The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas . Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox , says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep South."
82-711: Pine Bluff may refer to: Places [ edit ] Pine Bluff, Arkansas , the county seat of Jefferson County Pine Bluff Arsenal , a military installation in Arkansas Pine Bluff, West Virginia , an unincorporated community in Harrison County, West Virginia Pine Bluff, Wisconsin , an unincorporated community in Dane County, Wisconsin Education [ edit ] Pine Bluff High School ,
164-432: A boardwalk through a swamp, marks the starting point of the survey. During the antebellum era, American settlers used enslaved African Americans as laborers to drain swamps and clear forests along the river to cultivate the rich alluvial plain. They began to develop cotton plantations, which produced the chief commodity crop of the region. After achieving territorial status in 1819, Arkansas reneged on an 1818 treaty with
246-570: A cash-poor economy. These two measures caused sharp declines in the number of African-American and white voters; by 1895 no African-American members were left in the General Assembly. The Republican Party was hollowed out, and the farmer-labor alliance collapsed. Most blacks were kept off the rolls and out of electoral politics for more than six decades, until after Congressional passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , although
328-461: A central role in the lives of residents. African-American gospel music's roots are deep in the Delta. Unlike the blues, which has been historically dominated by men throughout the Delta, women established a pioneering role in gospel music. From the quartet traditions that dominate south Arkansas, to the classic and contemporary solo artists who have found national prominence in the east, gospel music in
410-667: A comprehensive public high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas Events [ edit ] Battle of Pine Bluff , a battle of the American Civil War Sports [ edit ] Pine Bluff Judges , a minor league baseball team from Pine Bluff, Arkansas Other uses [ edit ] Pine Bluff (horse) , an American Thoroughbred racehorse See also [ edit ] All pages with titles beginning with Pine Bluff All pages with titles containing Pine Bluff Pinebluff, North Carolina ,
492-518: A concerted effort in the 1940s increased voter registration. Social tensions rose in the area after World War I, as black veterans pushed for better conditions. Unlike other mass riots of Red Summer 1919, when whites attacked blacks in numerous northern and midwestern cities because of labor and social competition, the Elaine Race Riot , now known as the "Elaine Massacre", was the result of rural forces. It occurred near Elaine, Arkansas in
574-420: A cost of $ 350 million, it will employ over 1,100 full-time staff. The Pine Bluff Convention Center is one of the state's largest meeting facilities. The Arts and Science Center features theatrical performances and workshops for children and adults. Pine Bluff did also boast the only Band Museum in the country but it has closed. Other areas of interest include downtown murals depicting the history of Pine Bluff,
656-541: A fertile backdrop of juke joints, clubs and dance halls which have so completely nurtured this music. Many of the nation's blues pioneers were either born in the Arkansas Delta or lived in the region. Today the region hosts several blues events throughout the year, culminating in the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Fest. The festival attracts an average of about 85,000 people per day over its three-day run; it
738-431: A household in the city was $ 30,415, and the median income for a family was $ 39,993. Males had a median income of $ 38,333 versus $ 28,936 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 17,334. About 24.3% of families and 30.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 45.6% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over. Pine Bluff had 23 homicides in 2021. Pine Bluff had 23 murders in 2020 -
820-586: A mob of hundreds rapidly escalated to thousands of whites vehemently demanding execution, despite Kelly's pleas of innocence and lack of trial. The angry mob eventually forced over his custody from an Officer adamantly attempting to deliver the suspect to the jail house, then the crowd watched enthusiastically as he was hung and riddled with bullets. That same year the state adopted a poll tax amendment that disenfranchised many African-American and poor white voters. The Election Law of 1891 had already made voting more difficult and also caused voter rolls to decrease. With
902-543: A narrow band of rolling hills rising 250 to 500 feet (76 to 152 m) above the flat delta plains. Several towns and cities have been developed along Crowley's Ridge, including Jonesboro . The region's lower western border follows the Arkansas River just outside Little Rock down through Pine Bluff . There the border shifts to Bayou Bartholomew , stretching south to the Arkansas - Louisiana state line. While
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#1732780429809984-488: A new source of revenue for Arkansas Delta farmers, along with poultry production. The Delta has some of the lowest population densities in the American South , sometimes fewer than 1 person per square mile. Slightly more than half the population is African American, reflecting their deep history in the area. Eastern Arkansas has the most cities in the state with majority African-American populations. Urbanization and
