Blytheville, Arkansas

Blytheville is the largest city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 15,620 at the 2010 census.

Blytheville was founded in 1879 by the Methodist clergyman Henry T. Blythe. Blytheville is located in Mississippi County approximately 60 miles north of West Memphis. Because of the abundance of trees, the city grew quickly and was incorporated in 1889. According to records, the city had a large and diverse population in 1890. As the vast forest began to shrink due to unregulated harvesting, the people of Blytheville started growing cotton. Blytheville was a huge agricultural community until 1980, when farming was increasingly mechanized. Since then, Blytheville has developed a growing industrial base, much of which is centered around the steel industry.

Blytheville is the home to Arkansas Northeastern College, a two-year community college. It was formerly known as Mississippi County Community College until the merger with the Cotton Boll Technical Institute. Arkansas Northeastern College is the nation's first community college solar photovoltaic prototype facility. Until 1991, Blytheville was home to Blytheville Air Force Base later renamed to Eaker Air Force Base, a major airfield that was part of the Strategic Air Command.

The Current Mayor is James Sanders. He is the first African-American to serve in that position. He previously served as Mississippi County Sheriff from 2009 to 2011.

Notable employers
Nucor, a large steel manufacturer, operates two facilities east of the town near the Mississippi River.

Aviation Repair Technologies (ART) is headquartered at Arkansas International Airport in Blytheville and employs approximately 200. It performs heavy aircraft maintenance, aircraft engine disassembly, aircraft disassembly, and aircraft storage. Its aircraft repair services are focused on turboprop, regional jet, and narrowbody aircraft such as the ATR 42, ATR 72, Dash 8, Q400, ERJ, CRJ, MD80 and 737. Its engine tear down operation specializes in CFM56, CF6-80, and CF6-50 engine types.

Tenaris Hickman a global steel pipe manufacture company focus in the oil and gas market operates 4 ERW welded pipe mills, threading and coating facilities.

Notable residents

 * R&B singer Dee Clark, known for his 1961 hit "Raindrops," was a native of Blytheville.
 * George Hamilton (actor), grandson of Blytheville physician C.C. Stevens. Blytheville was George's boyhood home.  His mother is buried in Blytheville.
 * World War II Medal of Honor recipient Edgar H. Lloyd
 * Mad editor Al Feldstein, who was stationed in Blytheville during World War II, later wrote a science fiction story set in Blytheville, "Chewed Out," Weird Science 12 (March 1952).
 * Junior Walker, R&B singer
 * Nannerl O. Keohane, former president of Duke University was born in Blytheville

Education
Blytheville has one public school district - the Blytheville Public Schools. KIPP-Blytheville, a charter school, is also in Blytheville. Blytheville also has a community college, Arkansas Northeastern College.

Geography
Blytheville is located at 35.93083°N, -89.91389°W (35.930735, -89.913940).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.6 sqmi, of which 20.6 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (0.29%) is water.

List Of Highways:


 * [[Image:I-55 (AR).svg|20px]] Interstate 55
 * [[Image:US 61.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 61
 * [[Image:Arkansas 18.svg|20px]] Highway 18
 * [[Image:Arkansas 137.svg|20px]] Highway 137
 * [[Image:Arkansas 151.svg|20px]] Highway 151
 * [[Image:Arkansas 239.svg|20px]] Highway 239
 * [[Image:Arkansas 239S.svg|20px]] Highway 239 Spur

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 15,620 people, 6,242 households, and 4,003 families residing in the city. The population density was 887.5 people per square mile (342.6/km²). There were 7,545 housing units at an average density of 414.5 per square mile (160.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 56% Black or African American, 40% White, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.5% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 3.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,001 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. There are 320 unmarried partner households: 297 heterosexual, 12 same-sex male, and 11 same-sex female households. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,683, and the median income for a family was $32,816. Males had a median income of $30,889 versus $20,710 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,426. About 23.3% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.2% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.