Helena, Arkansas

Helena, Arkansas
City
Downtown Helena
Location of Helena, Arkansas
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Phillips
Area
• Total	8.9 sq mi (23.0 km2)
• Land	8.9 sq mi (23.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	197 ft (60 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	10,032
• Density	902/sq mi (290.89/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	72342
Area code(s)	870
FIPS code	05-31180
GNIS feature ID	0077157

Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with neighboring West Helena.

Helena is the birthplace of Arkansas' former Senior United States Senator Blanche Lincoln. Helena is home to the longest running daily radio program in the U.S., King Biscuit Time.

From 1906 to 1946, Helena was a terminal point on the former Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, which provided passenger and freight service to Joplin, Missouri.

Geography

Helena is located at (34.526223, −90.601377).

According to the United States Census Bureau, Helena had a total area of 8.9 square miles (23 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	614		—
1860	1,551		152.6%
1870	2,249		45.0%
1880	3,652		62.4%
1890	5,189		42.1%
1900	5,550		7.0%
1910	8,772		58.1%
1920	9,112		3.9%
1930	8,316		−8.7%
1940	8,546		2.8%
1950	11,236		31.5%
1960	11,500		2.3%
1970	10,415		−9.4%
1980	9,598		−7.8%
1990	7,491		−22.0%
2000	6,323		−15.6%
2010	12,282		94.2%
Est. 2014	11,320		−7.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,323 people, 2,312 households, and 1,542 families residing in Helena. The population density was 710.7 people per square mile (274.3/km²). There were 2,710 housing units at an average density of 304.6/sq mi (117.6/km²). The racial makeup of Helena is 67.93% Black or African American, 30.59% White, 0.13% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,312 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.8% were married couples living together, 28.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.28.

In Helena, the population is spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.5 males.

The median income for a household in Helena is $18,662, and the median income for a family was $21,534. Males had a median income of $27,203 versus $17,250 for females. The per capita income for Helena is $13,028. About 38.4% of families and 41.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 54.9% of those under age 18 and 24.1% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Historic buildings

Helena, Arkansas is home to a number of historic buildings such as the Sidney H. Horner House and the Centennial Baptist Church.

Education

Helena-West Helena School District operates schools in what was Helena.

Notable people

• Bruce Bennett, former Arkansas Attorney General
• Patrick Cleburne, Confederate General.
• Levon Helm, singer
• Red Holloway, jazz saxophonist
• Alex Johnson, baseball player
• Blanche Lincoln, former U.S. Senator from Arkansas
• Dorathy M. Allen, the first woman elected to the Arkansas Senate
• Roberta Martin, gospel singer
• Conway Twitty, country singer
• John Hanks Alexander, the first African American officer in the United States armed forces to hold a regular command position and the second African American graduate of the United States Military Academy.
• Ken Hatfield, Former college football coach
• Thomas C. Hindman, Confederate General.

External links

• History of Helena's Jewish community (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)
• The Helena-West Helena Daily World, the newspaper serving Helena-West Helena and Phillips County
• ePodunk: Profile for Helena, Arkansas
• City-Data.com
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