1066-549: A number of significant construction projects. Benny Scallion Park was created, named for the alderman who brought a Japanese garden to the Pine Bluff Civic Center. The city has not maintained the garden, but a small plaque remains. In the late 1980s, The Pines, the first large, enclosed shopping center, was constructed on the east side of the city. The mall attracted increased shopping traffic from southeast Arkansas. The most important construction project of
1148-665: A project to collect and publish oral histories of former slaves. Writers were sent throughout the South to interview former slaves, most of whom had been children before the Civil War. When the project was complete, Arkansas residents had contributed more oral slave histories (approximately 780) than any other state, although Arkansas' slave population was less than those of neighboring Deep South states. African-American residents of Pine Bluff/Jefferson County contributed more oral interviews of Arkansas-born slaves than any other city/county in
1230-519: A rate of 56.5 murders per 100,000 people. The national average was 6.5 murders per 100,000 people in 2020. Jefferson County is located in the heart of a rich agricultural area in the Arkansas River Basin. The leading products include cotton , soybeans , cattle , rice , poultry , timber and catfish . Major area employers include Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Simmons First National Corp., Tyson Foods , Evergreen Packaging,
1312-494: A refugee camp, and 24 black men, women and children were found hanging from trees in one of the worst mass lynchings in U.S. history. The rate of lynchings of black males was high across the South during this period of social tensions and white resistance to Reconstruction. Armistad Johnson was lynched in 1889, and John Kelly and Gulbert Harris in 1892 in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse, after
1394-877: A town in Moore County Pine Bluffs, Wyoming , a town in Laramie County Pine Bluffs High School , a comprehensive public high school in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Pine Bluff . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pine_Bluff&oldid=1193306754 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1476-642: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff is the tenth-most populous city in the US state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County . It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock - North Little Rock -Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area . The population of
1558-476: Is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km ) (2.65%) is water. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 41,253 people, and 16,086 households. As of the census of 2010, there were 49,083 people, 18,071 households, and 11,594 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,048.8 inhabitants per square mile (404.9/km ). There were 20,923 housing units at an average density of 447.1 units per square mile (172.6 units/km ). The racial makeup of
1640-491: Is rated in the top 10 music events in the nation by festivals.com. Gospel music , the mother of Delta Blues, is enshrined in the lives and social fabric of residents. Many popular Delta artists in all other genres had their start singing or playing in church choirs and quartets. Given the historic racism and entrenched segregation in the Delta, the African-American church and, by extension, its music, have taken on
1722-785: Is subdivided into five unique sub-regions, including the St. Francis River Basin, Crowley's Ridge , the White River Lowlands , the Grand Prairie , and the Arkansas River Lowlands (also called "the Delta Lowlands"). The underlying impermeable clay layer in the Stuttgart soil series that allowed the region to be a flat grassland plain initially appeared to stunt the region's growth relative to
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#17327804298091804-461: Is the first female African American mayor. She was elected in 2016. Beginning around 2020, Utah based entrepreneur John Fenley, owner of the music streaming service Murfie , began buying properties in Pine Bluff for redevelopment. Pine Bluff is on the Arkansas River ; the community was named for a bluff along that river. Both Lake Pine Bluff and Lake Langhofer are situated within the city limits, as these are bodies of water which are remnants of
1886-607: The 1812 New Madrid earthquake , which was felt throughout the region and taken as a portent. Some Native Americans considered the earthquake to be a sign of punishment for trading with the European settlers. The beginning point of all subsequent surveys of the Louisiana Purchase was placed in the Arkansas Delta near Blackton . In 1993 this site was named a National Historic Landmark and later preserved as Louisiana Purchase State Park . A granite marker, accessible via
1968-648: The Army Air Corps . At one time 275 aircraft were being used to train 758 pilots. Approximately 9,000 pilots had been trained by the time the school closed in October 1944. The Army broke ground for the Pine Bluff Arsenal on December 2, 1941, on 15,000 acres (61 km ) bought north of the city. The arsenal and Grider Field changed Pine Bluff to a more diversified economy with a mixture of industry and agriculture. The addition of small companies to
2050-721: The Great Depression , benefited from the New Deal's Agricultural Adjustment Act , which paid them to leave fields fallow, thereby raising the price of cotton by reducing the supply. The effect was devastating for sharecroppers and tenant farmers. In response, two young Socialists , advised by Norman Thomas , the leader of the Socialist Party , formed the Southern Tenant Farmers Union . They organized racially integrated meetings throughout
2132-707: The Nodena site , Parkin Archaeological State Park , and Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park . French explorers and colonists encountered the historic Quapaw people in this region, who lived along the Arkansas River and its tributaries. The first European settlement in what became the state was the French trading center, Arkansas Post . The post was founded by Henri de Tonti while searching for Robert de La Salle in 1686. The commerce in
2214-599: The Pine Bluff Arsenal and the Union Pacific Railroad . It is the large number of paper mills in the area that give Pine Bluff its, at times, distinctive odor, a feature known prominently among Arkansans. In 2009, Pine Bluff was included on the Forbes list of America's 10 most impoverished cities. Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff was the first purpose-built casino in Arkansas. Completed in 2020 at
2296-480: The U.S. Civil War , numerous Delta counties had majority-black and enslaved populations. As Arkansas was developed later than some other areas of the Deep South, its wealthy planters did not construct as many grand plantation mansions as in other states. The American Civil War ended that antebellum period. The Civil War resulted in destruction to the river levees and other property damage. Expensive investment
2378-607: The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and public works funding, Pine Bluff built new schools and a football stadium, and developed Oakland Park as its first major recreation facility. To encourage diversification in agriculture, the county built a stockyard in 1936 to serve as a sales outlet for farmers' livestock. From 1936 to 1938, the WPA through the Federal Writers Project initiated
2460-734: The 1870s onward, community leaders constructed large Victorian -style homes west of Main Street. Meanwhile, the Reconstruction era of the 1870s brought a stark mix of progress and challenge for African Americans. Most blacks joined the Republican Party, and several were elected in Pine Bluff to county offices and the state legislature for the first time in history. Several black-owned businesses were also opened, including banks, bars, barbershops, and other establishments. But in postwar violence in 1866, an altercation with whites ensued at
2542-679: The 1960s and 1970s, major construction projects in the region included private and public sponsors: Jefferson Hospital (now Jefferson Regional Medical Center), the dams of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System on the Arkansas River (which was diverted from the city to create Lake Langhofer), a Federal building, the Pine Bluff Convention Center complex including The Royal Arkansas Hotel & Suites, Pine Bluff Regional Park, two industrial parks and several large churches. The 1980s and 1990s brought
Pine Bluff - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-448: The 1990s was completion of a southern bypass, designated part of Interstate 530 . In addition, a highway and bridge across Lock and Dam #4 were completed, providing another link between farm areas in northeastern Jefferson County and the transportation system radiating from Pine Bluff. Through a private matching grant, a multimillion-dollar Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas was completed downtown in 1994. In 2000, construction
2706-486: The Arkansas Delta and signed up over 2,000 members. By 1935, the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union had over 10,000 members in 80 chapters. The union mounted a cotton pickers strike in the Delta in 1935, and after months marked by violence, the cotton pickers returned to the fields with considerably higher wages. But the union's power was greatly diminished by 1939. In the 1940s the mechanized cotton picker
2788-1173: The Arkansas Delta shares many geographic similarities with the Mississippi Delta , it is distinguished by its five unique sub-regions: the St. Francis Basin, Crowley's Ridge, the White River Lowlands, the Grand Prairie and the Arkansas River Lowlands (also called "the Delta Lowlands"). Much of the region is within the Mississippi lowland forests ecoregion. The Arkansas Delta includes the entire territories of 15 counties: Arkansas , Chicot , Clay , Craighead , Crittenden , Cross , Desha , Drew , Greene , Lee , Mississippi , Monroe , Phillips , Poinsett , and St. Francis . It also includes portions of another 10 counties: Jackson , Lawrence , Prairie , Randolph , White , Pulaski , Lincoln , Jefferson , Lonoke and Woodruff counties. The Delta
2870-568: The Arkansas Delta, with black slaves forming the majority of the population in these counties. This region developed political interests different from outlying areas where yeomen farmers were concentrated. Many African Americans were brought into the Delta throughout the early-to-mid-19th century through the domestic slave trade, transported from the Upper South. The counties with the largest populations of slaves by 1860 included Phillips (8,941), Chicot (7,512), and Jefferson (7,146). Prior to
2952-692: The Arkansas River, the small town served as a port for travel and shipping. Steamships provided the primary mode of transport, arriving from downriver ports such as New Orleans . From 1832 to 1838, Pine Bluff residents would see Native American migrants on the Trail of Tears waterway who were being forcibly removed by the US Army from the American Southeast to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. From 1832 to 1858, Pine Bluff
3034-473: The August 13, 1832, county election, the pine bluff settlement was chosen as the county seat. The Quorum Court voted to name the village "Pine Bluff Town" on October 16, 1832. Pine Bluff was incorporated January 8, 1839, by the order of County Judge Taylor. At the time, the village had about 50 residents. Improved transportation aided in the growth of Pine Bluff during the 1840s and 1850s. With its proximity to
3116-712: The Branch Normal School of the Arkansas Industrial University, a historically black college . Founded as Arkansas's first black public college, today it is the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff . Pine Bluff and the region suffered lasting effects from defeat, the aftermath of war, and the trauma of slavery and exploitation. Recovery was slow at first. Construction of railroads improved access to markets, and with increased production of cotton as more plantations were reactivated,
3198-406: The Delta has made and continues to make a significant mark on the cultural landscape. The Arkansas Delta's country music roots have depth, with legendary performers coming from the area. While more geographically dispersed throughout the region, these artists represent the very best in country genres, including bluegrass , rockabilly , folk music , and alternative country . This music expresses
3280-530: The Delta, where local planters were trying to discourage the formation of an agricultural union among blacks. White mobs killed an estimated 237 blacks; five whites were killed in the unrest. The area suffered extensively during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 , which put tens of thousands of acres underwater, caused extensive property damage, and left many people homeless. In the mid-1930s, large cotton plantations, under stress because of
3362-510: The Democratic Party consolidating its power in what became a one-party state, the atmosphere was grim toward the end of the 19th century for many African Americans. Democrats imposed legal segregation and other Jim Crow laws. Bishop Henry McNeal Turner 's "Back to Africa" movement attracted numbers of local African-American residents who purchased tickets and/or sought information on emigration. Arkansas had 650 emigrants depart to
Pine Bluff - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-567: The Election Law of 1891, which required secret ballots, and standardized ballots, eliminating many illiterate voters. It also created a centralized election board, providing for consolidation of Democratic political power. Having reduced voter rolls, in 1892 the Democrats passed a poll tax amendment to the constitution, creating another barrier to voter registration for struggling white and black workers alike, many unable to pay such fees in
3526-628: The Native Americans. French trappers often married Quapaw women and lived in their villages, increasing their alliances for trade. Around 1800 United States settlers gradually entered this area. In 1803 the US acquired the territory from France by the Louisiana Purchase . As settlers began to acquire and clear land, they encroached on Quapaw territory and traditional hunting and fishing practices. The two cultures had divergent views of property. Relations deteriorated further after
3608-746: The Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Historical Museum, Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Railroad Museum. Arkansas Delta The region runs along the Mississippi River from Eudora north to Blytheville and as far west as Little Rock . It is part of the Mississippi embayment , itself part of the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain . The flat plain is bisected by Crowley's Ridge ,
3690-668: The Quapaw signed a treaty with the United States in 1824 relinquishing their title to all the lands which they claimed in Arkansas , many other American settlers began to join Bonne on the bluff. In 1829 Thomas Phillips claimed a half section of land where Pine Bluff is located. Jefferson County was established by the Territorial Legislature on November 2, 1829, and began functioning as a county April 19, 1830. At
3772-483: The Quapaw south to Louisiana in 1825-1826. The Quapaw returned to southeast Arkansas by 1830, but were permanently relocated to Oklahoma in 1833 under the Indian Removal Act passed by Congress. High cotton prices encouraged many planters to concentrate on cotton as a commodity crop, and the large plantations were dependent on slave labor . The plantation economy and a slave society were developed in
