Stuttgart

Stuttgart, Arkansas
Rural Stuttgart, looking toward town
Location in Arkansas County and the state of Arkansas
Coordinates: 34°29′49″N 91°33′3″W / 34.49694°N 91.55083°W / 34.49694; -91.55083
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Arkansas
Area
- Total	6.2 sq mi (15.9 km2)
- Land	6.2 sq mi (15.9 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	210 ft (64 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	9,745
- Density	1,571.8/sq mi (612.9/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	72160
Area code(s)	870
FIPS code	05-67490
GNIS feature ID	0058703

Stuttgart is a city in and the county seat of the northern district of Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 79 about 45 miles (72 km) miles southeast of Little Rock. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 9,376.^[1]

The town proclaims itself the "Rice and Duck Capital of the World". It is headquarters to Riceland Foods, the world's biggest rice miller.

History

Stuttgart was founded by Rev. Adam Bürkle,^[2][3] a native of Plattenhardt in Germany. He moved to the United States in 1852 and founded a settlement at Gum Pond after living in Ohio. In 1880, he opened a post office and had thus to name the village. In memory of his native home he called it Stuttgart after Stuttgart in Germany. In 1882, the railroad was opened. Stuttgart became a city in 1884, and in 1904, rice farming was first introduced in the Stuttgart area.

2008 Tornado

On May 10, 2008 at 6:59 pm ET, a large EF3 tornado struck Stuttgart and destroyed several homes and buildings and injured 9 people. The tornado was featured on an episode of Storm Chasers on November 9, 2008.

The Stuttgart tornado had a very large circulation. It hit near the south area of town but caused severe damage to hundreds of locals who were in mobile homes and in their own houses. This tornado was only one of many that day as the whole of Arkansas was being hit by tornadoes.

Geography

Stuttgart is located at 34°29′49″N 91°33′3″W / 34.49694°N 91.55083°W / 34.49694; -91.55083 (34.497043, -91.550917).^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16.0 km²), none of which is covered by water. Hard clay underlying the area's topsoil is what makes Stuttgart a good place to grow rice, which grows best in flooded fields made possible by the clay. The geography is mainly flat with no outstanding mountainous features with the exception of "WBA Mountain", a small artificial mound located west of the city.

Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 9,745 people, 3,994 households, and 2,731 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,583.0 people per square mile (610.8/km²). There were 4,384 housing units at an average density of 712.2/sq mi (274.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.96% White, 44.49% Black or African American, 0.58% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.25% Native American, 0.21% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,994 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% 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 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,664, and the median income for a family was $39,126. Males had a median income of $30,860 versus $21,817 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,490. About 13.8% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

The 1989 movie Rosalie Goes Shopping, directed by Percy Adlon and starring Marianne Sägebrecht, was set in Stuttgart. Additionally, the city gained a bit of attention during the sixth cycle of America's Next Top Model in the spring of 2006 when Stuttgart resident Furonda Brasfield was featured among the contestants.

A tornado that struck Stuttgart was featured on the November 9th, 2008 episode of Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel when the DOW-6 and TornadoVideos.net teams chase a storm into the town.

References

External links

• Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce
• Gallery and information at TrekEarth
• Ducks and Rice Are Staples in Stuttgart, an October 2005 article from a publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis
• Arkansas.com City Listing

• Stuttgart, Arkansas is at coordinates 34°29′49″N 91°33′03″W / 34.497043°N 91.550917°W / 34.497043; -91.550917 (Stuttgart, Arkansas)Coordinates: 34°29′49″N 91°33′03″W / 34.497043°N 91.550917°W / 34.497043; -91.550917 (Stuttgart, Arkansas)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Arkansas County, Arkansas County seats: De Witt and Stuttgart Cities De Witt | Gillett | Humphrey‡ | Stuttgart Towns Almyra | St. Charles Unincorporated community Nady Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties