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This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2010) |
| Harrison, Arkansas | |
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| — City — | |
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| Motto: "Adventure Awaits You"[1] | |
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| Coordinates: 36°14′14″N 93°6′49″W / 36.23722°N 93.11361°WCoordinates: 36°14′14″N 93°6′49″W / 36.23722°N 93.11361°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arkansas |
| County | Boone |
| Platted | 1869 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 10.2 sq mi (26.5 km2) |
| • Land | 10.2 sq mi (26.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,050 ft (320 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 12,943 |
| • Density | 1,191.4/sq mi (458.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 72601-72602 |
| Area code(s) | 870 |
| FIPS code | 05-30460 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0077134 |
| Website | www.cityofharrison.com |
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108.[2][3]
Harrison is the principal city of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boone and Newton counties.
Contents |
History [edit]
Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is named after L. LaRue Harrison, a Union officer who surveyed and platted the town.
Indians were the first inhabitants of the area, the first probably being cliff dwellers who lived in caves in the bluffs along the rivers. In later times, the Osage, a branch of the Sioux, was the main tribe in the Ozarks and one of their larger villages is thought to have been to the east of the present site of Harrison. The Shawnee, Quapaw, and Caddo Indians were also familiar to the area.
The Cherokee arrived around 1816 and did not get along with the Osage. This hostility erupted into a full scale Indian war in the Ozark Mountains. By the 1830s both tribes were removed to Indian Territory. It is possible that the first white men to visit the area were some forty followers of Hernando De Soto and that they camped at an Indian village on the White River at the mouth of Bear Creek. It is more likely that the discoverers were French hunters or trappers who followed the course of the White River.
In early 1857, the Baker-Fancher wagon train assembled at Beller's Stand, south of Harrison. On September 11, 1857, approximately 120 members of this wagon train were murdered near Mountain Meadows, Utah Territory by attacking local Mormon militia and members of the Paiute Indian tribe. In 1955, a monument to memorialize the victims of the massacre was placed on the Harrison town square.[4][5]
The town of Harrison was incorporated on March 1, 1876.[6]
In 1905 and 1909, citizens drove nearly all of the African-American population out of Harrison.[7] These events were the subject of an Independent Lens program entitled "Banished" on PBS in 2008.
The Boone County Courthouse, built in 1909, and the Boone County Jail, built in 1914, were both designed by architect Charles L. Thompson and are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The notorious bank robber and convicted murderer, Henry Starr, met his fate in Harrison on February 18, 1921, when Starr and three companions entered the People's State Bank and robbed it of $6000.00. During the robbery, Starr was shot by the former president of the bank, William J. Myers. Starr was carried to the town jail, where he died the next morning.[8][9]
The Harrison Police Department has had two officers killed in the line of duty, both by gunfire and within a year of one another. The first was officer Ed Williams, killed on a disturbance call on May 25, 1934.[10] The second was Chief of Police Burr Robertson, killed while arresting a murder suspect at the railroad station on March 27, 1935.[11]
On May 7, 1961, heavy rain caused Crooked Creek, immediately south of the downtown business district, to flood the town square and much of the southwestern part of the city. Water levels inside buildings reached eight feet. Many small buildings and automobiles were swept away. According to the American Red Cross, four lives were lost, 80 percent of the town's business district was destroyed, and over 300 buildings were damaged or destroyed in losses exceeding $5.4 million.[12]
Geography [edit]
Harrison is located at 36°14′14″N 93°6′49″W / 36.23722°N 93.11361°W (36.237247, -93.113703).[13]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.2 square miles (26 km2), all land.
Demographics [edit]
As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 12,152 people, 5,259 households, and 3,260 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,187.5 people per square mile (458.6/km²). There were 5,747 housing units at an average density of 561.6 per square mile (216.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.24% White, 1.00% Black or African American, 0.74% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 1.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 5,259 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,850, and the median income for a family was $34,009. Males had a median income of $27,934 versus $18,873 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,909. About 11.5% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over. </ref>
Economy [edit]
Harrison is home to the general office of FedEx Freight and the second Wal-Mart store opened, Wal-Mart #2, in 1965. The Boone County Courthouse, completed in 1909, serves as the heart of the downtown district and is central to Harrison's town square.
Arts and culture [edit]
Annual cultural events [edit]
Harrison hosts the annual Arkansas Hot Air Balloon races each September, Crawdad Days Music Festival each May, a Harvest Homecoming festival each October, and Christmas celebration in December.
Museums and other points of interest [edit]
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has recognized the Harrison Courthouse Square Historic District. It contains a large number of the city's original commercial and governmental structures, including the still-used courthouse in the center of the square, the recently refurbished Lyric theater, and the beautiful 1929 Hotel Seville, which underwent a complete restoration in 2008.
