Quality of Life in Arkadelphia and Clark County, Arkansas

Arkadelpia Features

A publication entitled "50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family: The Best Places to Live, Work and Play" included Arkadelphia, Arkansas, among its choices.

Written by Lee and Saralee Rosenberg, authors of "50 Fabulous Places to Retire in America," and published by Money Magazine, the citation listed the following reasons for the selection of Arkadelphia: "Small, friendly college town, great scenic beauty and natural resources, outstanding school system, growing industry, affordable housing and taxes, great recreation, very safe community.

The process included preparation of background papers, taped interviews, a professionally conducted opinion survey, four town meetings, project summaries and evaluation, and a broad set of recommendations.

The most significant finding from these studies was the conviction on the part of the people of Arkadelphia and Clark County that they enjoy an extraordinarily favorable quality of life.

The factors on which this conviction was based include the following: a friendly, healthy, safe place to live, work, and raise a family; an outstanding public school system, with the Arkadelphia High School and Perritt Elementary School being designated as among the National Schools of Excellence; two excellent Universities (Henderson State University and Ouachita Baptist University, with a local enrollment of 5,100); pure air and pure water; an attractive physical environment in the forested lake country of Arkansas, at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains; a system of city parks, walking and jogging trails, and recreational opportunities for persons of all ages; proximity (8 miles from Arkadelphia) to DeGray Lake and DeGray State Park, providing fishing, boating, swimming, camping, golfing, and picnicking facilities; good transportation opportunities, being on Interstate Highway 30 and Amtrak; a modern, fully equipped Baptist Medical Center of Arkadelphia; ample shopping opportunities; a diversified economy based on agriculture, stock raising, timber, small industry, and the two universities; an efficient city government; well trained police and fire fighting personnel; a country club providing golf, tennis, swimming, and dining facilities; a strong United Way of Clark County which supports seventeen health, recreation, youth, child care, family, and community services; Group Living and Beehive Industries, providing training and job opportunities for developmentally limited young people; and strong churches.

An unusual asset in Arkadelphia is the Ross Foundation, a private philanthropic organization which has for many years provided funds for a variety of educational, cultural, civic, and humanitarian activities. Funds from the foundation have assisted Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University in offering through the Joint Educational Consortium an outstanding series of lectures and performing arts events free to the public, and in placing the two university libraries on a unified computerized system.

Employees of business and industry in Clark County are fortunate to have access to the varied educational, cultural, and recreational activities which are offered here.

The residents of Clark County are friendly, hospitable people who have had a tradition of making strangers and newcomers welcome. The city and industry relationship is outstanding and has always been mutually supportive for the public good.