Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Encyclopedia
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat
of Jefferson County
, Arkansas
, United States
. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock
-North Little Rock
-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area
. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 52,693, ranking it as the seventh most populous city in the state. According to the 2007 US Census Estimate, Pine Bluff now has a population of 50,667
The city is situated in the southeast section of the state in the Arkansas Delta
with the Arkansas Timberlands
region to its immediate west. Its topography is largely flat with wide expanses of farmland surrounding it. Pine Bluff is home to a number of creeks, streams, bayous (Bayou Bartholomew
is the longest bayou in the world and is the second most diverse stream in the United States), and larger bodies of water such as Lake Saracen, Lake Langhofer (Slack Water Harbor) and the Arkansas River
.
, soybean
s, cattle
, rice
, poultry
, timber
and catfish
. Principal industries in the area are engaged in processing cotton; production of cottonseed oil
, paper and wood products; the manufacture of wire products; poultry processing; the manufacture of electric transformers; and metal fabrication. It is the large number of paper mills in the area that gives Pine Bluff its, at times, distinctive odor, a feature known prominently among Arkansans.
Major area employers include Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Simmons First National Corp., Tyson Foods
, Evergreen Packaging, the Pine Bluff Arsenal
and Union Pacific Railroad
.
are in the "Pine Bluff Complex" in Pine Bluff. The headquarters of the Arkansas Correctional School
system are within the Pine Bluff Complex.
The Arkansas Department of Community Corrections Southeast Arkansas Community Corrections Center is in Pine Bluff.
In 1972 the City of Pine Bluff and the "Fifty for the Future," a business leader group, donated 80 acres (32.4 ha) of land to ADC; the parcel became the Pine Bluff Complex.
murals depicting the history of Pine Bluff, the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Historical Museum, Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Railroad Museum.
Recreational opportunities in Pine Bluff range from water sports and some of the best bass
fishing in the state on the Arkansas River to golf or tennis. As host to 30-35 bass tournaments each year, Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Regional Park has earned Pine Bluff the nickname of "Bass Capital of the World". A hunting and fishing exhibit features dioramas of outdoor activities and collections of hunting, fishing and conservation memorabilia in the Governor Mike Huckabee
Delta Rivers Nature Center at Regional Park and the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame at the Pine Bluff Convention Center both of which will draw thousands to the area each year.
Pine Bluff has a full complement of educational facilities. The Pine Bluff School District includes elementary magnet schools to meet special interests in the fields of math, science, foreign language, communications, and fine and performing arts. Watson Chapel School District
d Dollarway School District also serve the city as well as a number of private schools. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
(UAPB) is the second oldest public educational institution in the state of Arkansas, and the oldest with a black heritage. It maintains one of the nation's few aquaculture research programs and the only one in the state of Arkansas. It also houses the University Museum and Cultural Center dedicated to preserving the history of UAPB and the Arkansas Delta
. The newly accredited Southeast Arkansas College
features technical career programs as well as a 2-year college curriculum.
The Main Library of the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System contains an extensive genealogy collection, including the online obituary index of the Pine Bluff Commercial, Arkansas census records, and many county and city records for much of southeast Arkansas. In addition to downtown Pine Bluff's main library, PBJCLS branch libraries can also be found in the city's Watson Chapel area, as well as in White Hall
, Redfield
and Altheimer
.
, formerly part of US 65, connects Little Rock
to southeast Pine Bluff. Interstates 30
and 40
can be accessed in approximately 40 minutes from any point in the city.
U.S. Highways include 63, 65, 79, 270, and 425; Arkansas State Highways include 15, 81, 54, 190, and 365.
, with a slackwater harbor, Pine Bluff is accessible by water via the Port of Pine Bluff, the anchor of the city's Harbor Industrial District.
, Adams Field, some 40 minutes driving time from Pine Bluff via Interstate 530
and interstate connectors. This airport is served by American Airlines
, Continental Airlines
, Delta Air Lines
, Frontier Airlines
, Southwest Airlines
, United Airlines
and US Airways
.
Pine Bluff's municipal airport
, Grider Field
(PBF), is located four miles southeast of the city. The airport serves as home base for corporate and general aviation
aircraft. Charter, air ambulance
and cargo airline
services are also available.
The city-owned Pine Bluff Transit operates six routes on a 12-hour/day, weekday basis, to various points including government, medical, educational and shopping centers. Two of the buses have professional-quality murals advertising the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
; 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 the historical Arkansas River channel (the former is man made and the latter is a natural oxbow). 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 Delta and the Arkansas Timberlands
.
A series of levees and dams surrounds 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
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 46.8 square miles (121.2 km²), of which 45.6 square miles (118.1 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (2.65%) is water.
of 2000, there were 55,085 people, 19,956 households, and 13,350 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,207.6 people per square mile (466.3/km²). There were 22,484 housing units at an average density of 492.9 per square mile (190.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.85% Black
or African American
, 32.30% White
, 0.17% Native American
, 0.73% Asian
, 0.04% Pacific Islander
, 0.19% from other races
, and 0.72% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were Latino
of any race.
There were 19,956 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples
living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. There are 843 unmarried partner households: 734 heterosexual, 34 same-sex male, and 75 same-sex female. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,247, and the median income for a family was $34,362. Males had a median income of $30,766 versus $21,009 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,637. About 20.6% of families and 25.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.0% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.
ranked Pine Bluff as the most dangerous metropolitan area in the U.S.
Also, in 2009, Pine Bluff was included on the Forbes
list of America's ten most impoverished cities.
, 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 was the fastest-declining Arkansas MSA from 2000-2007. 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 785,024 people in the 2000 U.S. census. The 2009 census estimate was 862,520.
Suburbs of Pine Bluff include
Altheimer
,
Dollarway,
Moscow
,
Packingtown,
Pinebergen
,
Redfield
,
University Park,
Watson Chapel
, and
White Hall
.
.
had been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples
of various cultures. They used the river for transportation like settlers after them, and for fishing. By the time of encounter with Europeans, the historical Quapaw
were the chief people in the area, having migrated from the Ohio River
valley centuries before.
The city of Pine Bluff was founded by Europeans 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 fur trader and trapper of French
and Quapaw
ancestry, settled on this bluff in 1819.
After the Quapaws 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, November 2, 1829 and began functioning as a county April 19, 1830.
