Tollette is a town in southern Howard 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 240 at the 2010 census, down from 324 in 2000. Tollette was established as an all-African American town by Sanford Tollette and his wife Caldonia Crofton Tollette in the 1800s. They built a church, a store, and a public school. Caldonia Tollette was postmistress of the United States Post Office in 1893. Their daughter, Mattye Tollette Bond began a teaching career at the age of fifteen. She married Ollie Seahorn Bond and resided in his hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee where they organized the first NAACP chapter in Haywood County in 1939. Sanford and Caldonia's granddaughter Mildred Bond Roxborough began working for the NAACP in Tennessee at the age of nine in 1935 and continued her distinguished service to the organization in New York from 1954 through 1997 rising to executive positions including Director of Operations.Bond, Jo Zanice, Race, Place, and Family Narratives of the Civil Rights Movement in Brownsvile, Tennessee, and the Nation, University of Kansas Press, 2011, 25. a

Geography

Tollette is located in southern Howard County.

Arkansas Highway 355 Highway 355 (AR 355 and Hwy. 355) is a designation for three north–south List of state highways in Arkansas, state highways in Southwest Arkansas. The routes are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT). Between Sar ...

passes through the town, leading north to

Mineral Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...

and south to Fulton and

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from Interstate 20, I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas ...

. 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 has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 185 people, 108 households, and 72 families residing in the town.

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 324 people, 136 households, and 90 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 133.1/km (343.0/mi²). There were 149 housing units at an average density of 61.2/km (157.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 0.62%

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 ...

, 98.46%

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 0.93% from two or more races. There were 136 households, out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.8% 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, 29.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $24,688, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $19,063 versus $18,295 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 $10,589. About 11.7% of families and 18.5% 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 17.5% of those under age 18 and 40.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Luenell Luenell Campbell (born March 12, 1959), known mononymously as Luenell, is an American comedian and actress. Career In the early-1990s, Luenell appeared regularly on ''Soul Beat TV'' on the Oakland, California cable station KSBT, along with promi ...

, actress and comedian

References

{{authority control Towns in Howard County, Arkansas Towns in Arkansas