Lake Village, Arkansas

Lake Village is a city in Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,823 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Chicot County.

Lake Village is named for its location on Lake Chicot, an oxbow lake formed from the Mississippi River. Lake Chicot is the largest oxbow lake in North America and the largest natural lake in Arkansas.

The state Tourist Information Center in Lake Village is located on a pier extending out into Lake Chicot. It is the only Center in the state completely heated and cooled by solar energy. However, it is scheduled to be replaced by a more modern center.

According to legend, the remains of Hernando De Soto are buried in Lake Chicot. Also, Charles Lindbergh made his first nighttime flight over Lake Chicot and Lake Village in April 1923. See here for a list of sites associated with the de Soto Expedition.

Geography
Lake Village is located at 33.33167°N, -91.28361°W (33.331592, -91.283497).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.1 sqmi, all of it land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,823 people, 1,090 households, and 705 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,357.7 people per square mile (524.0/km²). There were 1,233 housing units at an average density of 593.0 per square mile (228.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 40.74% White, 56.15% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.13% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,090 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,625, and the median income for a family was $28,438. Males had a median income of $37,031 versus $14,872 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,677. About 29.1% of families and 36.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.6% of those under age 18 and 24.5% of those age 65 or over.

Industry
The economy is agricultural based. The crops grown are mainly cotton, soybeans and wheat. There is also a large aquacultural base consisting mainly of catfish farmers. In addition, county government is an important employer as Lake Village is the county seat of Chicot County.

U.S. Highway 82, 65 And 278 Development
Currently the two-lane combined highway of 82, 65 and 278 inside of the city limits of Lake Village is being converted to a four-lane highway, with an added stoplight and sidewalks on both sides of the road. This project is forecast to be done by Spring 2008. There are also plans for the four-lane highway to continue to the Greenville Bridge, but the construction will not begin until the current construction inside Lake Village is finished.

Update: The four-lane conversion has been completed within the city limits as of June 2008. There has been no indication of whether plans for widening the highway further south to the Greenville Bridge are still viable, or when construction might begin.

Notable natives
They have started 4 lanes toward the bridge
 * Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker, American trombonist