It is located almost exactly half-way between Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee; the city has used the slogan "We'll Meet You Half-Way" in some of its advertising campaigns.
Brinkley Geography
Brinkley is located at 34°53'25" North, 91°11'30" West (34.890152, -91.191741).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.4 km2 (5.9 mi2). 14.2 km2 (5.5 mi2) of it is land and 1.2 km2 (0.4 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 7.59% water.
Brinkley Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 3,940 people, 1,543 households, and 972 families residing in the city. The population density is 277.6/km2 (719.0/mi2). There are 1,731 housing units at an average density of 122.0/km2 (315.9/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 49.09% White, 48.55% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.There are 1,543 households out of which 31.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% are married couples living together, 20.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% are non-families. 33.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 3.23.
In the city the population is spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 73.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $19,868, and the median income for a family is $27,820. Males have a median income of $26,117 versus $16,714 for females. The per capita income for the city is $12,441. 30.9% of the population and 23.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 38.6% of those under the age of 18 and 18.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Famous residents
Brinkley was the birthplace of jazz and early rock & roll great Louis Jordan.Recent Eco-Tourism Activities
Brinkley is located near the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, where in February 2004 the ivory-billed woodpecker was rediscovered after having thought to be extinct for over 60 years. Brinkley has attempted to capitalize on its good fortune of being the largest city near the Refuge and the rediscovery of the woodpecker:- A billboard on eastbound Interstate 40 proclaims Brinkley as "The Home of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker"
- One motel has changed its name to "The Ivory-Billed Inn"
- A local resident has opened a shop, "The Ivory-Billed Nest", devoted exclusively to ivory-billed paraphenalia
- One local barbershop offers an "ivory-billed" haircut
- Gene's Restaurant and Barbeque, a popular local restaurant, offers an "ivory-billed burger" and an "ivory-billed salad" on its menu; in addition, two of the initial rediscoverers of the ivory-billed woodpecker have written a children's book which mentions Gene's.
In addition to the ivory-billed sightings, since July 2005 at least two confirmed reports of bald eagle nests have been found in the Monroe County area. Further, the swamps of the Cache River are believed to contain among the oldest cypress trees in the United States.
Brinkley opened a convention center in 1996 which can seat up to 600 people; in February 2006 the center will host a conference commemorating the second anniversary of the ivory-billed woodpecker's rediscovery.
External links
Brinkley, Arkansas HomepageListening
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Brinkley,_Arkansas".