Pocahontas, Arkansas

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Coordinates: 36°15′49″N 90°58′24″W / 36.26361, -90.97333
Pocahontas, Arkansas
Location in Randolph County and the state of Arkansas
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Randolph
Area
- Total	7.6 sq mi (19.5 km²)
- Land	7.4 sq mi (19 km²)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²)
Elevation	302 ft (92 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	6,518
- Density	857.6/sq mi (334.3/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	72455
Area code(s)	870
FIPS code	05-56540
GNIS feature ID	0078067

Pocahontas is a city in Randolph County, Arkansas, United States, along the Black River. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 6,765.^[1] The city is the county seat of Randolph County^[2].

Pocahontas has a number of historic buildings, including:

Old Randolph County Courthouse (1871), still defining the center of town
St. Mary's AME Church and Pocahontas Colored School (1918), now home to the Eddie Mae Herron Center

Pocahontas is the home of Black River Technical College.

In How Few Remain, an alternative history novel by Harry Turtledove, the town is mentioned as the only Confederate town taken by the US during the Second Mexican War.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Noted natives
4 Other facts
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Pocahontas is located at 36°15′49″N, 90°58′24″W (36.263560, -90.973349)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.6 square miles (19.6 km²), of which, 7.3 square miles (19.0 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (2.78%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 6,518 people, 2,693 households, and 1,742 families residing in the city. The population density was 886.6 people per square mile (342.4/km²). There were 2,924 housing units at an average density of 397.7/sq mi (153.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.27% Caucasian, 1.10% Black or African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,693 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,450, and the median income for a family was $29,525. Males had a median income of $26,382 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,529. About 15.6% of families and 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Noted natives

Edwin Bethune- A former member of the United States House of Representatives, Bethune graduated from Pocahontas High School but left the community permanently in 1972. He did not represent Randolph County in Congress.

Wear Schoonover, Pocahontas native, was the first University of Arkansas athlete in any sport named to an all American team. Schoonover starred as a wide receiver for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in 1927-1929. He was named All American in 1929. Schoonover was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967. All Southwest Conference in basketball, he also excelled at college baseball and track and field and achieved the highest GPA (pre-law) of any Arkansas athlete through the 1980s. His name is reflected by the title of the local high school basketball court (Schoonover Fieldhouse) as well as the high school football field (Schoonover Stadium).

[edit] Other facts

Pocahontas is home to the Pocahontas Public Schools, which are made up of Alma Spikes Elementary School, M. D. Williams Intermediate School, Pocahontas Junior High School and Pocahontas High School. Pocahontas' school mascot is the redskin.
Pocahontas is also home to KPOC/KRLW AM/FM Radio stations. The stations "better known names" are as follows: KPOC FM is better known as Lite 104.1 FM; KPOC AM is News Sports Talk 1420 AM; KRLW FM is Country 106.3 FM; and KRLW AM is Oldies 1320 AM. While the KRLW radio stations are broadcast centrally to the Walnut Ridge/Hoxie area (a neighboring community roughly 15 miles away), the actual broadcasting location as well as main offices are centered with KPOC inside of Pocahontas. The stations are operated by Combined Media Group, Inc.