The historic Lyric Theatre is now used for plays, community events, old movies and other gatherings. It was originally opened as a movie theater in 1929.[15]
Sports [edit]
In 2008 F.S. Garrison Stadium was opened after almost six years of fundraising by Kim Rosson, President[who?], and the Goblin Booster Club[citation needed]. Over $7 million was raised for the stadium project by the Goblin Booster Club. The largest donors were the Garrison Family and Mosco Cash, owner of Home Ice Company. Before the first game against Mountain Home on September 12, 2008, it was donated to the Harrison School District[citation needed].
Parks and recreation [edit]
Harrison serves as the National Park Service's Buffalo National River headquarters. The park was established in the 1970s, and was the nation’s first national river.[16] The river flows for 135 miles and there are over 59 different species of fish in it.
Crooked Creek, a nationally recognized “Blue Ribbon” smallmouth bass fishery flows through Harrison.[17]
Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls, at 209 feet the tallest waterfall between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians, is near Harrison.[18] On the same bluff line is Diamond Falls, at 148 feet the second tallest in the state.[19]
Education [edit]
Residents are served by the Harrison School District. The Harrison High School mascot is the Golden Goblin. Harrison is also home to North Arkansas College (NAC). The Harrison School District has been a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1936.
Media [edit]
Harrison and Boone County have been served by the local newspaper, The Harrison Daily Times since 1876.[20]
Infrastructure [edit]
Transportation [edit]
Harrison was the headquarters of the defunct Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, which provided passenger and freight service from Joplin, Missouri, to Helena in Phillips County in eastern Arkansas, from 1906 until its disestablishment in 1946.[21]
Harrison is served by Boone County Regional Airport. Scheduled flights from Harrison to Memphis, Tennessee, and Kansas City, Missouri, are offered by SeaPort Airlines.
Highways in the area include:
US 62/US 412
U.S. Highway 65
U.S. Route 65 Business
Arkansas Highway 7
Arkansas Highway 43
Arkansas Highway 123
Arkansas Highway 392
Arkansas Highway 397
Airport Highway 980
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Health care [edit]
The recently renovated North Arkansas Regional Medical Center is in Harrison.[22]
Notable people [edit]
- Gracie Pfost, first woman elected to Congress from Idaho, was born in Harrison.
- Brandon Burlsworth, All-American Offensive Lineman, played for the Arkansas Razorbacks in the late 1990s. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 3rd round of the 1999 NFL Draft, but was killed in a car accident eleven days later; born in Harrison.
- Ray and Faye Copeland, serial killers; born in Harrison.
- Country-western singer, Brian McComas, is originally from Harrison.
- Jerry Yester, current guitarist for The Lovin' Spoonful, resides in Harrison.
- Thomas Robb, current leader of Ku Klux Klan.
- Billy Roper, founder of White Revolution
- Mike Hallimore founder of Kingdom Identity Ministries
Additional information [edit]
Harrison is given as the address of the Ku Klux Klan on their website.[23] Thomas Robb, leader of the Klan and the Knights Party, maintains his headquarters near Harrison in the outlying community of Zinc.[24]
References [edit]
- ^ "City of Harrison Arkansas". City of Harrison Arkansas. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ "American Factfinder". 2007 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. 2006-06-21. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ Mountain Meadows massacre
- ^ Mountain Meadows Massacre, Mountain Meadows Massacre.com, retrieved 2011-01-16
- ^ Harrison, AR, citydata.com, retrieved 2011-01-16
- ^ Harrison Race Riots, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, retrieved 2010-12-26
- ^ Henry Starr -- The Cherokee Bad Boy, Legends of America, retrieved 2010-12-26
- ^ Henry Starr
- ^ Policeman Ed Williams, Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc., retrieved 2010-12-26
- ^ Chief of Police Burr Robertson, Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc., retrieved 2010-12-26
- ^ 1961 Harrison Flood, Boone County Historical & Railroad Society
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ The Lyric Theatre, Ozarks Arts Council, retrieved 2011-01-19
- ^ Buffalo River - Frequently Asked Questions, National Park Service, retrieved 2010-12-26
- ^ Crooked Creek, Arkansas - The Natural State, retrieved 2011-01-19
- ^ How to get to Hemmed in Hollow Waterfalls in the Arkansas Ozarks, Arkansas' Ozark Mountains Region, retrieved 2011-01-19
- ^ Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook - Tallest Waterfalls in Arkansas, Cloudland, retrieved 2011-01-19
- ^ Newspaper-Harrison Daily Times, Community Publishers, Inc., retrieved 2010-12-26
- ^ "H. Glenn Mosenthin, "Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad"". encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ Welcome to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center, NARMC, retrieved 2011-01-19
- ^ Welcome to the Ku Klux Klan: Knights Party, USA, retrieved 2012-02-06
- ^ Current Klan Organizations, retrieved 2012-02-06
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harrison, Arkansas |
- City of Harrison
- Harrison Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Chamber of Commerce
- Harrison Daily Times
- Boone County Historical and Railroad Society, Inc.
- Map of Harrison (US Census Bureau)
- Harrison entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas
- City government information from local.arkansas.gov
- Boone County School District Reference Map (US Census Bureau, 2010)
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