At the August 13, 1832 county election, the pine bluff 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 facilities aided in the growth of Pine Bluff during the 1840s and 1850s.
The Arkansas River's proximity to Pine Bluff allowed the small town to serve as a port for travel and shipping. Steamships provided the primary mode of transport from areas as far away as New Orleans. From 1832-1838, Pine Bluff was situated on the Trail of Tears
waterway as thousands of Native Americans were forcibly removed from the southeast United States to the state of Oklahoma
. From 1832-1858, Pine Bluff also served as a waterway route for hundreds of Indian Seminoles and Black Seminoles
who were forcibly removed, including the legendary John Horse who landed in the city on the Steamboat Swan in 1842.
with wealth built on the commodity crop of cotton cultivated on large plantations by enslaved
African-American laborers. 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. However, when Union
forces occupied Little Rock
, a group of Pine Bluff citizens requested Major General Frederick Steele
send Union forces to occupy their town for their protection from bands of confederate bushwhackers who were terrorizing them. Union troops under Colonel
Powell Clayton
arrived September 17, 1863 and stayed until the war was over. Confederate General J.S. Marmaduke tried to expel the Union Army in the Battle of Pine Bluff
October 25, 1863, but was repulsed by a combined effort of soldiers and former slaves. In the final year of the war, the first African American regiment in the civil war to experience combat, the 1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry (Colored)
(composed primarily of runaway slaves from Arkansas and Missouri) was dispatched to guard Pine Bluff and was eventually mustered out there.
Because of Union forces, Pine Bluff attracted many refugee
s and freedmen after the Emancipation Proclamation
. In fact, Pine Bluff was the site of one of several Union contraband camps around the country which provided for the protection of runaway slaves and refugees behind Confederate lines. After the war, freed slaves worked with the American Missionary Society to start schools for the education of blacks who had been prohibited from learning to read and write by southern laws. By September 1872, Professor Joseph C. Corbin opened 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
.
As with many small and large towns in the South
, Pine Bluff suffered lasting effects of defeat in the aftermath of the war. Recovery was slow at first. Construction of railroads improved access to markets, and with increased production of cotton as more plantation
s were reactivated, 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
for lighting purposes.
As personal fortunes increased from 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. Blacks were elected to county offices and the state legislature for the first time in history as the heavily black Pine Bluff/Jefferson County electorate stretched its political muscles. Several black business were also opened including banks, bars, barbershops, and other establishments. Conversely, in 1866, after an altercation in a refugee camp in Pine Bluff between blacks and whites, 24 black men, women and children were found hanging from trees in one of the worst mass lynchings in U.S. history. With the lynchings of Armistad Johnson in 1889, John Kelly and Gulbert Harris in 1892 in front of the Jefferson County
Courthouse, along with the formal adoption of Jim Crow laws by the state of Arkansas, the atmosphere was grim toward the end of the 19th century for many African Americans . This made the appeal of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner
's "Back to Africa" movement attractive to numbers of local African American residents who purchased tickets and/or sought information on emigration (Arkansas had 650 emigrants depart to the African nation of Liberia more than any other state in the United States. The majority of these emigrants came from Jefferson, St. Francis, Pulaski, Pope, and Conway counties.).
According to historian James Leslie, Pine Bluff entered its “Golden Era” in the 1880s, with cotton production and river commerce helping the city draw industries and public institutions to 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 was also fueled by the growing lumber industry in the region.
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 the city and formed what is now Lake Langhofer (Slackwater Harbor). 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.
Development in the city's business district grew rapidly. The Masonic Lodge, built by and for African Americans, was the tallest building in Pine Bluff when completed in 1904. The Hotel Pines, constructed in 1912 with its intricate marble interior and classical design, was considered one of Arkansas' showcase hotels. The 1,500 seat Saenger Theater, built in 1924, was one of the largest such facilities in the state and maintained the state's largest pipe organ. Meanwhile, 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 of these 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 failure of crops, adding to the problems of economic conditions of 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 of importance to Jefferson County, too. After the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1933, he launched many government programs to benefit local communities. Through 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 1936-1938, the WPA through the Federal Writers Project initiated an effort whose results distinguished Pine Bluff. Writers were sent throughout the south to capture oral histories of former slaves still alive at the time. When the project was complete, Arkansas residents had contributed more oral slave histories (approximately 780) than any other state even though Arkansas' slave population was generally smaller than most southern states. Further, African American citizens of Pine Bluff/Jefferson County contributed more oral interviews of Arkansas born slaves than any other city/county in the state. Hence, the city is one of the nation's valuable storehouses of oral slave narrative material.
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 the Army Air Corps. At one time 275 aircraft were being used to train 758 pilots. All totaled 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
December 2, 1941, on 15000 acres (60.7 km²) 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 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 December 1953, KATV television station, then based in Pine Bluff, transmitted Arkansas' first VHF broadcast (though the first UHF broadcast had occurred a few months prior). 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 a young minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed students at the commencement program for Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
).
and Stokely Carmichael
to help bring about change over the period. Voter registration drives increasing black political participation, selective buying campaigns, student protests, and a desire among white local business leaders to avoid indelible negative media portrayals of the community eventually led to reforms in public accommodations.
Major construction projects during the 1960s and 1970s were Jefferson Hospital (now Jefferson Regional Medical Center), the dams of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System on the Arkansas River, 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. One project that had a tremendous effect on trade patterns in the city was the construction of Jefferson Square, the community's first major shopping center.
The 1980s and 1990s brought 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. Sadly, 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 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 multi-million dollar Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas was completed downtown in 1994. Pine Bluff Downtown Development began an on-going historical mural
project, which has attracted increased tourism
.
In 2000, construction was completed on the 43000 square feet (3,994.8 m²) Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center. Carl Redus became the first African American mayor in the city's history in 2005 a.ref> 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 recently opened on Lake Saracen in downtown Pine Bluff.
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
-North Little Rock
North Little Rock, Arkansas
the city was 62.55% White, 33.98% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races...
