Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area 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 ...

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford 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 city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

– Interstate 540 junction. The city was incorporated in 1845 and as of the 2020 census had a population of 23,218, ranking it as the state's 21st largest city. According to 2023 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Van Buren’s population is 24,138. With a 4% growth rate from 2020 to 2023, Van Buren is Arkansas’s eighth-fastest growing city.

History

Early history

The area was settled by David Boyd and Thomas Martin in 1818. After Arkansas became a territory in 1819, Daniel and Thomas Phillips constructed a

lumber yard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services s ...

in the community to serve as a fuel depot for traffic along the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. In 1831, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

was constructed for the community, at the time known as Phillips Landing. This post office was named after newly appointed Secretary of State and future President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

. John Drennen, along with his partner David Thompson, purchased the area for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

11,000. They moved their business of supplying firewood for steamboats to this new location on higher ground. The courthouse was constructed on a lot of land donated by Drennen on the condition that Van Buren become the county seat. The Drennen Reserve is one of the town's existing historical sites from the 1830s. Van Buren was incorporated on January 4, 1845. Walker Institute was established near Van Buren in 1857. Peter A. Moses was principal.

American Civil War

On December 28, 1862, Union and

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 ...

forces clashed in and around Van Buren, resulting in a defeat for the Confederates, led by Major General T. C. Hindman, driving them south across the river with minimal casualties. Federal forces captured 100 prisoners, as stated in an official report by Major General Samuel R. Curtis.

Veterans

VFW Post 1322 located in Van Buren was founded on February 13, 1925, making it the oldest

VFW Post The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

in the State of Arkansas.Spiva, Dave, "'This Post is a Community Center'", ''

VFW Magazine The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of United States war veterans who fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or airspace as milita ...

'', Veterans of Foreign Wars, Kansas City, Missouri, volume 112, number 5, March/April 2025, pages 38-39. It was named after local veteran Robert W. Jack, who served in the United States Army with the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment and was killed in action on September 22, 1918 in the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Jack was buried at

St. Mihiel American Cemetery The St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial is located at the west edge of Thiaucourt (Meurthe-et-Moselle), France. The cemetery contains the graves of 4,153 American military dead from World War I. The majority of these died in the Battle of ...

and there is a monument in his honor in Van Buren. In 2018, the town dedicated the Veterans Memorial Plaza in the heart of the downtown area.

2019 flood

In late May to early June 2019, the Arkansas River flooded near Van Buren, cresting at nearly , which is above the flood stage. Significant rainfall in the South-central United States forced

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

workers to release large amounts of water to ease flooding upstream. The river approached at the Van Buren gauge over the course of several days, and the flooding damaged 25 homes in the Crawford County area. While one Crawford County levee sustained damage, no levee breaches occurred in Van Buren.

1996 tornado

On April 21, 1996, at 11:12 p.m., an F3 tornado hit the Fort Smith/Van Buren area causing extensive damage. The tornado, which spawned in

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 ...

and crossed into west Fort Smith near the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, killed two, injured 89 and caused $300 million in damage. The fatalities were small children from Fort Smith. At its worst, the tornado was one half mile across. After leaving the downtown area of Fort Smith, it traveled northeast through industrial and residential sections of north Fort Smith, then crossed the Arkansas River again into the Mount Vista area on the west side of Van Buren and damaged a highly residential area where no fatalities occurred, although this area was very populated at the time. The total distance it traveled on the ground was . In total, there were around 1,800 homes damaged, the majority of which were in Van Buren.

Physical geography

Van Buren is located in the southwest corner of Crawford County with the Arkansas–

state line just to the west. The

forms the southern boundary of the city, separating it from Fort Smith of

Sebastian County Sebastian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,799, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arkansas. The county has two county seats, Greenwood and Fort Smith. Sebastia ...

. Lee Creek flows through the western side of the city into the Arkansas River. 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 ...

, Van Buren has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.34%, is water.

Climate

Van Buren lies within a humid subtropical climate area. The city also lies on the eastern edge of the region known as

Tornado Alley Tornado Alley, also known as Tornado Valley, is a loosely defined location of the central United States and, in the 21st century, Canada where tornadoes are most frequent. The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to st ...

. Average temperatures range from 36

°F The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he original ...

in January, to as high an average of 81 °F in July with temperatures reaching the high 90s and low 100s in August. The average annual temperature is approximately 60 °F. Average

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is about 41 total inches, with only six inches being snow. July and August are the hottest months of the year, with an average high of and an average low of . Temperatures above are not uncommon, occurring on average eleven times a year. December and January are the coldest months with an average high of and an average low of . Highs below occur on average five times a year, with 0.2 nights per year dropping below . The city's highest temperature was , recorded in 1936. The lowest temperature recorded was , in 1899.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,218 people, 8,990 households, and 6,011 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 18,986 people, 6,947 households, and 5,182 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,427 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.37%

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 ...

, 1.64%

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 ...

