Misplaced Pages

#499500

104-650: Caruthersville is a city in and the county seat of Pemiscot County , Missouri , United States, located along the Mississippi River in the Bootheel region of the state's far southeast. The population was 5,562, according to the 2020 census . Caruthersville lies in Missouri's Bootheel on the Mississippi River. The word "Pemiscot" comes from the word pemiskaw, meaning "liquid mud" in

208-570: A New Deal agency, responded by providing low-cost rental housing for 500 cropper families. It awarded $ 500,000 (equivalent to $ 9 million in 2023) in grants to 11,000 families in 1939. The protest fizzled out as Communist and Socialist elements battled for control. Available samples from the Bootheel and most of the southeastern Missouri counties demonstrate late Tertiary (more than 1.8 mya ) to Quaternary (1.8 mya to present) geology, much younger than neighboring highlands. The lowest point in

312-458: A bridge across the Mississippi at Caruthersville. Completed in 1976 and connecting with Dyersburg, Tennessee , it is the only bridge to cross the Mississippi River between Cairo, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee . It is a single-tower cantilever bridge carrying Interstate 155 and U.S. Route 412. During the night of April 2, 2006, 60% of Caruthersville was severely damaged or destroyed by

416-609: A cemetery in Hornersville. Caruthersville is the county seat of Pemiscot County. The small towns of Senath and Arbyrd are also located in Dunklin County. They are home to a locally celebrated ghost light , sometimes called the "Senath Light" or "Arbyrd light". It occurs between these two towns and closer to Hollywood near the Lulu Church and Cemetery. The Missouri Bootheel is the home of two members of

520-577: A central area containing buildings with special economic, political, and religious significance. Archaeologists refer to this area by the Greek term temenos or if fortified as a citadel . These spaces historically reflect and amplify the city's centrality and importance to its wider sphere of influence . Today cities have a city center or downtown , sometimes coincident with a central business district . Cities typically have public spaces where anyone can go. These include privately owned spaces open to

624-665: A central authority. The term can also refer either to the physical streets and buildings of the city or to the collection of people who dwell there and can be used in a general sense to mean urban rather than rural territory . National censuses use a variety of definitions – invoking factors such as population , population density , number of dwellings , economic function, and infrastructure – to classify populations as urban. Typical working definitions for small-city populations start at around 100,000 people. Common population definitions for an urban area (city or town) range between 1,500 and 50,000 people, with most U.S. states using

728-461: A central point. This form could evolve from successive growth over a long time, with concentric traces of town walls and citadels marking older city boundaries. In more recent history, such forms were supplemented by ring roads moving traffic around the outskirts of a town. Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem are structured as a central square surrounded by concentric canals marking every expansion. In cities such as Moscow , this pattern

832-552: A combination of these. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations . The degree of urbanization is a modern metric to help define what comprises a city: "a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants in contiguous dense grid cells (>1,500 inhabitants per square kilometer)". This metric was "devised over years by the European Commission , OECD , World Bank and others, and endorsed in March [2021] by

936-620: A continuous urban landscape called urban agglomeration , conurbation , or megalopolis (exemplified by the BosWash corridor of the Northeastern United States .) The emergence of cities from proto-urban settlements , such as Çatalhöyük , is a non-linear development that demonstrates the varied experiences of early urbanization . The cities of Jericho , Aleppo , Byblos , Faiyum , Yerevan , Athens , Matera , Damascus , and Argos are among those laying claim to

1040-430: A distinctive elite social class, but it should indeed be considered a city based on a functional redefinition of urban development. In particular, Jenné-Jeno featured settlement mounds arranged according to a horizontal, rather than vertical, power hierarchy, and served as a center of specialized production and exhibited functional interdependence with the surrounding hinterland. More recently, scholars have concluded that

1144-477: A grid plan with specialized districts used across the Hellenistic Mediterranean . The urban-type settlement extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of the city proper in a form of development sometimes described critically as urban sprawl . Decentralization and dispersal of city functions (commercial, industrial, residential, cultural, political) has transformed the very meaning of

SECTION 10

#1732791131500

1248-511: A key role in both the economy and government. Late antique cities in the East were also undergoing intense transformations, with increased political participation of the crowds and demographical fluctuations. Christian communities and their doctrinal differences increasingly shaped the urban fabric. The locus of power shifted to Constantinople and to the ascendant Islamic civilization with its major cities Baghdad , Cairo , and Córdoba . From

