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
miles southeast of Little Rock
. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates,
the population of the city is 9,376.
The town proclaims itself 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 bring
in people of all ages from around the world to show of their
tallent of using a duck caller.
History
Stuttgart was founded by Rev.
Adam Bürkle, 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. 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 (34.497043, -91.550917).
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 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
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