Augusta, Arkansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Augusta, Arkansas
City
Woodruff County courthouse in Augusta
Location of Augusta in Woodruff County, Arkansas.
Augusta, Arkansas Location in Arkansas
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Woodruff
Founded	1848
Incorporated	July 9, 1860
Named for	Founder Thomas Hough's niece, Augusta Cald
Area
• Total	2.09 sq mi (5.41 km2)
• Land	2.07 sq mi (5.37 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation	217 ft (66 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,998
• Density	964.29/sq mi (372.25/km2)
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−05:00 (CDT)
ZIP Code	72006
Area code(s)	870
FIPS code	05-02740
GNIS feature ID	2403137

Augusta is a city in Woodruff County, Arkansas, United States, located on the east bank of the White River. The population was 1,998 as of the 2020 Census. The city is the county seat of Woodruff County.

History

The location was a natural riverboat landing spot on the navigable White River. After the chaos of the American Civil War and its immediate aftermath, the town entered its greatest period of prosperity in the 1870’s as a year-round riverboat transport point for a wide variety of goods, serving vessels from as far away as Memphis and New Orleans. Thus, when railroads began entering the county in the late 1800’s, the good people of Augusta opted out of the apparently-unnecessary innovation and allowed their town to be bypassed by the tracks. When river traffic began to decline, the citizens realized their mistake, and decided to build their own railroad to link to the national rail grid. What became the Augusta Railroad lasted from 1886 to 1958 or 1959.

Geography

Augusta is located approximately 75 miles (121 km) northeast of Little Rock and 81 miles (130 km) west of Memphis, Tennessee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all land.

Region

Augusta is located in the Arkansas Delta, one of the six primary geographic regions of Arkansas. The Arkansas Delta is a subregion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, which is a flat area consisting of rich, fertile sediment deposits from the Mississippi River between Louisiana and Illinois. Prior to settlement, Woodruff County was densely forested, with bayous, sloughs, and swamps crossing the land. Seeking to take advantage of the area's fertile soils, settlers cleared the land to better suit row crops.

County

Although some swampland has been preserved in the Cache River NWR and some former farmland has undergone reforestation, the majority (56 percent) of the county remains in cultivation.

The nearby Cache River NWR, owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, is a preservation area maintaining the original features of the area. Stretching approximately 90 miles (140 km) across adjacent counties, the NWR is listed as a Ramsar wetlands of international importance, and serves as a key wintering area for ducks and the largest contiguous tract of bottomland hardwood forest in North America.

Climate

Woodruff County has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Woodruff County experiences all four seasons, although summers can be extremely hot and humid and winters are mild with little snow. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of 93 °F (33.9 °C) and an average low of 70 °F (21.1 °C). Temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) are not uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of 49 °F (9.4 °C) and an average low of 27 °F (−2.8 °C). The highest temperature was 112 °F (44.4 °C), recorded in 1936 and 1972. The lowest temperature recorded was −11 °F (−24 °C), on January 8, 1942.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 1,998 people, 966 households, and 597 families residing in the city.

Education

Augusta High School

Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Augusta School District, which leads to graduation from Augusta High School.

Transportation

Augusta sits on US Route 64 and State Highway 33.

Woodruff County Airport (FAA LID: M60) is a county-owned public-use airport four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) east of the central business district of Augusta.

Historic sites

Multiple sites in and around Augusta are on the National Register of Historic Places including the Augusta Commercial Historic District (roughly bounded by 1st, Main, 2nd, and Pearl streets), the Augusta Electrical Generating Plant, the Augusta Memorial Park Historic Section, the Augusta Presbyterian Church, the Ferguson House, the George Washington Carver High School Home Economics Building, Gregory House, the Jess Norman Post 166 American Legion Hut, the Mathis-Hyde House, and the Woodruff County Courthouse.

Other local attractions

Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, headquartered in Augusta but located just south of town, protects wetland habitats for migrating waterfowl together with other wildlife, and includes some of the most intact and least disturbed bottomland hardwood forests in the Mississippi Valley region.

The 64 Speedway was a popular short track motor racing location which closed in 2007.

Notable people

• Michael John Gray, Democratic former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives (2015-2019) and state Democratic Party chairman
• Jimmy Gunn, professional football player.
• John D. Price, U.S. Navy admiral who held five aviation world records.
• Billy Ray Smith, Sr., professional football player; father of Billy Ray Smith, Jr.

See also

In Spanish: Augusta (Arkansas) para niños