-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area
Combined Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 52,693, ranking it as the seventh most populous city in the state. According to the 2007 US Census Estimate, Pine Bluff now has a population of 50,667
The city is situated in the southeast section of the state in the Arkansas Delta
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
with the Arkansas Timberlands
Arkansas Timberlands
The Arkansas Timberlands, sometimes also called Southern Arkansas or Southwestern Arkansas, is a region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It can be roughly defined by Sevier County in the northwest, a portion of Jefferson County in the northeast, Ashley County in the southeast, and Miller County in...
region to its immediate west. Its topography is largely flat with wide expanses of farmland surrounding it. Pine Bluff is home to a number of creeks, streams, bayous (Bayou Bartholomew
Bayou Bartholomew
Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world meandering approximately between two states. It contains over 100 aquatic species making it the second most diverse stream in North America. Known for its excellent bream, catfish, and crappie fishing, portions of the bayou are considered some of...
is the longest bayou in the world and is the second most diverse stream in the United States), and larger bodies of water such as Lake Saracen, Lake Langhofer (Slack Water Harbor) and the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
.
Economy
Agriculture is a mainstay in Pine Bluff. Jefferson County is located in the heart of a rich agricultural area in the Arkansas River Basin. The leading products include cottonCotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
s, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
, timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
and catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
. Principal industries in the area are engaged in processing cotton; production of cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil is a cooking oil extracted from the seeds of cotton plant of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum...
, paper and wood products; the manufacture of wire products; poultry processing; the manufacture of electric transformers; and metal fabrication. It is the large number of paper mills in the area that gives Pine Bluff its, at times, distinctive odor, a feature known prominently among Arkansans.
Major area employers include Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Simmons First National Corp., Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. is a multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork only behind Brazilian JBS S.A., and annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of...
, Evergreen Packaging, the Pine Bluff Arsenal
Pine Bluff Arsenal
The Pine Bluff Arsenal is a US Army installation located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, just northwest of the city of Pine Bluff. PBA is one of the six Army installations in the United States that store chemical weapons...
and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
.
Government and infrastructure
The Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) operates its headquarters in Pine Bluff. The ADC headquarters moved to the Pine Bluff Complex in 1979. The administrative Annex East is on Harding Avenue in Pine Bluff, south of city hall. The Diagnostic Unit, the Pine Bluff Unit, and the Randall L. Williams Correctional FacilityRandall L. Williams Correctional Facility
The Randall L. Williams Correctional Facility is a prison of the Arkansas Department of Correction located in the "Pine Bluff Complex" in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The 106 bed facility sits on a plot of land....
are in the "Pine Bluff Complex" in Pine Bluff. The headquarters of the Arkansas Correctional School
Arkansas Correctional School
Arkansas Correctional School is the education system serving the Arkansas Department of Correction prisons and the Arkansas Department of Community Correction facilities. The district opened in 1973 when Act 279 was passed by the Arkansas General Assembly...
system are within the Pine Bluff Complex.
The Arkansas Department of Community Corrections Southeast Arkansas Community Corrections Center is in Pine Bluff.
In 1972 the City of Pine Bluff and the "Fifty for the Future," a business leader group, donated 80 acres (32.4 ha) of land to ADC; the parcel became the Pine Bluff Complex.
Culture and education
Pine Bluff retains a healthy, diverse cultural climate. 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 downtownDowntown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
murals depicting the history of Pine Bluff, the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Historical Museum, Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Railroad Museum.
Recreational opportunities in Pine Bluff range from water sports and some of the best bass
Bass (fish)
Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...
fishing in the state on the Arkansas River to golf or tennis. As host to 30-35 bass tournaments each year, Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Regional Park has earned Pine Bluff the nickname of "Bass Capital of the World". A hunting and fishing exhibit features dioramas of outdoor activities and collections of hunting, fishing and conservation memorabilia in the Governor Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
Delta Rivers Nature Center at Regional Park and the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame at the Pine Bluff Convention Center both of which will draw thousands to the area each year.
Pine Bluff has a full complement of educational facilities. The Pine Bluff School District includes elementary magnet schools to meet special interests in the fields of math, science, foreign language, communications, and fine and performing arts. Watson Chapel School District
Watson Chapel School District
Watson Chapel School District is a public school district serving the communities of Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel within Jefferson County, Arkansas...
d Dollarway School District also serve the city as well as a number of private schools. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
(UAPB) is the second oldest public educational institution in the state of Arkansas, and the oldest with a black heritage. It maintains one of the nation's few aquaculture research programs and the only one in the state of Arkansas. It also houses the University Museum and Cultural Center dedicated to preserving the history of UAPB and the Arkansas Delta
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
. The newly accredited Southeast Arkansas College
Southeast Arkansas College
Southeast Arkansas College is a two year associate degree granting college in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Students and others in the area often refer to it as SEARK. Formerly a vocational-technical school, the state legislature designated the school as a college in 1991 with the name Pines Technical...
features technical career programs as well as a 2-year college curriculum.
The Main Library of the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System contains an extensive genealogy collection, including the online obituary index of the Pine Bluff Commercial, Arkansas census records, and many county and city records for much of southeast Arkansas. In addition to downtown Pine Bluff's main library, PBJCLS branch libraries can also be found in the city's Watson Chapel area, as well as in White Hall
White Hall, Arkansas
White Hall is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 4,732 in the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area and like Pine Bluff, adjoins the Pine Bluff Arsenal...
, Redfield
Redfield, Arkansas
Redfield is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It was incorporated by the County Court on October 18, 1898. The city population was 1,157 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and Altheimer
Altheimer, Arkansas
Altheimer is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 1,192 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the 'Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area'.-Geography:Altheimer is located at ....
.
Festivals and Community Celebrations
- Harbor City Gumbo Festival
- Smoke on the Water Barbecue Festival
- Enchanted Land of Lights and Legends
- UAPB Homecoming
- Boo on the Bayou Halloween Celebration
Colleges and universities
- University of Arkansas at Pine BluffUniversity of Arkansas at Pine BluffThe University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
- Southeast Arkansas CollegeSoutheast Arkansas CollegeSoutheast Arkansas College is a two year associate degree granting college in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Students and others in the area often refer to it as SEARK. Formerly a vocational-technical school, the state legislature designated the school as a college in 1991 with the name Pines Technical...
Public schools
- Pine Bluff School DistrictPine Bluff School DistrictPine Bluff School District is one of the largest school districts in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area of Arkansas. The district has 10 schools with over 3,800 students and 500 employees.-Elementary schools:* Southwood Elementary...