1352-531: A minimum between 1,500 and 5,000 inhabitants. Some jurisdictions set no such minima. In the United Kingdom , city status is awarded by the Crown and then remains permanent. (Historically, the qualifying factor was the presence of a cathedral , resulting in some very small cities such as Wells , with a population of 12,000 as of 2018 , and St Davids , with a population of 1,841 as of 2011 .) According to

1456-703: A privileged elite among towns having won self-governance from their local lord or having been granted self-governance by the emperor and being placed under his immediate protection. By 1480, these cities, as far as still part of the empire, became part of the Imperial Estates governing the empire with the emperor through the Imperial Diet . By the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities become powerful states, taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. In Italy, medieval communes developed into city-states including

1560-584: A reputation for lawlessness. Remote settlements along the river banks, miles from paved roads, provided an ideal environment (and market) for moonshining and bootlegging . Culturally, the Bootheel is considered more Southern than Midwestern . It was settled largely by people from the South, both black and white. It is considered part of the Mid-South , a region centered on the Memphis metropolitan area ; it

1664-495: A rule cannot produce their own food and therefore must develop some relationship with a hinterland that sustains them. Only in special cases such as mining towns which play a vital role in long-distance trade, are cities disconnected from the countryside which feeds them. Thus, centrality within a productive region influences siting, as economic forces would, in theory, favor the creation of marketplaces in optimal mutually reachable locations. The vast majority of cities have

1768-549: A string of tornadoes that passed through the Midwestern United States . At least two persons were confirmed killed in Pemiscot County as a result of the tornado. On Monday morning, local police, state troopers , and National Guard had barred entrance into Caruthersville and issued it as a "no fly zone" to anyone who was not a resident, an emergency worker, or a member of the newsmedia. According to

1872-549: A super-wealthy elite living in gated communities and large masses of people living in substandard housing with inadequate infrastructure and otherwise poor conditions. Cities around the world have expanded physically as they grow in population, with increases in their surface extent, with the creation of high-rise buildings for residential and commercial use, and with development underground. Urbanization can create rapid demand for water resources management , as formerly good sources of freshwater become overused and polluted, and

1976-423: A temple. A minority viewpoint considers that cities may have arisen without agriculture, due to alternative means of subsistence (fishing), to use as communal seasonal shelters, to their value as bases for defensive and offensive military organization, or to their inherent economic function. Cities played a crucial role in the establishment of political power over an area, and ancient leaders such as Alexander

2080-493: A variety of fish and animals. Flooding is a major concern along the Mississippi River. With such a large river basin and the vast discharge of water, the river makes the towns along its banks highly susceptible to frequent flooding. The National Weather Service reported that from 1980 to 2002, nine floods in the United States had total losses exceeding one billion dollars. In terms of monetary loss and effects on society,

2184-567: A workers' town associated with the pyramid of Senusret II , and the religious city Amarna built by Akhenaten and abandoned. These sites appear planned in a highly regimented and stratified fashion, with a minimalistic grid of rooms for the workers and increasingly more elaborate housing available for higher classes. In Mesopotamia, the civilization of Sumer , followed by Assyria and Babylon , gave rise to numerous cities, governed by kings and fostered multiple languages written in cuneiform . The Phoenician trading empire, flourishing around

SECTION 20

#1732791131500

2288-471: A world of intensifying globalization , all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences on global issues , such as sustainable development , climate change , and global health . Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11 . Due to

2392-613: Is also included in the area of the Upper South . Definitions of the Mid-South vary but in general include west Tennessee and Kentucky , north Mississippi , northeast Arkansas , and the Missouri Bootheel. The locations of the region's television stations had reflected this until the early 21st century prior to smaller, but closer cities obtaining local stations and before the digital transition in 2009: Economically,

2496-623: Is on the National Register of Historic Places. City Historically, city dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization , more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability . Present-day cities usually form the core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas —creating numerous commuters traveling toward city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in

2600-502: Is raised. In contrast to much of the rest of Missouri, there are few fences . No large cities are located in the Bootheel. Sizable towns include Kennett , the birthplace of singers Sheryl Crow , David Nail , and Trent Tomlinson ; and Sikeston , the birthplace of professional athletes James Wilder Sr. , Brandon Barnes , and Blake DeWitt . Sikeston's city limits fall within both Scott County and New Madrid County . Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff are often considered to be part of

2704-517: Is still clearly visible. A system of rectilinear city streets and land plots, known as the grid plan , has been used for millennia in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Indus Valley Civilization built Mohenjo-Daro , Harappa , and other cities on a grid pattern, using ancient principles described by Kautilya , and aligned with the compass points . The ancient Greek city of Priene exemplifies

