Charleston, Arkansas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charleston, Arkansas
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Franklin County Courthouse, Southern District
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Location of Charleston in Franklin County, Arkansas.
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| Country | United States |
| State | Arkansas |
| County | Franklin |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.94 sq mi (10.21 km2) |
| • Land | 3.83 sq mi (9.93 km2) |
| • Water | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| Elevation | 485 ft (148 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 2,588 |
| • Density | 675.01/sq mi (260.62/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
72933
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| Area code(s) | 479 |
| FIPS code | 05-13300 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404028 |
Charleston is a city in Franklin County, Arkansas, United States, and along with Ozark is one of the two county seats of Franklin County. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,494 at the 2010 census, down from 2,965 in 2000.
Contents
History
Charleston was platted in 1870.
In 1954, Charleston was the first school district in the former Confederate States to implement school integration in response to Brown v. Board of Education. On July 27, 1954, the school board, including President Howard Madison Orsburn, George Hairston, Archibald Schaffer, Herbert Shumate, and Homer Keith, unanimously voted to "disband the Colored School and admit the Colored children into the grade and high school when classes open for the fall semester." Accordingly, when the schools opened on August 23, 11 black children were in attendance alongside 480 whites. School Superintendent Woodie Haynes made an agreement with the local press not to cover the event, and stonewalled any outside reporters that asked questions. The decision to integrate had financial benefits, as the district had been paying a considerable sum to transport black high school students to Fort Smith, and were able to close the old Rosenwald school. During the Civil Rights era, the city was among a few Southern cities which surprisingly showed little resistance to integration. Charleston suffered some discrimination from other schools and the state; many schools refused to play football against them and the band was denied the opportunity to play in some band competitions. In 1961, the first two black students to graduate from Charleston were Barbara (Williams) Dotson and Joe Ferguson.
Geography
Charleston is in southwestern Franklin County, along Arkansas Highway 22, which leads east 9 miles (14 km) to Ratcliff and west 24 miles (39 km) to Fort Smith.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Charleston has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km2), of which 4.3 square miles (11.1 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2), or 2.53%, is water.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 393 | — | |
| 1890 | 370 | −5.9% | |
| 1910 | 576 | — | |
| 1920 | 734 | 27.4% | |
| 1930 | 851 | 15.9% | |
| 1940 | 958 | 12.6% | |
| 1950 | 968 | 1.0% | |
| 1960 | 1,036 | 7.0% | |
| 1970 | 1,497 | 44.5% | |
| 1980 | 1,748 | 16.8% | |
| 1990 | 2,128 | 21.7% | |
| 2000 | 2,965 | 39.3% | |
| 2010 | 2,494 | −15.9% | |
| 2020 | 2,588 | 3.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 2014 Estimate |
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2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 2,280 | 88.1% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 23 | 0.89% |
| Native American | 34 | 1.31% |
| Asian | 9 | 0.35% |
| Other/Mixed | 171 | 6.61% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 71 | 2.74% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,588 people, 997 households, and 639 families residing in the city.
Notable people
- John "Tree" Adams, former American football offensive tackle with the Washington Redskins from 1945-1949
- Betty Bumpers, politician
- Dale Bumpers, governor of Arkansas and U.S. senator from Arkansas
- DeRosey Caroll Cabell, Army General
- Paula Casey, United States Attorney
- Steve Cox, former American football player with the Washington Redskins
- Otis Davis, baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Denny Flynn, bull rider
- Francis Irby Gwaltney, author
- Larry Lester, historian, author, and co-founder of Negro League Baseball Museum
- Gary Stubblefield, farmer, politician
- Jesse G. Vincent, aircraft, marine, and automobile engine designer
Education
Public education
The Charleston School District provides public education from kindergarten through grade 12 from its three facilities, Charleston High School (grades 9–12), Charleston Elementary School (grades K–4), and Charleston Middle School (grades 5–8).
The Public School District of Charleston, Arkansas was the first school district to integrate in the former Confederate States of America. The high school was destroyed in middle 2010 to make way for a larger middle school. There is currently a small monument to the integration in front of Charleston Middle School.
See also
In Spanish: Charleston (Arkansas) para niños