- Dollarway School DistrictDollarway School DistrictThe Dollarway School District is one of four public school districts in the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. With over 2,000 students and 123 instructors, the district currently has five active school campuses.-Elementary schools:* James Matthews Elementary...
- White Hall School DistrictWhite Hall School DistrictWhite Hall School District is a public school district serving the communities of White Hall and Redfield within Jefferson County, Arkansas. White Hall School District employs approximately 400 faculty and staff to provide educational programs for students ranging from kindergarten through twelve...
- Watson Chapel School DistrictWatson Chapel School DistrictWatson Chapel School District is a public school district serving the communities of Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel within Jefferson County, Arkansas...
Private schools
- St. Joseph Catholic High School (Pine Bluff, Arkansas)St. Joseph Catholic High School (Pine Bluff, Arkansas)St. Joseph Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It is the newest high school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock.-Background:...
and Jr. High - Trinity Episcopal School
- Ridgway Christian School
- Maranatha Baptist Academy
- Pine Bluff Christian Academy
Highway
Pine Bluff is served by a network of five U.S. and five state highways radiating from the city. Interstate 530Interstate 530
Interstate 530 in Arkansas is a spur route of the Interstate highway system, traveling from Little Rock at the junction of Interstate 30 and Interstate 440 in the northwest, to Pine Bluff in the southeast.-Route description:...
, formerly part of US 65, connects Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
to southeast Pine Bluff. Interstates 30
Interstate 30
Interstate 30 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. I-30 runs from Interstate 20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, Texas, and Texarkana, Texas, to Interstate 40 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The route parallels U.S. Route 67 except for the portion west of...
and 40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
can be accessed in approximately 40 minutes from any point in the city.
U.S. Highways include 63, 65, 79, 270, and 425; Arkansas State Highways include 15, 81, 54, 190, and 365.
Water
Located on the navigable Arkansas RiverArkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
, with a slackwater harbor, Pine Bluff is accessible by water via the Port of Pine Bluff, the anchor of the city's Harbor Industrial District.
Air
Daily commercial air freight and passenger services, along with scheduled commuter flights, are available at the Little Rock National AirportLittle Rock National Airport
Little Rock National Airport , officially Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field, is located 2 miles east of the central business district of Little Rock, a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. It is Arkansas' largest commercial service airport, serving more than 2.1 million...
, Adams Field, some 40 minutes driving time from Pine Bluff via Interstate 530
Interstate 530
Interstate 530 in Arkansas is a spur route of the Interstate highway system, traveling from Little Rock at the junction of Interstate 30 and Interstate 440 in the northwest, to Pine Bluff in the southeast.-Route description:...
and interstate connectors. This airport is served by American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
, Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
, Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
, Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
, United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
and US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
.
Pine Bluff's municipal airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, Grider Field
Grider Field
Grider Field is a city-owned, public-use airport located four nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Pine Bluff, a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States...
(PBF), is located four miles southeast of the city. The airport serves as home base for corporate and general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
aircraft. Charter, air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
and cargo airline
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
services are also available.
Buses
Royal Coach Lines offers local access to intrastate, regional, and charter services.The city-owned Pine Bluff Transit operates six routes on a 12-hour/day, weekday basis, to various points including government, medical, educational and shopping centers. Two of the buses have professional-quality murals advertising the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Railroad
Current freight rail service to and through Pine Bluff is provided by the Union Pacific Railroad.Geography
Pine Bluff is on the Arkansas RiverArkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
; the community was named for a bluff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
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 the historical Arkansas River channel (the former is man made and the latter is a natural oxbow). Consequently, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Mississippi Alluvial Plain
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lies parts of seven states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois....
(or the Arkansas Delta
Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
) runs well into the city with Bayou Bartholomew
Bayou Bartholomew
Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world meandering approximately between two states. It contains over 100 aquatic species making it the second most diverse stream in North America. Known for its excellent bream, catfish, and crappie fishing, portions of the bayou are considered some of...
picking up the western border as a line of demarcation between the Delta and the Arkansas Timberlands
Arkansas Timberlands
The Arkansas Timberlands, sometimes also called Southern Arkansas or Southwestern Arkansas, is a region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It can be roughly defined by Sevier County in the northwest, a portion of Jefferson County in the northeast, Ashley County in the southeast, and Miller County in...
.
A series of levees and dams surrounds 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
Venice, Louisiana
Venice is an unincorporated community in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is 130 km south of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi River at . It is the last community down the Mississippi accessible by automobile, and is the southern terminus of the Great River Road...
,Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 46.8 square miles (121.2 km²), of which 45.6 square miles (118.1 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (2.65%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 55,085 people, 19,956 households, and 13,350 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,207.6 people per square mile (466.3/km²). There were 22,484 housing units at an average density of 492.9 per square mile (190.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.85% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 32.30% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.17% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.73% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.04% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.19% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.72% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 19,956 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. There are 843 unmarried partner households: 734 heterosexual, 34 same-sex male, and 75 same-sex female. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,247, and the median income for a family was $34,362. Males had a median income of $30,766 versus $21,009 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,637. About 20.6% of families and 25.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.0% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.
Crime and poverty
In 2009, Morgan QuitnoMorgan Quitno
Morgan Quitno Press is a research and publishing company based in Lawrence, Kansas, which compiles books with statistics of crime rates, health care, education, and other categories, ranking cities and states in the United States...
ranked Pine Bluff as the most dangerous metropolitan area in the U.S.
Also, in 2009, Pine Bluff was included on the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of America's ten most impoverished cities.
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Pine Bluff is the largest city in a three-county MSA as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau including JeffersonJefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
, Cleveland, and Lincoln
Lincoln County, Arkansas
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas and is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population is 14,134. The county seat is Star City. Lincoln County is Arkansas's 65th county, formed on March 28, 1871, and named for Abraham 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 was the fastest-declining Arkansas MSA from 2000-2007. 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 785,024 people in the 2000 U.S. census. The 2009 census estimate was 862,520.
Suburbs of Pine Bluff include
Altheimer
Altheimer, Arkansas
Altheimer is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 1,192 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the 'Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area'.-Geography:Altheimer is located at ....
,
Dollarway,
Moscow
Moscow, Arkansas
Moscow is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Moscow is located near the junction of U.S. Route 65 and Arkansas Highway 199 east-southeast of Pine Bluff. Moscow has a post office with ZIP code 71659....
,
Packingtown,
Pinebergen
Pinebergen
Pinebergen is a small unincorporated community in southern Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas. It lies at an elevation of 236 feet ....
,
Redfield
Redfield, Arkansas
Redfield is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It was incorporated by the County Court on October 18, 1898. The city population was 1,157 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
,
University Park,
Watson Chapel
Watson Chapel
Watson Chapel is a developing community of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It is located on the west side of the city. Interstate 530 passes through Watson Chapel.It is home to the Watson Chapel School District....
, and
White Hall
White Hall, Arkansas
White Hall is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 4,732 in the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area and like Pine Bluff, adjoins the Pine Bluff Arsenal...
.
History
Pine Bluff is home to over three-quarters of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, ArkansasNational Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Arkansas
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Arkansas.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States...
.
Pine Bluff's beginnings
The area along the Arkansas RiverArkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
had been inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of various cultures. They used the river for transportation like settlers after them, and for fishing. By the time of encounter with Europeans, the historical Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...
were the chief people in the area, having migrated from the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
valley centuries before.
The city of Pine Bluff was founded by Europeans 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 fur trader and trapper of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...
ancestry, settled on this bluff in 1819.
After the Quapaws signed a treaty with the United States in 1824 relinquishing their title to all the lands which they claimed in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, 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
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
was established by the Territorial Legislature, November 2, 1829 and began functioning as a county April 19, 1830.
At the August 13, 1832 county election, the pine bluff 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 facilities aided in the growth of Pine Bluff during the 1840s and 1850s.
The Arkansas River's proximity to Pine Bluff allowed the small town to serve as a port for travel and shipping. Steamships provided the primary mode of transport from areas as far away as New Orleans. From 1832-1838, Pine Bluff was situated on the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
waterway as thousands of Native Americans were forcibly removed from the southeast United States to the state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. From 1832-1858, Pine Bluff also served as a waterway route for hundreds of Indian Seminoles and Black Seminoles
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles is a term used by modern historians for the descendants of free blacks and some runaway slaves , mostly Gullahs who escaped from coastal South Carolina and Georgia rice plantations into the Spanish Florida wilderness beginning as early as the late 17th century...
who were forcibly removed, including the legendary John Horse who landed in the city on the Steamboat Swan in 1842.
Civil War & Reconstruction (1861-1900)
Pine Bluff was prospering by the outbreak of the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
with wealth built on the commodity crop of cotton cultivated on large plantations by enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
African-American laborers. The city had one of the largest slave populations in the state by 1860 and Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
was second in cotton production in the state. However, when Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
forces occupied Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, a group of Pine Bluff citizens requested Major General Frederick Steele
Frederick Steele
Frederick Steele was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his successful campaign to retake much of secessionist Arkansas for the Union cause.-Early life:Steele was born in Delhi, New...
send Union forces to occupy their town for their protection from bands of confederate bushwhackers who were terrorizing them. Union troops under Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Powell Clayton
Powell Clayton
Powell Clayton was an engineer, a Union Army general in the American Civil War, the first Reconstruction Governor of the State of Arkansas, and Ambassador to Mexico during the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.-Early life:Clayton was born in Bethel, Pennsylvania, to John...
arrived September 17, 1863 and stayed until the war was over. Confederate General J.S. Marmaduke tried to expel the Union Army in the Battle of Pine Bluff
Battle of Pine Bluff
The Battle of Pine Bluff was fought on October 25, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces in Arkansas. Union troops under Colonel Powell Clayton, having taken Pine Bluff on September 17, remained in the town with the 5th Kansas Cavalry and the 1st Indiana Cavalry. The Confederates, led by John...
October 25, 1863, but was repulsed by a combined effort of soldiers and former slaves. In the final year of the war, the first African American regiment in the civil war to experience combat, the 1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry (Colored)
1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry (Colored)
The 1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...
(composed primarily of runaway slaves from Arkansas and Missouri) was dispatched to guard Pine Bluff and was eventually mustered out there.
Because of Union forces, Pine Bluff attracted many refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s and freedmen after the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
. In fact, Pine Bluff was the site of one of several Union contraband camps around the country which provided for the protection of runaway slaves and refugees behind Confederate lines. After the war, freed slaves worked with the American Missionary Society to start schools for the education of blacks who had been prohibited from learning to read and write by southern laws. By September 1872, Professor Joseph C. Corbin opened 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
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
.
As with many small and large towns in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, Pine Bluff suffered lasting effects of defeat in the aftermath of the war. Recovery was slow at first. Construction of railroads improved access to markets, and with increased production of cotton as more plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s were reactivated, 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
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
for lighting purposes.
As personal fortunes increased from the 1870s onward, community leaders constructed large Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
-style homes west of Main Street. Meanwhile, the reconstruction era of the 1870s brought a stark mix of progress and challenge for African Americans. Blacks were elected to county offices and the state legislature for the first time in history as the heavily black Pine Bluff/Jefferson County electorate stretched its political muscles. Several black business were also opened including banks, bars, barbershops, and other establishments. Conversely, in 1866, after an altercation in a refugee camp in Pine Bluff between blacks and whites, 24 black men, women and children were found hanging from trees in one of the worst mass lynchings in U.S. history. With the lynchings of Armistad Johnson in 1889, John Kelly and Gulbert Harris in 1892 in front of the Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 77,435 at the 2010 United States Census. It is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County's county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff...
Courthouse, along with the formal adoption of Jim Crow laws by the state of Arkansas, the atmosphere was grim toward the end of the 19th century for many African Americans . This made the appeal of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner
Henry McNeal Turner
Henry McNeal Turner was a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.-Personal Biography:Turner was born "free" in Newberry Courthouse, South Carolina . Instead of being sold into slavery, his family sent him to live with a Quaker family. The law at the time of his birth prevented a black...
's "Back to Africa" movement attractive to numbers of local African American residents who purchased tickets and/or sought information on emigration (Arkansas had 650 emigrants depart to the African nation of Liberia more than any other state in the United States. The majority of these emigrants came from Jefferson, St. Francis, Pulaski, Pope, and Conway counties.).
According to historian James Leslie, Pine Bluff entered its “Golden Era” in the 1880s, with cotton production and river commerce helping the city draw industries and public institutions to 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 was also fueled by the growing lumber industry in the region.