2808-420: Is the most urban continent, with four-fifths of its population living in cities, including one-fifth of the population said to live in shantytowns ( favelas , poblaciones callampas , etc.). Batam , Indonesia , Mogadishu , Somalia , Xiamen , China , and Niamey , Niger , are considered among the world's fastest-growing cities, with annual growth rates of 5–8%. In general, the more developed countries of

2912-468: Is well overdue for a moderately powerful tremor- which will cause major damage and undoubtedly some casualties...With each passing year, the inevitable earthquake is becoming more powerful, while the state of readiness in the Mississippi Valley remains woefully inadequate. Given the population in the area, even a moderately sized earthquake would be disastrous. The Bootheel is on the edge of

3016-646: The 2020 United States Census , there were 5,562 people, 2,360 households, and 1,352 families residing in the city. At the 2010 census , there were 6,168 people, 2,454 households and 1,567 families living in the city. The population density was 1,195.3 per square mile (461.5/km). There were 2,727 housing units at an average density of 528.5 per square mile (204.1/km). The racial makeup was 63.89% White , 33.09% Black or African American , 0.28% Native American , 0.19% Asian , 0.11% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander , 0.76% from other races , and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.35% of

3120-609: The Fox language . Mississippi waters have frequently flooded the flatlands, creating fertile alluvial land valued for farming. Settling the floodplain has resulted in periodic problems for residents, as there are regular floods despite (and because of) elaborate constructed systems of levees and flood controls. Native Americans inhabited the land of the Caruthersville area for thousands of years before European settlement. The Mississippian culture built huge earthwork mounds throughout

3224-707: The Great Depression , the Farm Security Administration said that the Bootheel was a "paradox of rich land and poor people." In 1935, three-fourths of all farms were operated by tenants, most of them black. Radicals in the Southern Tenant Farmers Union organized protests by hundreds of sharecroppers in early 1939, alleging that landlords had evicted masses of tenants because they did not want to share federal AAA checks with them. The Farm Security Administration ,

Caruthersville, Missouri - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-694: The Great Flood of 1993 was the worst. Earthquakes have long been frequent in the area. The New Madrid Fault Zone is named for the city of New Madrid in the Bootheel. This fault zone is entirely hidden beneath the deep alluvial deposits of the Mississippi embayment . Unlike the San Andreas Fault in California , it is not visible anywhere. This fault zone was responsible for an extremely powerful series of earthquakes that rocked

3432-585: The Great Migration . These counties have predominantly white populations in the 21st century, although some have a significant number of black residents. When Missouri was admitted to the Union as part of the Missouri Compromise , its original border was proposed as an extension of the 36°30′ parallel north that formed the border between Kentucky and Tennessee . That would have excluded

3536-591: The Mississippi Delta culture that produced the Delta blues . Its relatively large black population makes it distinct from the rest of rural Missouri. The area has a unique rural black culture reflected in its music, churches and other traditions. The black population ranges from about 26% in Pemiscot County , to 15% in New Madrid County, and about 9% in Dunklin County. The Bootheel once had

3640-603: The Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa . In Northern Europe, cities including Lübeck and Bruges formed the Hanseatic League for collective defense and commerce. Their power was later challenged and eclipsed by the Dutch commercial cities of Ghent , Ypres , and Amsterdam . Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai , which enjoyed considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan. In

3744-574: The St. Francis River , then follows that river north to about the 36°30′ parallel just west of Campbell, Missouri . According to an apocryphal story in various versions, the Bootheel was added to the state because of the request of John Hardeman Walker to remain in the state "as he had heard it was so sickly in Arkansas"; "...full of bears and panthers and copperhead snakes, so it ain't safe for civilized people to stay there over night even." Another legend has

3848-947: The United Nations ... largely for the purpose of international statistical comparison". The word city and the related civilization come from the Latin root civitas , originally meaning 'citizenship' or 'community member' and eventually coming to correspond with urbs , meaning 'city' in a more physical sense. The Roman civitas was closely linked with the Greek polis —another common root appearing in English words such as metropolis . In toponymic terminology, names of individual cities and towns are called astionyms (from Ancient Greek ἄστυ 'city or town' and ὄνομα 'name'). Urban geography deals both with cities in their larger context and with their internal structure. Cities are estimated to cover about 3% of