3854-455: The Quapaw. Territory officials began removing the Quapaw from their fertile homeland in the Arkansas delta. The Quapaw had inhabited lands along the Arkansas River and near its mouth at the Mississippi River for centuries. The invention of the cotton gin had made short-staple cotton profitable, and the Deep South was developed for cotton cultivation. It grew well in fertile delta soils. Settlers took these fertile lands for agriculture and pushed
3936-417: The United States. Large bodies of water include Lake Pine Bluff, Lake Langhofer (Slack Water Harbor), and the Arkansas River . The area along the Arkansas River had been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples of various cultures. They used the river for transportation as did European settlers after them, and for fishing. By the time of encounter with Europeans, the historical Quapaw were
4018-454: The area to provide for flood control and protect from channel shift. One of the world's longest individual levees at 380 miles runs from Pine Bluff to Venice , Louisiana . Pine Bluff is the largest city in a three-county MSA as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau including Jefferson , Cleveland , and Lincoln counties. The Pine Bluff MSA population in 2000 was 107,341 people. The Pine Bluff MSA population in 2007 dropped to 101,484. Pine Bluff
4100-518: The area was initially based on fishing and wild game. The fur trade and lumber later were critical to the economy. Early European-American settlers crossed the Mississippi and settled among the swamps and bayous of east Arkansas. Frontier Arkansas was a rough, lawless place infamous for violence and criminals. Settlers, who were mostly French and Spanish colonists, generally engaged in a mutually beneficial give-and-take trading relationship with
4182-433: The area, making it by 1890 the state's third-largest city. The first telephone system was placed in service March 31, 1883. Wiley Jones , a freedman who achieved wealth by his own business, built the first mule-drawn, street-car line in October 1886. The first light, power and water plant was completed in 1887; a more dependable light and water system was put in place in 1912. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, economic expansion
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#17327804298094264-478: The chief people in the area, having migrated from the Ohio River valley centuries before. The city of Pine Bluff was founded on a high bank of the Arkansas River heavily forested with tall pine trees. The high ground furnished settlers a safe haven from annual flooding. Joseph Bonne, a Métis fur trader and trapper of mixed Quapaw and colonial French ancestry, settled on this bluff in 1819. After
4346-636: The city was 41,253 in the 2020 census . The city is situated in the Southeast section of the Arkansas Delta and straddles the Arkansas Timberlands region to its west. Its topography is flat with wide expanses of farmland, similar to other places in the Delta Lowlands. Pine Bluff has numerous creeks, streams, and bayous, including Bayou Bartholomew , the longest bayou in the world and the second most ecologically diverse stream in
4428-563: The city was 75.6% Black or African American , 21.8% White , 0.2% Native American , 0.63% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.68% from other races , and 1.1% from two or more races. 1.5% of the population were Latino of any race. There were 18,071 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.3% were married couples living together, 27.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who
4510-423: The city's business district grew rapidly. The Masonic Lodge, built by and for the African-American chapter in the city, was the tallest building in Pine Bluff when completed in 1904. The Hotel Pines, constructed in 1912, had an intricate marble interior and classical design, and was considered one of Arkansas' showcase hotels. The 1,500-seat Saenger Theater , built in 1924, was one of the largest such facilities in
4592-501: The city, leaving a small oxbow lake (later expanded into Lake Pine Bluff). River traffic diminished, even as the river was a barrier separating one part of the county from the other. After many years of regional haggling, because the bond issue involved raised taxes, the county built the Free Bridge, which opened in 1914. For the first time, it united the county on a permanent basis. African Americans in Pine Bluff were damaged by
4674-472: The colony of Liberia in West Africa, more than from any other state in the United States. The majority of these emigrants came from the black-majority Jefferson, St. Francis, Pulaski, Pope, and Conway counties. According to historian James Leslie, Pine Bluff entered its "Golden Era" in the 1880s. Cotton production and river commerce helped the city draw industries, public institutions and residents to
4756-512: The commencement program for Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff ). The decade of the 1960s brought heightened activism in the civil rights movement: through boycotts and demonstrations, African Americans demanded an end to segregated public facilities and jobs. Some whites responded with violence, attacking demonstrators, and bombing a black church in Pine Bluff in 1963. Some civil rights demonstrators were shot. Local leaders worked tirelessly, at times enlisting
