Norphlet, Arkansas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norphlet is a city in Union County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 822 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 The Leopard Challenge
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Norphlet is located at 33°19′4″N, 92°39′50″W (33.317824, -92.663985)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 822 people, 311 households, and 236 families residing in the city. The population density was 153.3/km² (398.0/mi²). There were 343 housing units at an average density of 64.0/km² (166.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.77% White, 3.16% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.09% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 311 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,063, and the median income for a family was $45,500. Males had a median income of $38,214 versus $23,864 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,754. About 7.5% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Norphlet was called Jessie in the 1880’s. The town was platted and the post office created in 1891. It was originally centered around James Murphy’s Sawmill. The town was named for Nauphlet Goodwin. The name of the town was misspelled by the Postal Department when the Post Office was created. The word, Nauphlet, was written in long hand and looked like Norphlet to the people in the Postal Department. So, the papers for the post office were issued for Norphlet. On August 1st, 1849, Jesse Murphy had purchased the land on which the town was located from the Choctaw Indians. The deed was signed by president Zachary Taylor. Oil was discovered at Norphlet in 1921. The word, Norphlet, has become a geological term. The formation in which oil was discovered at Norphlet is called the Norphlet Formation.A Norphlet Formation is a Jurassic Sandstone Formation. A large natural gas field off the coast of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida is called the Norphlet Trend. Though the area had been populated for many years,the oil boom caused it to spring up virtually overnight. Work was plentiful in a time where jobs were scarce. Many families were housed in tents and braved the elements of nature in order to survive. In and around the oil fields of Norphlet, they were drilling for oil and help was needed. Sometimes, they were bringing in 4 or 5 wells a day. With all the oil being produced from the area, they brought in McMillian refinery, which hired even more men. Now Norphlet, Arkansas was on the map with rail service installed and families moving there for jobs. All sorts of small business started, truly the heart of America where men, women, and children with strong values and determination made it work. The settling of Norphlet: 1880's The founding of Norphlet: 1891 The incorporation date of Norphlet: 1922

[edit] The Leopard Challenge

One thing that makes Norphlet a unique city is the Leopard Challenge. The Leopard Challenge was established in March of 2007. The Leopard Challenge is a privatley funded scholarship program that helps pay college tuition fees for Norphlet High School graduates based on their time spent in the Norphlet School System. Norphlet was only the third known School to offer such a program in the entire country at the time of the announcement. Kalamazoo, Michigan and El Dorado, Arkansas also had such scholarship programs in place. The Leopard Challenge was created to try to jumpstart economic and residentail growth in a city whose population had been on a decline over the last few years. Norphlet School is also the smallest school enrollment wise in Union County, the largest county in the state of Arkansas. Hopes are that the Leopard Challenge will also help drive up attendence numbers by making the school more attractive to parents who might not be able to financially be able to send their children to college. The Leopard Challenge provides graduates of Norphlet High School with a tuition scholarship that can be used at any accredited Arkansas public university, community college, vocational/technical school, or any accredited private or out-of-state university. All students who graduate from Norphlet High School with a 2.25 gpa, reside in the district, and have been a Norphlet student since at least the ninth grade. Exceptions include students who were enrolled in Norphlet Public School as of August 2006, and children of district personnel. Enrollment and residency must be continuous. The Leopard Challenge provides up to four years of tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate post-secondary education for students entering college immediately following graduation (unless interrupted by military service). The Leopard Challenge will pay up to $4,000 a year. Scholarship amount will be paid based on length of attendance in the Norphlet School District. Enrollment must have started on the first day of school for that grade. To learn more about the Leopard Challenge you can go to the Norphlet School website listed in the External Links Section of this page.