DeValls Bluff, Arkansas

Prairie County has always been important to Arkansas for the transportation of people and goods throughout the state. Initially, it was the White River that gave the agricultural county its importance for transport, since waterways were the primary means of long-distance transportation in the period before the development of railroads. Prairie County was cut from Arkansas, Pulaski, Monroe, St. Francis, and White counties in 1846 and included present-day Lonoke County.{{ Cite encyclopedia |last= Sickel |first= Marilyn Hambrick |title= Prairie County |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=802 |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= September 6, 2012 |access-date= January 11, 2014 }} European settlement in Prairie County came in the 19th century, with Jacob M. DeVall and his son, Chappel, becoming the first recorded settlers around DeVall's Bluff according to 1851 tax records.

File:Duvall's Bluffs, Prairie Co., Arkansas. Depot of supplies of the Army of the Southwest.jpg

During the American Civil War, the city was a trading center on the White River, which continued to be the primary shipping corridor when the Arkansas River was innavigable. A railroad connection between North Little Rock and DeVall's Bluff gave the city further strategic importance. Union forces traveling up the White from Arkansas Post under the command of Brigadier General Willis Gorman captured DeVall's Bluff on January 18, 1863. However, the Union forces eventually returned to Arkansas Post, and the city returned to Confederate control.

Following the capture of Little Rock, Union cavalry led by Brigadier General John W. Davidson joined with gunboats under the command of Lieutenant George Bache in Clarendon on August 9, 1863, and traveled up the White River to capture DeVall's Bluff. Major General Frederick Steele proceeded to DeVall's Bluff from Helena, and the city was used to house supplies and injured Union soldiers for the remainder of the war.{{ Cite encyclopedia |last= Sesser |first= David |title= Capture of Des Arc and DeValls Bluff |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6686 |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= September 6, 2012 |access-date= January 11, 2014 }}

File:White River Oxbow at DeValls Bluff, AR.jpg

DeVall's Bluff is located at {{Coord|34|47|5|N|91|27|37|W|type:city}} (34.784760, -91.460346).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}} The city is located within the Grand Prairie section of Prairie County, a subdivision of the Mississippi embayment within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Historically, the Grand Prairie was a flat grassland between the Arkansas River and the White River. However, the area was subject to clear cutting for row agriculture by early settlers. Today, the area is defined by rice cultivation, aquaculture and duck hunting.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|2.8|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, of which {{convert|2.7|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} is land and {{convert|0.2|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} (6.42%) is water.

{{US Census population

|align=right

|1880= 186

|1890= 380

|1900= 605

|1910= 924

|1920= 885

|1930= 672

|1940= 686

|1950= 830

|1960= 654

|1970= 622

|1980= 738

|1990= 702

|2000= 783

|2010= 619

|2020= 520

|footnote=Encyclopedia of Arkansas
History and Culture{{ Cite encyclopedia|last= Sayger|first= Bill|title= DeValls Bluff (Prairie County)|url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=965|encyclopedia= Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture|publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System|date= September 6, 2012|access-date= January 7, 2014 }}

}}

As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2000, there were 783 people, 334 households, and 218 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|293.5|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|people |people|abbr=on}}. There were 389 housing units at an average density of {{convert|145.8|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|units |units|abbr=on}}. The racial makeup of the town was 67.82% White, 31.80% Black or African American, 0.13% Asian, and 0.26% from two or more races. 0.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 334 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,534, and the median income for a family was $32,708. Males had a median income of $28,088 versus $16,771 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,582. About 18.4% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.

Hazen School District is the area school district,{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st05_ar/schooldistrict_maps/c05117_prairie/DC20SD_C05117.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Prairie County, AR|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=February 19, 2023}} and operates Hazen High School. The DeValls Bluff School District consolidated into the Hazen district on July 1, 2006."[http://www.arkansased.gov/public/userfiles/Legal/ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912013154/http://www.arkansased.gov/public/userfiles/Legal/ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls |date=2015-09-12 }}." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on October 13, 2017.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |last=Stillwell |first=Leander |year=1917 |title=The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofcommonsol00stil_0 |edition=1st |location=Erie, Kansas |publisher=Press of the Erie Record |pages=89–92 |chapter=Chapter XII. DeVall's Bluff.—Little Rock.—August–October, 1863 |lccn=17029817 |oclc=1085327623 |via=Internet Archive}}

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Category:Cities in Arkansas

Category:Cities in Prairie County, Arkansas

Category:County seats in Arkansas

Category:1856 establishments in Arkansas

Category:Populated places established in 1856