Lonesome Rhodes

Piggott, Arkansas

Piggott is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, United States. It is one of the county's two seats (Corning is the other), and the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of Crowley's Ridge Parkway. As of the 2000 census, Piggott's population was 3,894. The town was founded in 1873 and was originally named Huston. In 1882 the name was changed to honor Dr. James A. Piggott for his efforts to bring a post office to the community.

History

Piggott is perhaps best known for its association with American writer and Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway, whose second wife Pauline Pfeiffer was the daughter of prominent local landowner and businessman Paul Pfeiffer. After meeting and marrying in Paris in the late 1920s, Ernest and Pauline made frequent and lengthy visits to her parent's home in Piggott, where Ernest wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, portions of A Farewell to Arms, and other works. The Pfeiffer House and Carriage House are now preserved as the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, run by Arkansas State University.

The town was mentioned in the 1990s television sitcom Evening Shade, set in Arkansas. The high school football team coached by "Wood Newton" (played by Burt Reynolds), which almost always lost, celebrated when it tied Piggott High in a game.

Piggott was also one of the filming sites for Andy Griffith's acting debut,A Face In The Crowd. The film, which also starred Patricia Neal, featured several Piggott citizens as movie "extras." Patricial Neal stars with Griffith, who plays Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes. Rhodes is arrested in a town called "Pickett, AR." While incarcerated, he meets Marcia Jeffries (played by Neal) who sets up Rhodes with his own radio show in Pickett. Griffith's character becomes very popular, earning his own show in New York. Scenes were also filmed in the Northeast Arkansas town of Paragould. Several locations in Piggott are featured in the movie, including the Piggott Mohawk football field, the old Clay County jail, and a swimming pool at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer residence. Piggott was chosen when Toby Bruce--a friend of Ernest Hemingway--recommended the site to writer Budd Schulberg. In September of 2007, several Piggott citizens gathered at the Piggott community center to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the release of A Face In The Crowd. Actress Patricia Neal returned to Piggott and toured the town during this celebration.

Geography

Piggott is located at (36.383794, -90.192847).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.6 km²), of which, 5.2 square miles (13.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.14%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,894 people, 1,726 households, and 1,101 families residing in the city. The population density was 751.8 people per square mile (290.2/km²). There were 1,912 housing units at an average density of 369.1/sq mi (142.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.59% White, 0.23% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.18% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 0.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,726 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,404, and the median income for a family was $35,625. Males had a median income of $25,482 versus $19,405 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,382. About 8.1% of families and 99.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local Civic Leaders

Mayor: Gerald Morris
City Clerk: Ramona Magee
Treasurer: Jamie Cluck
District Judge: Rick Rodery
City Attorney: John R. Lingle
Police Chief: Bill Alstadt
Fire Chief: John Harlan
Street Superintendent: Gary Chronister
Water Superintendent: Bradley Scheffler
Electric Superintendent: Bruce Swan
Power Plant Superintendent: David Finley
Code Enforcement Officer: Brian Haley
Parks, Recreation Director: Shannon Williams
Councilmember: Carl Birmingham
Councilmember: Lester Edwards, Jr.
Councilmember: Jim Poole
Councilmember: Tommy Risinger

Voting Districts

State Senate District: 11
State House District: 79
U.S. Congressional District: 1

Education

The Piggott School District is composed of two campuses. Piggott Elementary School is the campus for grades K-6, while Piggott High School is composed of grades 7-12. In recent years the school has enrolled around 1,000 students per school year. The schools offer several extracurricular activities for students including athletics, band, and various clubs and organizations. The athletic program includes boy's football, basketball, baseball, golf and track. Girl's sports include basketball, volleyball, track and field, and golf. Most recently, the school added a skeet shooting team to its list of activities. PHS also opened a brand new gymnasium for the 2007-2008 athletic seasons.