Early 1900s and the Great Depression (1900-1941)
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 EngineersUnited States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
built a levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
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 the city and formed what is now Lake Langhofer (Slackwater Harbor). 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.
Development in the city's business district grew rapidly. The Masonic Lodge, built by and for African Americans, was the tallest building in Pine Bluff when completed in 1904. The Hotel Pines, constructed in 1912 with its intricate marble interior and classical design, was considered one of Arkansas' showcase hotels. The 1,500 seat Saenger Theater, built in 1924, was one of the largest such facilities in the state and maintained the state's largest pipe organ. Meanwhile, when Dollarway Road
Dollarway Road
Dollarway Road is a road near Redfield, Arkansas that was built in 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The boundary of the NRHP-listed area was increased in 1999.-History:...
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 of these was the Great Flood of 1927, a 100-year flood
100-year flood
A one-hundred-year flood is calculated to be the level of flood water expected to be equaled or exceeded every 100 years on average. The 100-year flood is more accurately referred to as the 1% annual exceedance probability flood, since it is a flood that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded...
. Due to levee breaks, most of northern and southeastern Jefferson County were flooded. The severe drought of 1930 caused failure of crops, adding to the problems of economic conditions of 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 of importance to Jefferson County, too. After the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
in 1933, he launched many government programs to benefit local communities. Through the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(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
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
in 1936 to serve as a sales outlet for farmers' livestock.
From 1936-1938, the WPA through the Federal Writers Project initiated an effort whose results distinguished Pine Bluff. Writers were sent throughout the south to capture oral histories of former slaves still alive at the time. When the project was complete, Arkansas residents had contributed more oral slave histories (approximately 780) than any other state even though Arkansas' slave population was generally smaller than most southern states. Further, African American citizens of Pine Bluff/Jefferson County contributed more oral interviews of Arkansas born slaves than any other city/county in the state. Hence, the city is one of the nation's valuable storehouses of oral slave narrative material.
World War II & economic diversification (1941-1960)
World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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 the Army Air Corps. At one time 275 aircraft were being used to train 758 pilots. All totaled 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
Pine Bluff Arsenal
The Pine Bluff Arsenal is a US Army installation located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, just northwest of the city of Pine Bluff. PBA is one of the six Army installations in the United States that store chemical weapons...
December 2, 1941, on 15000 acres (60.7 km²) 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 the industrial base helped the economy remain steady in the late 1940s. Defense spending in association with the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
was a stabilizing factor after 1950.
In December 1953, KATV television station, then based in Pine Bluff, transmitted Arkansas' first VHF broadcast (though the first UHF broadcast had occurred a few months prior). In 1957, Richard Anderson announced the construction of a kraft paper
Kraft paper
Kraft paper or kraft is paper or paperboard produced from chemical pulp produced in the kraft process.Pulp produced by the kraft process is stronger than that made by other pulping processes; acidic sulfite processes degrade cellulose more, leading to weaker fibers, and mechanical pulping...
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 a young minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., addressed students at the commencement program for Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
).
The modern era (1960-present)
The decade of the 1960s brought with it boycotts and demonstrations demanding an end to segregated public facilities. Violence directed at such social protests resulted in the fire bombing of one church and the shootings of civil rights demonstrators. Local leaders worked tirelessly, at times, enlisting the support of national figures such as Dick GregoryDick Gregory
Richard Claxton "Dick" Gregory is an American comedian, social activist, social critic, writer, and entrepreneur....
and Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...
to help bring about change over the period. Voter registration drives increasing black political participation, selective buying campaigns, student protests, and a desire among white local business leaders to avoid indelible negative media portrayals of the community eventually led to reforms in public accommodations.
Major construction projects during the 1960s and 1970s were Jefferson Hospital (now Jefferson Regional Medical Center), the dams of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System on the Arkansas River, 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. One project that had a tremendous effect on trade patterns in the city was the construction of Jefferson Square, the community's first major shopping center.
The 1980s and 1990s brought a number of significant construction projects. Benny Scallion Park was created, named for the alderman who brought a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
to the Pine Bluff Civic Center. Sadly, 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 the 1990s was completion of a southern bypass, designated part of Interstate 530
Interstate 530
Interstate 530 in Arkansas is a spur route of the Interstate highway system, traveling from Little Rock at the junction of Interstate 30 and Interstate 440 in the northwest, to Pine Bluff in the southeast.-Route description:...
. 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 multi-million dollar Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas was completed downtown in 1994. Pine Bluff Downtown Development began an on-going historical mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
project, which has attracted increased tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
In 2000, construction was completed on the 43000 square feet (3,994.8 m²) Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center. Carl Redus became the first African American mayor in the city's history in 2005 a.ref> The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a historically black university located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1873, it is the oldest HBCU and the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas . UAPB is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
recently opened a $3 million business incubator in downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Pine Bluff. Also, a new $2 million farmers market pavilion was recently opened on Lake Saracen in downtown Pine Bluff.
Notable people
- Broncho Billy AndersonBroncho Billy AndersonGilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who is best known as the first star of the Western film genre.-Early life:...
, actor, Honorary Oscar Award winner - John BarfieldJohn BarfieldJohn David Barfield is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during three seasons at the Major League level for the Texas Rangers. He was drafted by the Rangers in the 11th round of the 1986 amateur draft...
, Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player - Mark BradleyMark BradleyMark Anthony Bradley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
, National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player - Clifton R. BreckinridgeClifton R. BreckinridgeClifton Rodes Breckinridge was a Democratic alderman, congressman, diplomat, businessman and veteran of the Confederate Army and Navy. He was a member of the prominent Breckinridge family, the son of Vice President of the United States and Confederate General John C. Breckinridge and the...
, U.S. RepresentativeUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Arkansas - Big Bill BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
, Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominated blues musician, member-Blues Hall of FameBlues Hall of FameThe Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker... - Jim Ed BrownJim Ed BrownJim Ed Brown is an American country music singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius through 1981...
, Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominated country music artist - The BrownsThe BrownsThe Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also...
, Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominated country music trio - Bill CarrBill CarrWilliam Arthur Carr was an American athlete, a double Olympic champion in 1932.Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Carr studied at Mercersburg Academy and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson...