3952-612: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 5.24 square miles (13.57 km), of which 5.16 square miles (13.36 km) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km) is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Caruthersville has a humid subtropical climate , abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. As of

4056-505: The Uruk period . In the fourth and third millennium BC , complex civilizations flourished in the river valleys of Mesopotamia , India , China , and Egypt . Excavations in these areas have found the ruins of cities geared variously towards trade, politics, or religion. Some had large, dense populations , but others carried out urban activities in the realms of politics or religion without having large associated populations. Among

4160-730: The civilization of Djenne-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of the Bozo people . Their habitation of the site spanned the period from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE. Archaeological evidence from Jenné-Jeno, specifically the presence of non-West African glass beads dated from the third century BCE to the fourth century CE, indicates that pre-Arabic trade contacts probably existed between Jenné-Jeno and North Africa. Additionally, other early urban centers in West Africa, dated to around 500 CE, include Awdaghust , Kumbi Saleh ,

4264-515: The commune ( in France and Chile ; or comune in Italy). Missouri Bootheel The Missouri Bootheel is a salient (protrusion) located in the southeasternmost part of the U.S. state of Missouri , extending south of 36°30′ north latitude , so called because its shape in relation to the rest of the state resembles the heel of a boot. Strictly speaking, it is composed of some or all of

Caruthersville, Missouri - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-427: The government workers . (This arrangement contrasts with the more typically horizontal relationships in a tribe or village accomplishing common goals through informal agreements between neighbors, or the leadership of a chief.) The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work systems such as canal-building, food distribution, land-ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or

4472-538: The knowledge economy . A new smart city paradigm, supported by institutions such as the RAND Corporation and IBM , is bringing computerized surveillance , data analysis, and governance to bear on cities and city dwellers. Some companies are building brand-new master-planned cities from scratch on greenfield sites. Urbanization is the process of migration from rural to urban areas, driven by various political, economic, and cultural factors. Until

4576-564: The service economy and public-private partnerships , with concomitant gentrification , uneven revitalization efforts , and selective cultural development. Under the Great Leap Forward and subsequent five-year plans continuing today, China has undergone concomitant urbanization and industrialization and become the world's leading manufacturer . Amidst these economic changes, high technology and instantaneous telecommunication enable select cities to become centers of

4680-535: The " Global North " remain more urbanized than the less developed countries of the " Global South "—but the difference continues to shrink because urbanization is happening faster in the latter group. Asia is home to by far the greatest absolute number of city-dwellers: over two billion and counting. The UN predicts an additional 2.5 billion city dwellers (and 300 million fewer country dwellers) worldwide by 2050, with 90% of urban population expansion occurring in Asia and Africa. Megacities , cities with populations in

4784-539: The "functional definition", a city is not distinguished by size alone, but also by the role it plays within a larger political context. Cities serve as administrative, commercial, religious, and cultural hubs for their larger surrounding areas. The presence of a literate elite is often associated with cities because of the cultural diversities present in a city. A typical city has professional administrators , regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to support

4888-532: The 18th century), Ile-Ifẹ̀ (70,000 to 105,000 inhabitants in the 14th and 15th centuries), Niani (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD) and Timbuktu (100,000 inhabitants in 1450 AD). In the West, nation-states became the dominant unit of political organization following the Peace of Westphalia in the seventeenth century. Western Europe's larger capitals (London and Paris) benefited from the growth of commerce following

4992-420: The 18th century, an equilibrium existed between the rural agricultural population and towns featuring markets and small-scale manufacturing. With the agricultural and industrial revolutions urban population began its unprecedented growth, both through migration and demographic expansion . In England , the proportion of the population living in cities jumped from 17% in 1801 to 72% in 1891. In 1900, 15% of

5096-463: The 1910s, the Bootheel experienced a surge in racial violence as white tenant farmers attacked black workers who were imported by landowners from the South. This competition between white laborers and black laborers resulted in a period of extreme racial violence which took the form of lynchings in New Madrid , Charleston , and Caruthersville . In contrast to the other cotton-growing areas of

5200-399: The 1920s, the district was a wheat-growing area of family farms. Following the invasion of the boll weevil , which ruined the cotton crop in Arkansas, planters moved in. They bought up the land for conversion to cotton commodity crops, bringing along thousands of sharecroppers . After mechanization of agriculture and other changes in the 1930s, many black families left the area to go north in

