Smithville, Arkansas
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Smithville is a town in Lawrence 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 78 at the 2010 census.


History

Euro-American settlers first came to the area of Smithville in 1808. Smithville became the county seat of modern-day Lawrence County in 1837. The county seat was later moved to
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
in 1869, after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. This was done in part to take advantage of
riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...
commerce along the Black River. Smithville was the nearest town to the final shoot-out between law enforcement and the infamous tax fugitive Gordon Kahl on June 2, 1983, in which Lawrence County Sheriff Harold Gene Matthews was also killed. Smithville lies a few miles south of the actual shootout location.


Geography

Smithville is located in western Lawrence County at (36.080031, -91.303781). Arkansas Highway 117 runs east to Black Rock and south to
Strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
. Highway 115 runs northeast to Imboden (and thus connects to US 412) and southwest toward Cave City in Sharp County, away. 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 town of Smithville has a total area of , all land. Smithville is nestled in the Ozark Foothills on the Salem Plateau, which is a part of the larger
Ozark Plateau The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...
. The eastern third of Smithville is a low-lying area, prone to flooding from Machine Creek. The center of Smithville is atop a small hill. As one travels west or north of Smithville, rolling hills can be found in either direction. West of Smithville lies Peebles Bluff. Regionally, Smithville lies approximately in the center of the Cooper Creek Watershed Improvement District. This district consists of a series of
reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
s designed to mitigate flooding. Local names have been applied to these reservoirs: Site 1: West Cooper Creek Lake Site 2: East Cooper Creek Lake Site 3: Dogwood Lake Site 4: Machine Lake Site 5: Goff Lake Site 6: Ed's Lake


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 2000, there were 73 people, 33 households, and 22 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 47.0/km (121.5/mi2). There were 41 housing units at an average density of 26.4/km (68.2/mi2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.26%
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 ...
, 1.37%
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 ...
or
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 1.37% Native American. There were 33 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% 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, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.64. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 2.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 30.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $45,250. Males had a median income of $30,625 versus $19,375 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 $11,687. There were 11.1% of families and 26.5% of the population living 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 32.0% of under eighteens and 53.3% of those over 64.


Law and government

The current mayor of Smithville is Chris Penn.


Education

Smithville is in the Hillcrest School District. It was formerly in the Lynn School District.
Download
On July 1, 2004, it merged into the Hillcrest district.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.


References

{{authority control Towns in Lawrence County, Arkansas Towns in Arkansas Populated places established in 1808