, 1932 Olympic double gold medalist - Harvey C. CouchHarvey C. CouchHarvey Crowley Couch, was an Arkansas entrepreneur who rose from very modest beginnings to control a regional utility and railroad empire...
, Founder, Arkansas Power & Light - Joe Barry CarrollJoe Barry CarrollJoe Barry Carroll is a retired American professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the NBA.-1974–1976:...
, National Basketball Association player - Monte ColemanMonte ColemanMonte Leon Coleman is a former American football linebacker who played for sixteen seasons with the Washington Redskins from 1979 to 1994...
, National Football League player - Junior CollinsJunior CollinsAddison Collins, Jr. was an American French horn player.A member of Glenn Miller's Army Air Force band, and Claude Thornhill's orchestra, he went on to play with Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan and others....
, Jazz Musician - CeDell DavisCeDell DavisCeDell Davis is an American blues guitarist and singer.Davis is most notable for his distinctive style of guitar playing. Davis plays guitar using a table knife in his fretting hand in a manner similar to slide guitar, resulting in a welter of metal-stress harmonic transients and a singular tonal...
, blues musician, nominee, National Heritage Award - Buddy Deane Show, national television program of a local popular radio deejay
- Jeff DonaldsonJeff Donaldson (artist)Jeff Donaldson was a pioneering visual artist whose work helped define the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Pine Bluff, AR in 1932 receiving a BA in Studio Art from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1954. Donaldson went on to complete his MFA at the Institute of...
, visual artist - Rodney Shelton FossRodney Shelton FossEnsign Rodney Shelton Foss was a United States Navy officer during World War II. He was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while stationed at Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station.-Early life:...
, possibly the first American killed in World War II - Charles Greene, Olympic gold medalist
- Leon GriffithLeon GriffithLouis Leon Griffith was a master plumber from North Little Rock, who was the Arkansas Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1976, losing the election to Democratic incumbent Governor David H. Pryor....
, 1976 Republican gubernatorial nominee - George W. HaleyGeorge W. HaleyGeorge W. Haley is a distinguished lawyer, diplomat, and policy expert having served under seven presidential administrations. He is also one of two younger brothers of Pulitzer prize winner Alex Haley....
, U.S. ambassador - Isaac Scott HathawayIsaac Scott HathawayIsaac Scott Hathaway was an African American artist who worked in different genres of art, including ceramics and sculpture.Isaac Scott Hathaway was born in 1872, although some resources say 1874, in Lexington, Kentucky. He was born to the Reverend Hathaway and his wife and was the youngest of...
, visual artist - Chester HimesChester HimesChester Bomar Himes was an American writer. His works include If He Hollers Let Him Go and a series of Harlem Detective novels...
, novelist - George Howard, Jr.George Howard, Jr.George Howard, Jr. was an American World War II veteran, attorney, and federal judge. He was the first African-American U.S. District Court judge in Arkansas. He served first on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, and was then transferred to the United States...
, federal judge - Mike HuckabeeMike HuckabeeMichael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, politician - Bobby HuttonBobby HuttonBobby James Hutton, or "Lil' Bobby," was the treasurer and first recruit to join the Black Panther Party. He was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1950. When he was three years old his family moved to California after they were visited by nightriders intimidating and threatening blacks in the area...
, founding member of the Black Panther Party - Torii HunterTorii HunterTorii Kedar Hunter is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.Hunter has taken away many home runs throughout his 13-year major league career by "climbing the fence" in the outfield. He has won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards as an outfielder.Hunter resides...
, Major League Baseball player - Don HutsonDon HutsonDonald Montgomery Hutson was the first star wide receiver in National Football League history. He is considered by many to have been the first modern receiver....
, National Football League player - George G.M. James, author
- Joseph JarmanJoseph JarmanJoseph Jarman , is a jazz musician, composer and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He is perhaps best known as one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Early life:Jarman grew up in Chicago, Illinois...
, jazz saxophonist - Charles Johnson, Negro LeagueNegro league baseballThe Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
baseball player - David JohnsonDavid Johnson (tight end)David Johnson is an American football Fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League...
, NFL player - Kenneth Johnson, television producer
- E. Fay Jones, architect and designer
- J. Lomax JordanJ. Lomax JordanJ. Lomax Jordan, Jr., known as Max Jordan , is a Lafayette attorney who was a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1992–2000...
, Louisiana State SenatorLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators... - Carl KiddCarl KiddCarl Edward Kidd is a former American football linebacker and defensive back who played in both the National Football League and the Canadian Football League.-High school and college years:...
, football player in the CanadianCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
and National Football Leagues - Lafayette LeverLafayette LeverLafayette "Fat" Lever is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is currently the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings....
, NBA player - Henry Jackson LewisHenry Jackson LewisHenry Jackson Lewis was the first African-American political cartoonist. He was born a slave, probably in 1837 or 1838 in Yalobusha County, Mississippi. In 1872 he settled in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The oldest known cartoons by H. J. Lewis were published in 1872. At some time during the early 1880s...
, political cartoonist - Kay LinakerKay LinakerMary Katherine Linaker, known professionally as "Kay Linaker", "Kate Phillips", and "Kay Linaker-Phillips" was an American actress and screenwriter, who appeared in many B movies during the 1930s and 1940s, most notably Kitty Foyle...
, Hollywood actress - Tom Lister, Jr.Tom Lister, Jr.-World Wrestling Federation :Lister appeared in the 1989 wrestling movie No Holds Barred, which was financed by the World Wrestling Federation and starred Hulk Hogan. Lister's role was Zeus, a brutal monster heel....
, actor - Dallas LongDallas LongDallas Crutcher Long is an American track and field athlete, who was four time world record holder in the shot put. He was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.Long attended the University of Southern California...
, Olympic gold medalist - Martell MallettMartell MallettMartell Mallett is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the BC Lions as a street free agent in 2009...
, football player in the Canadian and National Football Leagues - Carl McVoyCarl McVoyCarl McVoy was an American pianist.McVoy was cousin to the younger Jerry Lee Lewis. He had been to New York with his father, who had been a minister there. McVoy got hooked on boogie-woogie while in New York, which he subsequently brought back to Pine Bluff, Arkansas...
, Rock'n Roll pianist - Peter McGeheePeter McGeheePeter Gregory McGehee was an American-born Canadian novelist, dramatist and short story writer.Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Frank Thomas and Julia Ann May McGehee, Peter moved with his family to Little Rock when he was six. He was the second of three children...