4838-461: The economy began to recover. The first railroad reached Pine Bluff in December 1873. This same year Pine Bluff's first utility was formed when Pine Bluff Gas Company began furnishing manufactured gas from coke fuel for lighting purposes. The state's economy remained highly dependent on cotton and agriculture, which suffered a decline through the 19th century. As personal fortunes increased from
4920-534: The final year of the Civil War, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment (composed primarily of escaped slaves from Arkansas and Missouri ), was the first regiment of U.S. Colored Troops to see combat. It was dispatched to guard Pine Bluff and eventually mustered out there. Because of the Union forces, Pine Bluff attracted many refugees and freedmen after the Emancipation Proclamation
5002-530: The historical Arkansas River channel. (The former is a man-made expansion of a natural oxbow; the latter was created by diking the old channel after a man-made diversion.) Consequently, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (or the Arkansas Delta ) runs well into the city with Bayou Bartholomew picking up the western border as a line of demarcation between the Arkansas Delta and the Arkansas Timberlands . A series of levees and dams surrounds
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#17327804298095084-488: The industrial base helped the economy remain steady in the late 1940s. Defense spending in association with the Korean War was a stabilizing factor after 1950. In 1957, Richard Anderson announced the construction of a kraft paper mill north of the city. International Paper Co. shortly afterward bought a plant site five miles east of Pine Bluff. Residential developments followed for expected workers. The next year young minister Martin Luther King Jr. addressed students at
5166-446: The long-standing relationship between blues and country. R&B music has also had a presence as an outgrowth of the strong blues and gospel traditions. The East Central Delta area has produced a small number of talented and influential R&B artists. The Arkansas Delta economy is still dominated by agriculture. The main commodity crop is soybeans ; other crops include rice, cotton, and corn. Catfish farming has been developed as
5248-503: The problems of economic conditions during the Great Depression . Pine Bluff residents scrambled to survive. In 1930, two of the larger banks failed. The state's highway construction program in the later 1920s and early 1930s, facilitating trade between Pine Bluff and other communities throughout southeast Arkansas, was critical to Jefferson County, too. After the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, he launched many government programs to benefit local communities. Through
5330-409: The rest of the Delta. But in 1897, William Fuller began cultivating rice , a crop that requires inundation, with great success. Rice cultivation still features prominently in the region's economy and culture today. Riceland Foods , the world's largest rice miller and marketer, is based in Stuttgart, Arkansas on the Grand Prairie. In the earth's history, after the Gulf of Mexico withdrew from what
5412-806: The sharecropping world was already disappearing, and the landscape of today—huge fields, giant machines, battered towns, few people—beginning to emerge." The Arkansas Delta is known for its rich musical heritage. While defined primarily by its deep blues/gospel roots, it is distinguished somewhat from its Mississippi Delta counterpart by more intricately interwoven country music and R&B elements. Arkansas blues musicians have defined every genre of blues from its inception, including ragtime , hokum , country blues , Delta blues , boogie-woogie , jump blues , Chicago blues , and blues-rock . Eastern Arkansas' predominantly African-American population in cities such as Helena , West Memphis , Pine Bluff , Brinkley , Cotton Plant , Forrest City and others has provided
5494-474: The shift to mechanization of farm technology during the past 60 years has sharply reduced jobs in the Delta. People have followed jobs out of the region, leading to a declining tax base. This hampers efforts to support education, infrastructure development, community health and other vital aspects of growth. The region's remaining people suffer from unemployment, extreme poverty, and illiteracy. The Delta Cultural Center in Helena seeks to preserve and interpret
5576-411: The state's disfranchisement in 1891–1892 and exclusion from the political system. But they continued to work for their rights; they joined activists in Little Rock and Hot Springs in a sustained boycott of streetcars, protesting passage in 1903 of the Segregated Streetcar Act, part of a series of Jim Crow laws passed by the white-dominated legislature. They did not achieve change then. Development in
5658-510: The state, but especially in the Delta. The city had one of the largest slave populations in the state by 1860, and Jefferson County, Arkansas was second in cotton production in the state. When Union forces occupied Little Rock , a group of Pine Bluff residents asked commanding Major General Frederick Steele to send Union forces to occupy their town to protect them from bands of Confederate bushwhackers . Union troops under Colonel Powell Clayton arrived September 17, 1863, and stayed until
