magnolia and current Republican member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

* Andrew R. Johnson (1856–1933),

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

and mayor of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

; taught school near Magnolia in the 1890s * Larry McCray (born c. 1963), blues guitarist and singer. His family moved to Saginaw, Michigan in 1973. * Sidney Sanders McMath (1912-2003), governor of Arkansas (1949-1953), Major General, U.S.M.C. Reserve (1965-1970) * Mike Runnels (1945-2015), Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico * Horace M. Wade, former U.S. Air Force general, born in Magnolia 1916 * Carl Wafer, former

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, 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 ...

; born in Magnolia

Annexation

On January 12, 2007, Magnolia annexed east of the city, which includes approximately 1,100 people, increasing the population to 11,578. The city was expected to receive between $60,000 to $70,000 in state turnbacks per year as a result.

Gallery

Image:Another glimpse of downtown Magnolia IMG 2322.JPG, Downtown Magnolia Image:Magnolia, AR, City Hall IMG 2301.JPG, Magnolia City Hall Image:Revised photo of First Baptist Church of Magnolia, AR IMG 2324.JPG, First

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church of Magnolia Image:Bancorp South Building in Magnolia, AR IMG 2298.JPG, Bancorp South in Magnolia is located across from City Hall. Image:Farmers Bank and Trust in Magnolia, AR IMG 2302.JPG, Farmers Bank and Trust Company in downtown Magnolia

References

* - Total pages: 368