Hartford, Arkansas
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Hartford is a city located in Sebastian County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 772.
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Geography
ARMap-doton-Hartford.png
Location of Hartford, Arkansas
Hartford is located at 35°1'24" North, 94°22'42" West (35.023358, -94.378398)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.7 km² (1.8 mi²). 4.7 km² (1.8 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 772 people, 299 households, and 217 families residing in the city. The population density is 164.7/km² (427.3/mi²). There are 346 housing units at an average density of 73.8/km² (191.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.52% White, 0.00% Black or African American, 1.17% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 3.63% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 299 households out of which 30.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% are married couples living together, 11.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% are non-families. 24.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.58 and the average family size is 3.05.
In the city the population is spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $22,500, and the median income for a family is $27,321. Males have a median income of $28,250 versus $22,813 for females. The per capita income for the city is $10,845. 25.9% of the population and 19.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 39.0% of those under the age of 18 and 18.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The town of Hartford was first called Gwynn. The name was changed in the late 1880's. The old original first town of Hartford is one and a half miles west and is now generally referred to as Old Town or West Hartford. Hartford got its name from a family named Hart and a creek crossing. When people passed by they crossed Hart's ford. The name was shortened later into one word. Houses and businesses sprang up around the area and a settlement came into being. According to information from Goodspeed's History of Arkansas, William J. Fleming and William Stevenson opened the first store in West Hartford. In 1891 there were several businesses, a public school, and a Union Church edifice used respectively by Methodists, Baptists, and Cumberland Presbyterians. The population was between two and three hundred.
Joe Spradling and W.L. White who operated the first General Store on Broadway, New Hartford in 1898, bought all the land they could at $5 per acre. Their store building had been moved from Old Town to Hartford. Mr. Gene White, son of W.L. White, recalls that at the age of 15 he would make buying trips to Fort Smith for supplies for this store in a mule-drawn wagon; the roads were so poor that many times the wagon would sink to the bed in mud on Garrison Avenue in front of the First National Bank.
The town of Hartford was incorporated February 28, 1900. Over the years many prominent citizens of which the people of Hartford can boast have come out of this small town.
Some of which are identified with the Hartford Music Company, a Sothern Gospel Hymn-Book company that operated a business and a singing school in Hartford. Such songs to come from Hartford include "Victory in Jesus" and "I'll Fly Away."
External links
Template:Mapit-US-cityscale The Hartford High School Website (http://hartford.k12.ar.us)