5304-549: The 20th century, it was mostly unsettled swampy forestland. Between 1893 and 1989, developers cut about 85% of the native forests in the region; most clearing was done in the early decades of the 20th century. The entire landscape was transformed into farmland by extensive logging, draining of the watershed , channelization , and the construction of flood control structures. High levees along both river courses, an extensive system of drainage ditches and diversion channels, and controlled lakes, pumping stations and cutoffs protect

SECTION 50

#1732791131500

5408-718: The 30th and 18th centuries BC. Mesoamerica saw the rise of early urbanism in several cultural regions, beginning with the Olmec and spreading to the Preclassic Maya , the Zapotec of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan in central Mexico. Later cultures such as the Aztec , Andean civilizations , Mayan , Mississippians , and Pueblo peoples drew on these earlier urban traditions. Many of their ancient cities continue to be inhabited, including major metropolitan cities such as Mexico City , in

5512-750: The 9th through the end of the 12th century, Constantinople , the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire , was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, with a population approaching 1 million. The Ottoman Empire gradually gained control over many cities in the Mediterranean area, including Constantinople in 1453 . In the Holy Roman Empire , beginning in the 12th century, free imperial cities such as Nuremberg , Strasbourg , Frankfurt , Basel , Zürich , and Nijmegen became

5616-566: The Andes, the first urban centers developed in the Norte Chico civilization , Chavin and Moche cultures, followed by major cities in the Huari , Chimu , and Inca cultures. The Norte Chico civilization included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru . It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between

5720-522: The Bootheel due to the influence the two cities have had on the development of the region, but neither is located within its geographic boundaries. Hornersville , a small town in southern Dunklin County, was home to William H. "Major" Ray , a one-time 19th-century circus " midget ". He later became known as the representative of the Buster Brown shoe brand . He and his wife, Jennie, are buried in

5824-495: The Bootheel. John Hardeman Walker , a pioneer planter in what is now Pemiscot County , argued that the area had more in common with the Mississippi River towns of Cape Girardeau , Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis in Missouri than with its proposed incorporation in the Arkansas Territory . The border was dropped about 50 miles to the 36th parallel north . It follows that parallel west about 30 miles until intersecting

5928-535: The Boy's and Girl's Club of the Bootheel, Knox's Drive In, the Kwik Chek, Caruthersville High School, and Caruthersville Middle School. The city is located in the state's Bootheel , along the western bank of the Mississippi River and within the seismically active New Madrid Seismic Zone . The Caruthersville Bridge is the only bridge crossing the river between Cairo, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee . According to

6032-483: The Caruthersville Public Library. Major resources for the Caruthersville area include commerce supplied by the Mississippi river barge and transport industry as well as agriculture which accounts for 60% of the local economy. Large portions of the cash crops grown in the area, rice, soy beans and cotton are sent through the Mississippi River transportation industry to distribution points along

6136-529: The Great founded and created them with zeal. Jericho and Çatalhöyük , dated to the eighth millennium BC , are among the earliest proto-cities known to archaeologists. However, the Mesopotamian city of Uruk from the mid-fourth millennium BC (ancient Iraq) is considered by most archaeologists to be the first true city, innovating many characteristics for cities to follow, with its name attributed to

6240-487: The Mississippi Valley. One such earthwork remains in this county, rising 270 feet above sea level about four miles southwest of Caruthersville. It stands in contrast to the surrounding delta-like plain. In 1857 John Hardeman Walker and G. W. Bushey laid out and platted the town of Caruthersville. The town was named for Samuel Caruthers , who first represented the area in the US Congress. The City of Caruthersville

6344-463: The Mississippi delta region. There is now a riverboat casino in Caruthersville which has revived the local economy and provided a new source of tourist revenue. The city of Caruthersville has the historic Caruthersville Water Tower which was built between 1902 and 1903. It is one of three in the nation with the appearance of a lighthouse with the other two located in Indiana and Louisiana. This one

SECTION 60

#1732791131500

6448-522: The South, where blacks had been disfranchised around the turn of the century , they were allowed to vote in Missouri and played a political role in this area. In the main, political power was held by white power brokers, especially Democrat J. V. Conran from the 1930s to 1960s. He worked closely with blacks in the region. An ally of Senator and President Harry S. Truman , Conran packed the ballot boxes but did bring efficiency and government services, and helped improve economic and social conditions. During

6552-536: The adaptation made by a lovestruck surveyor to spare the feelings of a widow living 50 miles south of the Missouri border, but unaware of it. At one time, the area was known locally as "Lapland, because it's the place where Missouri laps over into Arkansas". During the American Civil War , a number of battles took place in this area, most notably the Battle of Island No. 10 . Until the early 20th century,

6656-464: The agricultural area is one of the more impoverished parts of Missouri. It does not enjoy the benefits of tourism as do areas of the nearby Ozark Mountains . There is some manufacturing, but the area is primarily agricultural. Because of its alluvial past, the area's rich soil is ideal for growing soybeans , rice and cotton . Some truck crops are grown, most notably various types of melons , especially watermelons . A limited amount of livestock

6760-471: The air, new hills and ridges heaved up out of the ground, and the river itself ran red with brimstone and sulfur. Whole islands in the river disappeared, the forests went under, the tall oaks snapped like twigs, and violent winds tossed bundles of fallen timbers. Deafening thunder rang to the heavens. Animals went crazy; thousands of birds hovered and screamed. The states of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana felt

6864-536: The ancient capital of Ghana, and Maranda , a center located on a trade route between Egypt and Gao. The dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West was connected with profound changes in urban fabric of western Europe. In places where Roman administration quickly weakened urbanism went through a profound crisis, even if it continued to remain an important symbolic factor. In regions like Italy or Spain cities diminished in size but nevertheless continued to play

6968-449: The area from flooding. The soils are predominantly a rich and deep glacial loess , alluvial silt , and a sandy loam , well-suited for agricultural use. But the levees have changed the nature of the rivers, and cumulatively have aggravated flooding problems. They also prevent regular silt deposits, as they have increased the speed of the rivers. The reduction in wetlands has reduced important habitats for many species of migratory birds and

7072-526: The area in 1811 and 1812, known collectively as the New Madrid earthquake . It was reported to have been so powerful as to ring church bells along the East Coast . Subsidence formed Reelfoot Lake on the other side of the Mississippi River in West Tennessee . An eyewitness of the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 noted: Great fissures opened the earth, geysers show mud and rocks hundreds of feet in

7176-464: The athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life of the polis. Rome was the first city that surpassed one million inhabitants. Under the authority of its empire , Rome transformed and founded many cities ( Colonia ), and with them brought its principles of urban architecture, design, and society. In the ancient Americas , early urban traditions developed in the Andes and Mesoamerica . In

7280-402: The average family size was 3.17. 32.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males. The median household income was $ 19,601 and the median family income

7384-407: The benefit of mitigating the urban heat island effect, especially in cities that are in warmer climates. These spaces prevent carbon imbalances, extreme habitat losses, electricity and water consumption, and human health risks. The urban structure generally follows one or more basic patterns: geomorphic, radial, concentric, rectilinear, and curvilinear. The physical environment generally constrains

7488-466: The brunt of this quake, ruining lives and leaving residents in fear of aftershocks and possible larger quakes. The New Madrid Seismic Zone is still active and frequently produces small earthquakes. Scientists have estimated that a strong earthquake is inevitable and is overdue. Residents of the area are aware of the risk, but critics say they are not well prepared for a disaster. William Atkinson, author of The Next New Madrid Earthquake , writes: The area

7592-412: The city. The population density was 1,290.8 per square mile (498.1 per km). There were 2,999 housing units at an average density of 572.7 per square mile (221.0 per km). The racial makeup was 66.08% White , 31.41% African American , 0.13% Native American , 0.53% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.70% from other races , and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.66% of

7696-473: The counties of Dunklin , New Madrid , and Pemiscot . However, the term is locally used to refer to the entire southeastern lowlands of Missouri located within the Mississippi Embayment , which includes parts of Butler , Mississippi , Ripley , Scott , Stoddard and extreme southern portions of Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties. The largest city in the region is Kennett . Until

7800-516: The district was largely covered by wetlands and swamps, but otherwise was a wheat-growing area of family farms. Lumbering was important in the 1890s until the most valuable trees were taken. In 1905, the Little River Drainage District built an elaborate network of ditches, canals, and levees to drain the swamps, as people believed, not understanding about the important function of wetlands in modifying river flooding, that

7904-542: The early Old World cities, Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley civilization in present-day Pakistan , existing from about 2600 BC, was one of the largest, with a population of 50,000 or more and a sophisticated sanitation system . China's planned cities were constructed according to sacred principles to act as celestial microcosms . The Ancient Egyptian cities known physically by archaeologists are not extensive. They include (known by their Arab names) El Lahun ,

8008-671: The efficiency of transportation and the smaller land consumption , dense cities hold the potential to have a smaller ecological footprint per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have some significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands , concentrating pollution , and stressing water supplies and other resources. A city can be distinguished from other human settlements by its relatively great size, but also by its functions and its special symbolic status , which may be conferred by

8112-484: The emergence of an Atlantic trade. However, most towns remained small. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the old Roman city concept was extensively used. Cities were founded in the middle of the newly conquered territories and were bound to several laws regarding administration, finances, and urbanism. The growth of the modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and

8216-542: The emergency management director from a nearby county, as many as 1,500 people were displaced by the storm, which struck the southwest side of the city. As reported by Caruthersville's then-mayor, Diane Sayre, there were no confirmed fatalities within city limits, but electricity and water services were disabled. Several churches, landmarks, and schools were destroyed or severely damaged, including St. John's Episcopal, Jesus Name Tabernacle, Faith Missionary Baptist, Caruthersville Municipal Airport, Caruthersville Cotton Warehouse,

8320-812: The first millennium AD, the Khmer capital of Angkor in Cambodia grew into the most extensive preindustrial settlement in the world by area, covering over 1,000 km and possibly supporting up to one million people. West Africa already had cities before the Common Era , but the consolidation of Trans-Saharan trade in the Middle Ages multiplied the number of cities in the region, as well as making some of them very populous, notably Gao (72,000 inhabitants in 800 AD), Oyo-Ile (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD, and may have reached up to 140,000 inhabitants in

8424-440: The form in which a city is built. If located on a mountainside, urban structures may rely on terraces and winding roads. It may be adapted to its means of subsistence (e.g. agriculture or fishing). And it may be set up for optimal defense given the surrounding landscape. Beyond these "geomorphic" features, cities can develop internal patterns, due to natural growth or to city planning . In a radial structure, main roads converge on

8528-443: The highest use was for agriculture. From 1880 to 1930, the population in the area more than tripled as many workers were brought in. Cotton became the chief commodity crop. Meanwhile, the boll weevil ruined the cotton crop in Arkansas, and planters moved into the Bootheel, bought up the new lands or leased them from insurance companies that had invested in the area, and recruited thousands of black sharecroppers as workers. During

8632-472: The land surface of the Earth. Town siting has varied through history according to natural, technological, economic, and military contexts. Access to water has long been a major factor in city placement and growth, and despite exceptions enabled by the advent of rail transport in the nineteenth century, through the present most of the world's urban population lives near the coast or on a river. Urban areas as

8736-475: The longest continual inhabitation . Cities, characterized by population density , symbolic function, and urban planning , have existed for thousands of years. In the conventional view, civilization and the city were both followed by the development of agriculture , which enabled the production of surplus food and thus a social division of labor (with concomitant social stratification ) and trade . Early cities often featured granaries , sometimes within

8840-497: The multi-millions, have proliferated into the dozens, arising especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Economic globalization fuels the growth of these cities, as new torrents of foreign capital arrange for rapid industrialization, as well as the relocation of major businesses from Europe and North America, attracting immigrants from near and far. A deep gulf divides the rich and poor in these cities, which usually contain

8944-578: The musical group the Kentucky Headhunters, Doug and Ricky Phelps. They received their education at Southland C-9, the consolidated schools of Arbyrd and Cardwell, Missouri . They performed at the Cotton Pickin Festival in the small town of Arbyrd ; a place where they spent much time while growing up. They both performed as Brother Phelps , and then Doug came back and performed with The Kentucky Headhunters . This festival

9048-491: The oldest form of enclosures used in professional wrestling. The earliest known "steel cage matches " of any kind took place on January 9, 1936 in Caruthersville, Missouri, in a card that included two such "chicken wire fence" matches between Lon Chaney and Otto Ludwig, and Joe Dillman vs. Charles Sinkey. These matches took place in a ring surrounded by chicken wire, in order to keep the athletes inside, and prevent any potential interference. In February 1969, construction began on

9152-442: The population. There were 2,454 households, of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

9256-405: The population. There were 2,643 households, of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 21.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and

9360-500: The public as well as forms of public land such as public domain and the commons . Western philosophy since the time of the Greek agora has considered physical public space as the substrate of the symbolic public sphere . Public art adorns (or disfigures) public spaces. Parks and other natural sites within cities provide residents with relief from the hardness and regularity of typical built environments . Urban green spaces are another component of public space that provides

9464-558: The purpose of building, repairing, protecting, and maintaining levees in the district. White violence against African Americans increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as they were pushing them out of the political system and voting across the South. Whites lynched four men in Caruthersville: D. Malone and W.J. Mooneyhon on May 3, 1903; and A.B. Richardson and Benjamin Woods on October 11, 1911. Steel cages are one of

9568-810: The rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. England led the way as London became the capital of a world empire and cities across the country grew in locations strategic for manufacturing . In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the introduction of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, fueling migration from rural to city areas. Some industrialized cities were confronted with health challenges associated with overcrowding , occupational hazards of industry, contaminated water and air, poor sanitation , and communicable diseases such as typhoid and cholera . Factories and slums emerged as regular features of

9672-698: The same location as Tenochtitlan ; while ancient continuously inhabited Pueblos are near modern urban areas in New Mexico , such as Acoma Pueblo near the Albuquerque metropolitan area and Taos Pueblo near Taos ; while others like Lima are located nearby ancient Peruvian sites such as Pachacamac . From 1600 BC, Dhar Tichitt , in the south of present-day Mauritania , presented characteristics suggestive of an incipient form of urbanism. The second place to show urban characteristics in West Africa

9776-480: The silt deposits of the Mississippi created some of the most fertile soil in the world, ideal for agriculture. The areas around the Mississippi are composed of thick regolith that is around 100 metres (330 ft) thick. The Bootheel lies in the flood plain between the Mississippi and St. Francis rivers , so the land is very flat. Since clearing and drainage of wetlands in the early 20th century, it has been predominantly developed for agricultural purposes. Prior to

9880-468: The state is in southwestern Dunklin County along the St. Francis River near Arbyrd , at 230 feet above sea level. The bootheel area is notable for being the epicenter of the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes , some of the largest earthquakes ever felt in the United States. As glaciers receded towards the end of the Ice Age and turned ice into liquid, the Mississippi River grew longer and wider. Over time,

9984-489: The term and has challenged geographers seeking to classify territories according to an urban-rural binary. Metropolitan areas include suburbs and exurbs organized around the needs of commuters , and sometimes edge cities characterized by a degree of economic and political independence. (In the US these are grouped into metropolitan statistical areas for purposes of demography and marketing .) Some cities are now part of

10088-412: The turn of the first millennium BC , encompassed numerous cities extending from Tyre , Cydon , and Byblos to Carthage and Cádiz . In the following centuries, independent city-states of Greece , especially Athens , developed the polis , an association of male landowning citizens who collectively constituted the city. The agora , meaning "gathering place" or "assembly", was the center of

10192-446: The urban landscape. In the second half of the 20th century, deindustrialization (or " economic restructuring ") in the West led to poverty , homelessness , and urban decay in formerly prosperous cities. America's "Steel Belt" became a " Rust Belt " and cities such as Detroit , Michigan, and Gary, Indiana began to shrink , contrary to the global trend of massive urban expansion. Such cities have shifted with varying success into

10296-589: The volume of sewage begins to exceed manageable levels. The local government of cities takes different forms including prominently the municipality (especially in England , in the United States , India , and other British colonies ; legally, the municipal corporation ; municipio in Spain and Portugal , and, along with municipalidad , in most former parts of the Spanish and Portuguese empires) and

10400-523: The world's population lived in cities. The cultural appeal of cities also plays a role in attracting residents. Urbanization rapidly spread across Europe and the Americas and since the 1950s has taken hold in Asia and Africa as well. The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported in 2014 that for the first time, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Latin America

10504-543: Was Dia , in present-day Mali , from 800 BC. Both Dhar Tichitt and Dia were founded by the same people: the Soninke , who would later also found the Ghana Empire . Another ancient site, Jenné-Jeno , in what is today Mali , has been dated to the third century BCE. According to Roderick and Susan McIntosh, Jenné-Jeno did not fit into traditional Western conceptions of urbanity as it lacked monumental architecture and

10608-416: Was $ 23,454. Males had a median income of $ 25,821 and females $ 17,434. The per capita income was $ 12,034. About 28.1% of families and 35.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 50.3% of those under age 18 and 23.4% of those age 65 or over. Caruthersville 18 School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Caruthersville High School. The town has a lending library,

10712-402: Was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age was 34.2 years. 29.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup was 46.6% male and 53.4% female. At the 2000 census, there were 6,760 people, 2,643 households and 1,723 families living in

10816-574: Was incorporated on May 18, 1874. The first few decades of the town's growth can be documented through Sanborn maps , which recorded building ownership, materials, and use. In 1893, Missouri's General Assembly created the Saint Francis Levee District to construct protection for that part of the Saint Francis River basin lying within the counties of Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot. This act authorized taxes for

#499500