| Vilonia, Arkansas | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Name1: | Arkansas |
| Subdivision Name2: | Faulkner |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Preston Scroggins |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1938 |
| Established Date1: | 1879 |
| Area Total Km2: | 20.66 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 7.98 |
| Area Land Km2: | 20.65 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 7.97 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.01 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Elevation Ft: | 312 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 4288 |
| Population Metro: | 748,031 |
| Population Density Km2: | 207.66 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 537.82 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Coordinates: | 35.0772°N -92.2125°W |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 72173 |
| Area Code: | 501 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 05-71960 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2405655 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
Vilonia is a city in Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 4,288 in 2020 and estimated at 4,429 in 2021,[2] up from 3,815 at the 2010 census[3] and 2,106 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Central Arkansas region.
Vilonia was first settled in 1861 as Vilsonia. By 1870, a cottin gin, a gristmill, general stores and a drug store were in Vilsonia. In 1873, an error caused the town name to be changed to Vilonia.
In 1874, the first schoolhouse was built on what is now U.S. Highway 64. In 1879, the first post office was established. In 1887, a blacksmith shop was opened. In 1905, the Arkansas Holiness College was built in Vilonia. Sometime in the 1930s, the college closed and was burned. On August 23, 1938, Vilonia was incorporated under mayor Thomas H. Hill.[4]
See main article: 2011 Super Outbreak. A small portion of the town was destroyed by a tornado on the evening of April 25, 2011. The devastated area was a mobile home park. The tornado was confirmed and rated high-end EF2 by National Weather Service survey crews. Four people were killed in the Vilonia area.[5]
See main article: Tornado outbreak of April 27–30, 2014. On April 27, 2014, in the late evening hours, a violent EF4 tornado passed through Mayflower and continued into Vilonia shortly before 7:50 p.m. (0050 UTC). 16 people were killed, several homes in one subdivision were swept clean off their foundations, a 15-ton fertilizer tank was thrown ¾ of a mile and several businesses were damaged or destroyed, including the new Vilonia Intermediate School, which had been set to open in the fall. The NWS office in Little Rock said that if it had occurred before the Enhanced Fujita scale was implemented in 2007, it would more than likely have been rated F5. There was consideration for upgrading the tornado to EF5 status, but due to the low quality of construction, the EF4 rating stands.[6]
On May 7, 2014, President Barack Obama visited the city to view the damage and reconstruction efforts. With him were Governor Mike Beebe (D), Senator Mark Pryor (D) and Representative Tim Griffin (R).[7]
Vilonia is located in southeastern Faulkner County at (35.077299, −92.212617).[8] It is bypassed to the south by which leads west to Conway, the county seat, and east to Beebe.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Vilonia has a total area of 18.4km2, of which 0.01km2, or 0.05%, is water.[3]
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 3,694 | 86.15% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 53 | 1.24% | |
| Native American | 32 | 0.75% | |
| Asian | 25 | 0.58% | |
| Pacific Islander | 2 | 0.05% | |
| Other/Mixed | 299 | 6.97% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 183 | 4.27% |
At the 2000 census,[9] there were 2,106 people, 726 households and 612 families residing in the town. The population density was 327.6sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 785 housing units at an average density of 122.1sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial make-up was 98.39% White, 0.14% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.19% from other races and 0.57% from two or more races. 1.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 726 households, of which 51.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 15.7% were non-families. 13.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.16.
33.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64 and 7.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median household income was $45,147 and the median family income was $50,184. Males had a median income of $33,684 and females $26,563. The per capita income was $17,495. About 6.1% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.
Public education of early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is primarily provided by the Vilonia School District, which leads to graduation from Vilonia High School.
Nearby secondary educational institutions include the Arkansas State University: Beebe Campus, Central Baptist College, Hendrix College, and University of Central Arkansas in Conway.