, novelist - Dwight McKissicDwight McKissicWilliam Dwight McKissic, Sr. or Dwight McKissic is a prominent African-American Southern Baptist minister from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He is the current senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. McKissic is a controversial leader of the Bapticostal movement, marked by a...
, Southern Baptist minister - Constance MerrittConstance MerrittConstance Merritt is an American poet. Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1966, and educated at the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock. She is also the winner of the Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry and a finalist for the William Carlos Williams Book Award...
, poet - Martha Mitchell, second wife of U.S. attorney general John Newton MitchellJohn N. MitchellJohn Newton Mitchell was the Attorney General of the United States from 1969 to 1972 under President Richard Nixon...
- Mary Matilyn MouserMary Matilyn MouserMary Matilyn Mouser is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lacey Fleming on the ABC series Body of Proof.-Life and career:...
, actress - Bitsy Mullins, jazz trumpeteer
- Smokie NorfulSmokie NorfulRev. W.R. "Smokie" Norful, Jr. is an American gospel singer and pianist, best known for his 2002 album, I Need You Now and his 2004 release, Nothing Without You, which won a Grammy at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 2004.-Early life:Norful, a minister who...
, Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning gospel singer - Freeman Harrison OwensFreeman Harrison OwensFreeman Harrison Owens , born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the only child of Charles H. Owens and Christabel Harrison. He attended Pine Bluff High School in Pine Bluff, but quit in his senior year to work at a local movie theatre as a projectionist.Owens constructed his own 35mm movie camera at the age...
, inventor - Ben PearsonBen Pearson (bowyer)Ben Pearson was an archer, bowyer, and fletcher from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He is most notable for starting the first company in the United states to mass-produce archery sets and equipment. In 1972, he was among the first inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame.-History:Ben Pearson made his first...
, bowyer - Edward J. PerkinsEdward J. PerkinsEdward Joseph Perkins is a former American diplomat. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, South Africa, and the United Nations 1992-1993. He was later Director of the US State Department's Diplomatic Corps....
, U.S. ambassador - A. T. PowersA. T. PowersAustin Toliver Powers, known as A. T. Powers , was a leading figure from the 1930s to the 1970s in the theologically conservative American Baptist Association, based in Texarkana, Texas...
, Missionary Baptist clergyClergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
man - Elizabeth RiceElizabeth RiceElizabeth Ellen Rice is an American actress.-Awards and nominations:She won the Grand Jury Award in the 2008 Solstice Film Festival for Best Actress for From Within .-Filmography:...
, actress - Andree Layton RoafAndree Layton RoafAndree Layton Roaf was an Arkansas lawyer and jurist. She was the first African-American woman to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court, and is the mother of former NFL offensive lineman Willie Roaf.-Early life:...
, justice of the Arkansas Supreme CourtArkansas Supreme CourtThe Arkansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1925, it has consisted of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, and at times Special Justices are called upon in the absence of a regular justice... - Willie RoafWillie RoafWilliam Layton Roaf, sometimes nicknamed "Nasty" is a former American football offensive tackle.-Football career:...
, NFL player - Bobby RushBobby Rush (musician)Bobby Rush is an American blues and R&B musician, composer and singer. His style incorporates elements of soul blues, rap and funk.-Biography:...
, Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominated blues musician, member-Blues Hall of Fame - Peggy ShannonPeggy ShannonPeggy Shannon was an American actress. She appeared on the stage and screen of the 1920s and 1930s.-Career:Shannon was born Winona Sammon in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1907...
, actress - William SeawellWilliam SeawellWilliam Thomas Seawell was a Brigadier General in the United States Air Force and former head of Pan Am....
, brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force - Les SpannLes SpannLeslie Spann, Jr. was an American jazz guitarist and flautist.Spann was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States....
, jazz musician - Katherine StinsonKatherine StinsonKatherine Stinson was an early female flier. She was the fourth woman in the United States to obtain a pilot's certificate, which she earned on July 24, 1912, at the age of 21 while residing in Pine Bluff, AR...
, aviator - James L. StoneJames L. StoneJames Lamar Stone is a retired United States Army officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Korean War...
, Medal of Honor recipient - Francis Cecil SumnerFrancis Cecil SumnerFrancis Cecil Sumner was an influential psychologist who is commonly referred to as the "Father of Black Psychology". In 1920, Sumner became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. degree in psychology.-Early life and family:Francis Cecil Sumner was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on December...
, psychologist - Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning Jazz artist - Sue Bailey Thurman, author, lecturer, and historian
- Casey Bill WeldonCasey Bill WeldonCasey Bill Weldon was an American country blues musician, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas who later lived and worked in Chicago was known as one of the great early pioneers of the slide guitar. He played upbeat, hokum and country blues tunes, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Memphis Jug...
, blues musician - J. Mayo WilliamsJ. Mayo WilliamsJay Mayo "Ink" Williams was a pioneering African-American producer of recorded blues music. Ink Williams earned his nickname by his ability to get the signatures of talented African-American musicians on recording contracts...
, blues/gospel/jazz producer, member-Blues Hall of FameBlues Hall of FameThe Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker... - Krista WhiteKrista WhiteKrista White is an American fashion model, best known as the winner of Cycle 14 of America's Next Top Model. As part of her win, she is now signed with Wilhelmina Models, has a $100,000 contract with Covergirl, and will be on the cover of Seventeen Magazine.- Early life :Krista White was born in...
, winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 14
Government & civic groups
- Official website of the City of Pine Bluff
- The Alliance, official website serving the Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson County Industrial Foundation, and Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Port Authority
- Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System
- Junior League of Pine Bluff
Media
- Pine Bluff Commercial, the local newspaper serving Pine Bluff and southeast Arkansas
- Pine Bluff.com, community information site compiled by the Pine Bluff Commercial
Community events
- Pine Bluff Festival Association, producers of city festivals such as the 4 July Celebration and The Enchanted Land of Lights & Legends, Arkansas's Largest Drive-thru Christmas Display.
- Pine Bluff Film Festival, supporting restoration efforts at the city's Saenger Theater through exhibition of silent movies and other classic film works
History
- History of Pine Bluff's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)
- Arkansas Railroad Museum website