, 1.96% Native American, 2.82% Asian, 3.17% from other races, and 3.03% from two or more races. 6.04% 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 6,947 households, of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% 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, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were classified as non-families by the

. Of 6,947 households, 362 were unmarried partner households: 304 heterosexual, 12 same-sex male, and 46 same-sex female households. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,608, and the median income for a family was $37,198. Males had a median income of $28,798 versus $21,201 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 $14,948. About 13.5% of families and 16.7% 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 24.4% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy and Infrastructure

Van Buren is home to many large corporations within the state and employs a great deal of the city's population within its Port and Industrial Park district. Manufacturing, food processing, and medicine are sustaining industries in Van Buren. Major employers include poultry processor Simmons Foods, the Van Buren School District, USA Truck, and Baptist Health.

Culture

Arts and architecture

Van Buren is home of the King Opera House, a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

-style performance hall from the late 19th century, part of the old downtown historic area. At the south end of the historical downtown is the Crawford County courthouse, the oldest functioning courthouse west of 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 ...

. To the north is the Old Frisco Station which was originally a station on the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, pictured at the top of this page.

Media

As part of the primary Fort Smith metropolitan area, many Fort Smith based television stations including

KHBS KHBS (channel 40) and KHOG-TV (channel 29) are television stations licensed respectively to Fort Smith and Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States, serving as the ABC and CW Plus affiliates for the Arkansas River Valley and Northwest Arkansas. ...

and KFSM, whose radio mast is built in Van Buren, provide local news and weather. The city's major newspaper is the ''Van Buren Press Argus-Courier''; however many people also read Fort Smith's ''

Southwest Times Record The ''Southwest Times Record'' is a daily newspaper in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and covers 10 counties in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. It is owned and published by Gannett. History The ''Times Record'' began as three separate papers: ...

'', as well as the Northwest Edition of the ''

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas's counties. By virtue of one ...

''.

Transportation

Van Buren's location at the junction of

, Interstate 540, and the

border yields surprisingly large tourism and hospitality industries. The city is also located at the junction of several state and

U.S. highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

including

Arkansas Highway 59 Arkansas Highway 59 is a north–south List of Arkansas state highways, state highway in Northwest Arkansas. The route runs from Arkansas Highway 22 in Barling, Arkansas, Barling north to the Missouri state line through Van Buren, Arkansas, V ...

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,281 miles (3,672 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route ...

, and

US 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Intersta ...

. A private airport, Twin Cities Airport (code 39AR), was operational to the southeast of the city, but has been closed for many years. Modern railroads in the city include the

Arkansas and Missouri Railroad The Arkansas and Missouri Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas. The A&M, as it is known, operates of line from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Monett, Missouri. The railroad interchanges freight cars with K ...

and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. Intercity bus service to the city is provided by

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

Education

The Van Buren School District is the largest school district in Crawford County, consisting of six

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

(grades K-5), two

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

s (grades 6–8), one ninth grade academy (grade 9) and one high school (grades 10–12). The Van Buren High School is in the 5A/6A-West Division of Arkansas high school sports.

Sites of interest

* Historic Main Street, used for scenes in the film '' The Blue and the Gray'' as well as scenes in the film '' Frank & Jesse'' * King Opera House, performance hall and historic landmark *The Old Frisco Station-Victorian style railroad station; used for a scene in the film ''

Biloxi Blues ''Biloxi Blues'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It portrays the conflict of Sergeant Merwin J. Toomey and Arnold Epstein, one of many privates enlisted in the military stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, seen through the eyes of E ...

''. It was part of the now defunct

St. Louis–San Francisco Railway The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway , commonly known as the "Frisco", was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central United States from 1876 to November 21, 1980. At the end of 1970, it operated of road on of track, not includ ...

also known as the Frisco.

Notable people

Cyrus Adler Cyrus Adler (September 13, 1863 – April 7, 1940) was an American educator, Jewish religious leader and scholar. Early years Adler was born to merchant and planter Samuel Adler and Sarah Sulzberger in Van Buren, Arkansas on September 13, 186 ...

, Jewish religious leader and scholar * Bob Burns, comedian and actor * Ryan Rose, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Van Buren * Gary Deffenbaugh, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Van Buren * John Deweese,

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Charlene Fite Charlene Fite (born 1950) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arkansas State House representing District 80 since 2013. Early life and education Fite was born in Alma, Arkansas. She has a B.S. in deaf education from the Uni ...

, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Van Buren * Matt Jones, NFL player * Shay Mooney, singer songwriter from duo

Dan + Shay Dan + Shay is an American country pop duo composed of vocalists and songwriters Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney. They are signed to Warner Records Nashville and have released six albums, '' Where It All Began'', '' Obsessed'', '' Dan + Shay'', '' ...

References

External links

; Government *
Van Buren Advertising & Promotions Commission
; General information
''The Press Argus-Courier''''The Southwest Times Record''
{{authority control 1845 establishments in Arkansas Cities in Arkansas Cities in Crawford County, Arkansas County seats in Arkansas Fort Smith metropolitan area Populated places established in 1845 Arkansas populated places on the Arkansas River