5740-442: The state. The city served to compile a valuable storehouse of oral slave narrative material. During the 1933 Mississippi River flood, country singer Johnny Cash evacuated to Pine Bluff. World War II brought profound changes to Pine Bluff and its agriculture, timber and railroad-oriented economy. The Army built Grider Field Airport which housed the Pine Bluff School of Aviation and furnished flight training for air cadets for
5822-564: The state; it operated the state's largest pipe organ. When Dollarway Road was completed in 1914, it was the longest continuous stretch of concrete road in the United States. The first radio station (WOK) broadcast in Arkansas occurred in Pine Bluff on February 18, 1922. Two natural disasters had devastating effects on the area's economy. The first was the Great Flood of 1927 , a 100-year flood . Due to levee breaks, most of northern and southeastern Jefferson County were flooded. The severe drought of 1930 caused another failure of crops, adding to
5904-416: The support of national figures such as Dick Gregory and Stokely Carmichael , to help bring about change over the period. Voter registration drives that enabled increased black political participation, selective buying campaigns, student protests, and a desire among white local business leaders to avoid damaging negative media portrayals in the national media led to reforms in public accommodations. During
5986-400: The war was over. On October 25, 1863, Confederate cavalry , led by Brigadier-General John S. Marmaduke , attempted to expel Union occupation forces commanded by Colonel Powell Clayton ; but were defeated by a combined force of federal troops and freedmen (former slaves freed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln 's recent Emancipation Proclamation ) near Jefferson Court-House . In
6068-452: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for
6150-512: Was Missouri, many floods occurred in the Mississippi River Delta, building up alluvial deposits. In some places the deposits measure 100 feet (30 m) deep. The region was occupied by succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Some cultures built major earthwork mounds, with evidence of mound-building cultures dating back more than 12,000 years. These mounds have been preserved in three main locations:
6232-589: Was also a station on the passage of Seminole and Black Seminoles , who were forcibly removed from Florida to the Territory. They included the legendary Black Seminole leader John Horse , who arrived in the city via the steamboat Swan in 1842. Pine Bluff was prospering by the outbreak of the Civil War ; most of its wealth was based on the commodity crop of cotton. This was cultivated on large plantations by hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans throughout
6314-419: Was also fueled by the growing lumber industry in the region. Situated on the Arkansas River, Pine Bluff depended on river traffic and trade. Community leaders were concerned that the main channel would leave the city. The United States Army Corps of Engineers built a levee opposite Pine Bluff to try to keep the river flowing by the city. During a later flood, the main channel of the river moved away from
6396-447: Was completed on the 43,000-square-foot (4,000 m ) Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center. Carl Redus became the first African American mayor in the city's history in 2005. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff recently opened a $ 3 million business incubator in downtown Pine Bluff. Also, a new $ 2 million farmers market pavilion was opened in 2010 on Lake Pine Bluff in downtown Pine Bluff. Shirley Washington
6478-589: Was introduced into regional agriculture. This led to a significant decline in demand for manual labor. During World War II, the defense industry in California and other western locations attracted many African-American workers from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas in a second wave of the Great Migration , resulting in a marked population decrease in the Delta. The lack of jobs continued to cause a decline. Charles Bowden of National Geographic wrote, "By 1970
6560-531: Was issued in early 1863. The Union forces set up a contraband camp there to house the runaway slaves and refugees behind Confederate lines. After the war, freed slaves worked with the American Missionary Association to start schools for the education of blacks, who had been prohibited from learning to read and write by southern laws. Both adults and children eagerly started learning. By September 1872, Professor Joseph C. Corbin opened
6642-439: Was required to repair the levees. The region's continued reliance on agriculture kept wages low, and the cotton market did not recover. Many freedmen stayed in the area, working by sharecropping and tenant farming as a way of life. Like other states of the former Confederacy, the state legislature of Arkansas passed laws to disenfranchise most blacks and many poor whites, in an effort to suppress Republican voting. It passed
6724-614: Was the fastest-declining Arkansas MSA from 2000 to 2007. The Pine Bluff area is also a component of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area which had a population of 902,443 people in the 2014 U.S. census estimate. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 46.8 square miles (121 km ), of which 45.6 square miles (118 km )
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