Rogers, Arkansas

Rogers is a suburban city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 55,964. The city is located in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Area, in the northwest corner of the state, one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. The four-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 109th in terms of population in the United States with 463,204 in 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau.

History
Rogers was named after Captain Charles Warrington Rogers, who was vice-president and general manager of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, also known as the Frisco. The town was established in 1881, the year the Frisco line arrived; it was at this time the area residents honored Captain Rogers by naming it for him. Rogers was the location of the first Wal-Mart store, whose corporate headquarters is located in neighboring Bentonville, Arkansas. Daisy Outdoor Products, known for its air rifles, has both its headquarters and its Air Rifle Museum in Rogers. In June 2007, BusinessWeek magazine ranked Rogers as 18th in its list of the 25 best affordable suburbs in the American South. And in 2010, CNN Money ranked Rogers # 10 on their list of 100 Best Places to Live.

Rogers was the residence of Fay Boozman (1946–2005), a former Republican state senator and director of the Arkansas Department of Health during the administration of Governor Mike Huckabee.

The mayor of Rogers since 2011 is Greg Hines (born 1957). The previous mayor, Steve Womack, won election to the United States House of Representatives in 2010 for the seat being vacated by Fay Boozman's younger brother, John Boozman, GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate.

Geography
Rogers is located at 36.32944°N, -94.14139°W (36.329388, −94.141372).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.6 sqmi, of which 33.5 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (0.15%) is water.

Demographics
As of 2010 Rogers had a population of 55,964. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 62.0% non-Hispanic white, 1.3% non-Hispanic black, 1.0% Native American, 1.0% Asian Indian, 1.6% other Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 0.1% non-Hispanics of some other race, 3.0% from two or more races and 31.5% Hispanic or Latino.

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,829 people, 14,005 households, and 10,209 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,158.0 people per square mile (447.1/km²). There were 14,836 housing units at an average density of 442.4 per square mile (170.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.75% White, 0.47% Black or African American, 1.05% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 9.43% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. 19.29% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,005 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,474, and the median income for a family was $45,876. Males had a median income of $30,911 versus $22,020 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,761. About 9.4% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Major highways

 * I-540 (AR) Metric.svgUS 71 (1961).svg Interstate 540/U.S. Route 71
 * US 62 (1961).svg U.S. Route 62
 * US 71B.svg U.S. Route 71 Business
 * Arkansas 12.svg Arkansas Highway 12

Education
Rogers school district is ranked among the top 100 school districts in the state. Additionally, in 2008 Rogers High School was ranked by Newsweek magazine among the top 1,300 schools in the country.


 * Rogers High School (Mountaineers) The city and school administration have historically opposed the creation of a new separate high school, in part because of a possible dilution of the Rogers football program. Overcrowding, a serious problem in recent years, has hastened plans to build a new high school, though those problems may continue even after the new high school opens. In 1996, Rogers High School was ranked by Newsweek number 771 among the top 1000 high schools in America based on the number of students taking AP Tests.
 * Rogers Heritage High School (War Eagles) is the new high school that opened in August 2008 for the 2008–09 school year.
 * St. Vincent de Paul is a private Catholic school.

Rogers has several colleges and universities both in in the city and in the neighboring metro area. Such schools include the University of Arkansas (ranked #132 in the nation and located in nearby Fayetteville), Northwest Arkansas Community College (located in Bentonville), John Brown University (a Christian school ranked # 1 regional college in the South by U.S. News and located in nearby Siloam Springs). Rogers itself has the University of Phoenix (one of the largest higher education schools in the country), Bryan College, Freedom Bible College & Seminary as well as campuses for the University of Arkansas and John Brown University.

Recreation
Rogers has 15 parks along with a swimming pool, skateboard and splash park, 26 athletic fields, an activity center, a YMC, and 2 lakes, along with 5 golf courses and a trail system totally over 22 miles. Plans to expand the trail system to extend to the entire metropolitan area are underway. Construction is also underway for an Aquatic Center expected to be completely in 2013.

Airports
Carter Field, Rogers' municipal airport, is home to Wal-Mart's air fleet. All commercial aviation, however, goes through the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA), located about 15 miles west of Rogers in Highfill, Arkansas.

Media
Rogers is served by the television market based out of Fort Smith and Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Big Four television stations are KFSM (CBS), KFTA (Fox), KHOG (ABC) and KNWA (NBC).

The daily paper in Rogers is the Rogers Morning News, with a special "A section" dedicated to news just for Rogers and surrounding cities. The rest of the newspaper is the Northwest Arkansas edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (the "B section" is the regular Democrat-Gazette "A section," complete with front page and masthead).

Rogers also has six radio stations that broadcast from the area.

Sports & Charity Events
Since 2007, Rogers has hosted the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. The 54-hole event is held at Pinnacle Country Club in early September.

Dock Wheeler Park in Rogers houses the largest softball program in the state of Arkansas, while Foerester Park is home to the largest soccer program in the state.

Rogers is also host to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the most widely known, largest and best-funded breast cancer organization in the US. .

Historic commerce
The first retail business owned by the Stroud family was a store in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, which was co-owned by Allen Bryant Stroud (1831–1914) and his son Harlan Lafayette (H.L.) Stroud (1858–1950). That business was established prior to 1879 and Allen Stroud also served as postmaster at Pea Ridge for a time. In 1884, H.L. Stroud sold his interest in the Stroud store in Pea Ridge and purchased a dry goods store at the corner of First and Walnut Streets in Rogers which he named Stroud's Mercantile. In 1887 he brought in his brother Alonzo Bryant Stroud (1868–1952) to serve as manager of his new business. In 1891 H.L. Stroud moved his business into a storefront on the north side of the 100 block of Walnut Street. Stroud's continued to prosper, and in 1899 H.L. built the brick building at 114–116 West Walnut Street. Stroud's continued to be the leading retail business in Rogers up into the 1960s, when in 1962 Sam Walton opened the first location of what would become the retail giant Walmart just seven blocks away. Walton's new store combined with the nationwide movement of retail centers from aged downtowns to malls and shopping centers slowly eroded Stroud's customer base, leading the locally beloved retailer to permanently close in 1993 after 109 years in business. In 1912 the city council formed a commission of local businessmen to facilitate the paving of downtown Rogers. Despite the constant complaints of dusty and muddy streets, and the enthusiastic support of prominent citizens such as Coin Harvey, bickering over the cost and method of paving delayed the start of the project until July, 1924. The downtown area was paved with concrete and overlaid with bricks in rows, changing to a basket weave pattern at the intersections of streets. The work was completed in December, 1924, and the brick pavement remains today, with renovations done to the streets in 2010.