Stuttgart

Stuttgart, Arkansas
—  City  —
Downtown Stuttgart
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; -91.55083Coordinates: 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 (2010)
• Total	9,326
• 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 Is the "Rice and Duck Capital of the World". It is headquarters to Riceland Foods, the world's biggest rice miller. Stuttgart is also home to Mack's Prairie Wings, known around the world as the premier waterfowl sports outfitter, through their store and online presence. During the third week in November (Thanksgiving Week), Stuttgart holds the International Duck Calling Contest that brings in people of all ages from around the world to show off their talent of using a duck call.

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, Capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg, in Germany. In 1882 the Texas and St. Louis railroad was opened. Stuttgart became a city in 1884, and in 1904, rice farming was first introduced in the Stuttgart area.

Harley C. Stump, a former mayor of Stuttgart, was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in both 1940 and 1944, having been defeated by the Democrats Carl Edward Bailey and Benjamin Travis Laney, respectively.

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 km²), all land. Hard clay underlying the area's topsoil 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 per square mile (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.

Healthcare

Stuttgart and the surrounding area are served by Baptist Health Medical Center-Stuttgart, a 49 Bed Acute Care facility.^[6] The facility originally opened in 1957 under the name Stuttgart Memorial Hospital, then became Stuttgart Regional Medical Center. It took its current name in 2007 when it became part of the Baptist Health System based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In popular culture

Rural Stuttgart, looking toward town

The 1989 movie Rosalie Goes Shopping, directed by Percy Adlon and starring Marianne Sägebrecht, was set in Stuttgart. The city drew media 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 9, 2008 episode of Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel when the DOW-6 and TornadoVideos.net teams chased a storm into the town.

References

External links

Arkansas portal

• Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce
• Gallery and information at TrekEarth
• Arkansas.com City Listing
• Stuttgart Daily Leader

v t e Municipalities and communities of Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States County seats: De Witt and Stuttgart Cities De Witt Gillett Humphrey‡ Stuttgart Towns Almyra St. Charles Unincorporated communities Arkansas Post Bayou Meto Casscoe Crocketts Bluff Eldridge Corner Ethel Lodge Corner Nady One Horse Store Tichnor Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties