El Dorado, Arkansas

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Coordinates: 33°12′49″N 92°39′45″W / 33.21361, -92.6625
El Dorado, Arkansas
Location in Union County and the state of Arkansas
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Union
Area
- Total	16.4 sq mi (42.2 km²)
- Land	16.3 sq mi (42.1 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.1 km²)
Elevation	269 ft (82 m)
Population (2007)
- Total	20,351
- Density	1,312.8/sq mi (510.2/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	71730, 71731, 71768
Area code(s)	870
FIPS code	05-21070
GNIS feature ID	0076861

El Dorado (pronounced to rhyme with 'tornado' (IPA: [εl doˈreɪdoʊ] or [εl dəˈreɪdə])) is a city in Union County, Arkansas, USA. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,467.^[1] The city is the county seat of Union County,^[2] and home to the headquarters of Murphy Oil Corporation, Deltic Timber Corporation, and Lion Oil Refinery. The city hosts a community college, South Arkansas Community College ("Southark"), as well as a symphony and an arts center. Most recently, El Dorado has become a community of education with the January 2007 announcement by Murphy Oil Corporation of the El Dorado Promise. The El Dorado Promise is a scholarship program that allows all El Dorado High School graduates who have been at the school since at least the ninth grade, to attend any college in the country of their choice on Murphy's dime.

El Dorado is the site for several annual events, including the Mayhaw Festival hosted by the South Arkansas Historical Foundation the first Saturday of each May (with a crawfish boil the same weekend), a Fantastic Fourth Celebration during July (including a 5k run, an antique car show, and fireworks), the SouthArk Outdoor Expo in September, the two-day MusicFest in October (with pop, rock, blues, and country performers, among other events), and various winter holiday events, including the largest Christmas parade in the state. The above mentioned Crawfish Boil has become so much more. It now hosts a "Battle of the Bands", a Bike show/one day motorcycle rally, a motorcycle parade, a Pool tournament, and much more. The official name of the event is "Bugs, Bands, and Bikes".

1 Geography
2 Demographics
- 2.1 Education
3 Points of interest
4 Airport
5 Media
6 Oil discoveries
7 Notable natives and residents
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Geography

El Dorado is located at 33°12′49″N, 92°39′45″W (33.213521, -92.662553).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.3 square miles (42.3 km²), of which, 16.3 square miles (42.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.31%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 21,530 people, 8,686 households, and 5,732 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,323.3 people per square mile (510.9/km²). There were 9,891 housing units at an average density of 607.9/sq mi (234.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.66% White, 44.18% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,686 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. Of 8,686 households, 304 are unmarried partner households: 243 heterosexual, 19 same-sex male, and 42 same-sex female. (Note: Stigmatization of homosexuality may prevent same-sex couples from reporting themselves as such on the US Census, especially in more conservative areas.) 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,045, and the median income for a family was $34,753. Males had a median income of $30,876 versus $19,211 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,332. About 20.0% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

According to the 2000 Census, 22.5% of the population age 25+ has an Associates Degree or higher.^[5] As of 2000, there were 1,172 students enrolled in public high schools.^[6] Starting with the class of 2007, children who continuously attend El Dorado High School and reside in the school district are eligible for a college scholarship through a program called the El Dorado Promise.^[7]^[8]

[edit] Points of interest

South Arkansas Arboretum
South Arkansas Arts Center
Courthouse Square (including public artwork)
Historic Main Street Pizza
Rialto Theatre (one of the oldest theatres in Arkansas, considered "haunted", currently closed due to it being sold by the manager)
Bodenhamer Skate Park (currently closed)
Murphy Oil Corp. Headquarters is located in El Dorado

[edit] Airport

El Dorado is home to South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field which offers mostly private aircrafts, but also commercial service on one airline.^[9]

[edit] Media

El Dorado is home to one public radio station and seven commercial radio stations which are operated by two ownership groups. El Dorado Broadcasting owns two and Noalmark Broadcasting Corporation]] owns and operates five radio stations:

El Dorado Broadcasting owns KLBQ, also known as Q99 Todays Best Music. The format is Hot AC Adult Contemporary KDMS-am which is a Southern Gospel station.

KIX 103 is also known as The Country Leader. It is a 100,000 watt radio station (which is the largest allowed by the Federal Communications Commission). The format is Country.

MIX 96 is also known as The Continuous Hit Music Station. It, like sister station KIXB, is a 100,000 watt station as well. The format is Hot Adult Contemporary.

The Eagle The format is Classic Rock.

KELD The Fan This is Noalmark's only AM station in El Dorado. The format is Sports Talk. KELD is a 24 hour station.

KMLK is The Touch. The format is Urban Adult Contemporary.

Noalmark Broadcasting Corporation also operates KELD-FM, but it is licensed to Hampton, Arkansas in Calhoun County.

[1] Red River Radio is a four station public radio network and NPR affiliate based out of Shreveport, LA. As part of the network, KBSA El Dorado became is the first HD Digital Radio broadcaster, also multicasting, in the South Arkansas region at 90.9 FM The station and network is supported primarily through listener and corporate contributions.

El Dorado broadcast outlets consist of three full-power television stations; two commercial, and one public.

KTVE 10 (NBC)

KEJB 43 (MNTV)

KETZ 12 (AETN/PBS) digital

All three transmitters are located east of El Dorado, in Huttig, Arkansas. While KTVE no longer considers El Dorado their primary newsroom, the station is licensed to El Dorado by the FCC. The station moved primary operations to Monroe, Louisiana in 1988. KEJB is a fairly new station, having signed on the air in 2001. KETZ-DT signed on the air in May 2006. El Dorado is also served by KNOE 8 (CBS), KARD 14 (FOX), and KAQY 11 (ABC) in nearby Monroe, Louisiana.

El Dorado is also served by the El Dorado News-Times, one of the oldest newspapers in South Arkansas as well as a free community newspaper The South Arkansas Leader which is owned and operated by broadcasters Noalmark Broadcasting Corporation.

[edit] Oil discoveries

Known as Arkansas's boomtown because of oil discoveries in the 1920s and in 1937. Several oil refineries are based or started in El Dorado.[2]

Murphy Oil, a S&P 500 company, has its corporate headquarters in El Dorado.

[edit] Notable natives and residents

Donna Axum, 1964 Miss America
Odie Blackmon, Grammy nominated country songwriter
Lou Brock, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Charlie Daniels, Arkansas politician
Candice Earley, actress
Michael G. Fitzgerald, film historian and author
David Frizzell, country singer
Lefty Frizzell, country singer
Dave Gibson, country singer
Walter John Giller, III, Deputy Surgeon General of the Air Force
Gerry Haner, singer, song writer and guitarist for Kcor (band)
Glen Ray Hines, professional football player
Lamar Hunt, sports promoter and member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
E. Fay Jones, architect & student of Frank Lloyd Wright
Charles Portis, author
William Ragsdale, actor
Albert Rust, US Congressman
Adam Setliff, two time Olympic discus thrower
Reece Tatum of the Harlem Globetrotters
Dave Whitlock, light heavyweight professional prize fighter who fought Floyd Patterson in September 1955