Rison, Arkansas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rison, Arkansas
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| City of Rison | |
Cleveland County Courthouse in Rison - listed on National Register of Historic Places
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Location in Cleveland County and Arkansas
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 Rison, Arkansas
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Arkansas |
| County | Cleveland |
| Founded | November 1, 1883 |
| Incorporated | August 26, 1890 |
| Founded by | Samuel Fordyce |
| Named for | William Rison |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–Council |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.27 sq mi (8.48 km2) |
| • Land | 3.27 sq mi (8.48 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 230 ft (70 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 967 |
| • Density | 295.27/sq mi (113.99/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code |
71665
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| Area code(s) | 870 |
| FIPS code | 05-59480 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404622 |
Rison, officially known as the City of Rison, is a city in Cleveland County, Arkansas, United States. It is the main town, or county seat, of Cleveland County. In 2020, about 967 people lived there.
Rison is part of the Pine Bluff, Arkansas area. Many people who live in Rison travel to Pine Bluff for work. The biggest employers in Rison are the city and county governments. Other important places to work include the Cleveland County School District and the Cleveland County Nursing Home. Rison also has two banks, eight churches, and about 45 businesses. Some buildings in Rison, like the Rison Cities Service Station and the Rison Texaco Service Station, are listed as important historical places.
Contents
History of Rison
Rison started because of the Texas and St. Louis Railroad. Before Rison existed, the county seat of Dorsey County (which is now Cleveland County) was a town called Toledo. In 1882, the railroad was planned to go through the county.
Samuel W. Fordyce, a former army officer, was in charge of planning the railroad's path. Legend says that the people of Toledo did not want the railroad to go through their town. So, Fordyce decided to build the railroad and a station three miles north, in an area that would become Rison.
Fordyce named the new station after William Rison. William Rison was his old business partner from a bank in Alabama. The first house in this new settlement was built in 1880 by James McMurtrey. In 1883, the railroad company gave land for the new community. Rison officially became a town on August 26, 1890. J. T. Renfrow was its first mayor.
The county's name changed from Dorsey to Cleveland in 1885. This happened because U.S. Senator Stephen Wallace Dorsey became less popular. The name of President Grover Cleveland was chosen instead. In 1891, the Arkansas Supreme Court moved the county seat from Toledo to Rison. This decision came after a big competition between Toledo, Kingsland, and Rison.
The railroad was very important to Rison for many years. People often called their town "Rison on the Cotton Belt." The railroad helped the economy a lot. The town's economy relied on growing cotton and cutting lumber. Later, many different wood products were made, like pulpwood and parts for military supplies.
For a long time, the community's money was split between landowners and sharecroppers. Sharecroppers were farmers who worked on land owned by others and paid with a share of their crops. The timber business and new businesses changed this economic picture. However, some families became rich from the owner/sharecropper system. This system shaped the town's money and social life. Sharecropping was the main way of farming until the land became worn out from growing the same crops too often.
The Cleveland County Courthouse was built in 1911. Two years later, the Phoenix Hotel was built. It became a popular place for people in the town to meet.
Rison had three cotton gins, which are machines that separate cotton fibers from their seeds. The biggest and best gin was owned by Ira E. Moore. He built a new, modern electric gin in 1933. It was the first of its kind in the area.
Many people in Rison owned and ran sawmills. These mills cut logs into lumber. The largest lumber mills were the J. I. Porter Lumber Company and the Clio Lumber Company. The Clio mill started in 1887. In 1909, it owned thousands of acres of timberland. It had many employees working in the mill, in the woods, and on the tramlines that carried logs. Other important mills were the J. L. Sadler Lumber Company and the C. L. Garner & Sons Lumber Company. In the 1950s, the Elrod Lumber Company employed over 300 people, which was about one-third of Rison's population.
During World War II, many Rison residents found jobs related to the war in nearby towns. Some worked at the Pine Bluff Arsenal or the Naval Ammunition Depot in Camden. Others went to California to work in shipbuilding. The Rison high school's football team stopped playing during the war. This was because there were not enough players or coaches, and money was tight.
One Rison citizen, Airman Roy Martin, was shot down over France. He was listed as missing. But the French underground helped him hide from the German forces. When people in Rison heard that Martin was safe, there was a big celebration in the streets and homes.
Geography
Rison is in the northern part of Cleveland County. U.S. Route 79 goes through the west side of the city. This road leads northeast about 25 miles to Pine Bluff. It goes southwest about 17 miles to Fordyce.
The United States Census Bureau says that Rison covers about 6.8 square kilometers (3.27 square miles) of land. There is no water area within the city limits.
Population Information
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 453 | — | |
| 1910 | 725 | 60.0% | |
| 1920 | 685 | −5.5% | |
| 1930 | 876 | 27.9% | |
| 1940 | 1,005 | 14.7% | |
| 1950 | 953 | −5.2% | |
| 1960 | 889 | −6.7% | |
| 1970 | 1,214 | 36.6% | |
| 1980 | 1,325 | 9.1% | |
| 1990 | 1,258 | −5.1% | |
| 2000 | 1,271 | 1.0% | |
| 2010 | 1,344 | 5.7% | |
| 2020 | 967 | −28.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 Census Details
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 540 | 55.84% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 332 | 34.33% |
| Native American | 4 | 0.41% |
| Other/Mixed | 42 | 4.34% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 49 | 5.07% |
In 2020, the city of Rison had 967 people. There were 498 households and 297 families living in the city.
Education
Students in Rison attend public schools run by the Cleveland County School District. The main office for the district is in Rison. Students in high school go to Rison High School. The school district was formed on July 1, 2004. It combined the Rison School District and the Kingsland School District.
Notable People
- Jeremy James, a singer and songwriter who grew up in Rison.
- Tyrell Johnson, a football player who played for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL.
- Jerry Taylor, an Arkansas politician and businessman.
- Buddy Turner, an Arkansas politician.
- Ed Wilson, a member of the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.
See also
In Spanish: Rison (Arkansas) para niños
