| Augusta, Arkansas | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Arkansas |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Arkansas. |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Name1: | Arkansas |
| Subdivision Name2: | Woodruff |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1848 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated |
| Established Date2: | July 9, 1860 |
| Named For: | Founder Thomas Hough's niece, Augusta Cald |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 5.41 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.09 |
| Area Land Km2: | 5.37 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.07 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.04 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.02 |
| Elevation Ft: | 217 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1998 |
| Population Density Km2: | 372.25 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 964.29 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | −06:00 |
| Coordinates: | 35.2886°N -91.3692°W |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −05:00 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code |
| Postal Code: | 72006 |
| Area Code: | 870 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 05-02740 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2403137 |
Augusta is a city in Woodruff County, Arkansas, United States, located on the east bank of the White River. The population was 1,998 as of the 2020 Census.[2] The city is the county seat of Woodruff County.[3]
The location was a natural riverboat landing spot on the navigable White River.[4] [5] After the chaos of the American Civil War and its immediate aftermath, the town entered its greatest period of prosperity in the 1870’s as a year-round riverboat transport point for a wide variety of goods, serving vessels from as far away as Memphis and New Orleans.[5] Thus, when railroads began entering the county in the late 1800’s, the good people of Augusta opted out of the apparently-unnecessary innovation and allowed their town to be bypassed by the tracks.[5] When river traffic began to decline, the citizens realized their mistake, and decided to build their own railroad to link to the national rail grid.[5] What became the Augusta Railroad lasted from 1886 to 1958 or 1959.[5] [6] [7]
Augusta is located approximately 75miles northeast of Little Rock and 81miles west of Memphis, Tennessee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2sqmi, all land.
See also: Arkansas Delta. Augusta is located in the Arkansas Delta, one of the six primary geographic regions of Arkansas. The Arkansas Delta is a subregion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, which is a flat area consisting of rich, fertile sediment deposits from the Mississippi River between Louisiana and Illinois. Prior to settlement, Woodruff County was densely forested, with bayous, sloughs, and swamps crossing the land. Seeking to take advantage of the area's fertile soils, settlers cleared the land to better suit row crops.
Although some swampland has been preserved in the Cache River NWR and some former farmland has undergone reforestation, the majority (56 percent) of the county remains in cultivation.
The nearby Cache River NWR, owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, is a preservation area maintaining the original features of the area. Stretching approximately 90miles across adjacent counties, the NWR is listed as a Ramsar wetlands of international importance, and serves as a key wintering area for ducks and the largest contiguous tract of bottomland hardwood forest in North America.
Woodruff County has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Woodruff County experiences all four seasons, although summers can be extremely hot and humid and winters are mild with little snow. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of 93°F and an average low of 70°F. Temperatures above are not uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of 49°F and an average low of 27°F. The highest temperature was 112°F, recorded in 1936 and 1972. The lowest temperature recorded was, on January 8, 1942.
| White | 959 | 48.0% | |
| Black or African American | 908 | 45.45% | |
| Native American | 3 | 0.15% | |
| Asian | 4 | 0.2% | |
| Other/Mixed | 87 | 4.35% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 37 | 1.85% |
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 2,665 people, 1,070 households, and 741 families residing in the city. The population density was 1357.4sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 1,164 housing units at an average density of 592.9sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 55% White, 42.99% Black or African American, 2% Native American, 0.08% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,070 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 22.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,500, and the median income for a family was $24,506. Males had a median income of $24,781 versus $18,176 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,865. About 23.6% of families and 28.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.9% of those under age 18 and 24.9% of those age 65 or over.
Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Augusta School District, which leads to graduation from Augusta High School.
Augusta sits on US Route 64 and State Highway 33.[10]
Woodruff County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) east of the central business district of Augusta.[11]
See main article: National Register of Historic Places listings in Woodruff County, Arkansas. Multiple sites in and around Augusta are on the National Register of Historic Places including the Augusta Commercial Historic District (roughly bounded by 1st, Main, 2nd, and Pearl streets), the Augusta Electrical Generating Plant, the Augusta Memorial Park Historic Section, the Augusta Presbyterian Church, the Ferguson House, the George Washington Carver High School Home Economics Building, Gregory House, the Jess Norman Post 166 American Legion Hut, the Mathis-Hyde House, and the Woodruff County Courthouse.
Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, headquartered in Augusta but located just south of town, protects wetland habitats for migrating waterfowl together with other wildlife, and includes some of the most intact and least disturbed bottomland hardwood forests in the Mississippi Valley region.[12]
The 64 Speedway was a popular short track motor racing location which closed in 2007.[13]