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Arkansas has an estimated residential population, as of 2005, of 2,780,000 people. Climate zones are varied and the lowest it has ever gotten there is minus 28 degrees, with 120 degrees being the highest. Famous residents or natives include Maya Angelou (poet laureate), President Clinton, Bronco Billy Anderson (actor), Dee Brown (author), Daisy Bates (social reformer), Helen Gurley Brown (editor), Glen Campbell (singer), Hattie Caraway (1st elected woman senator), Johnny Cash (singer), Eldridge Cleaver (social activist), and William Darby (founder of the Darby Rangers).
In the mid-sixteenth century, De Soto was one of the first Europeans to visit the state and a Frenchman, Henri de Tonti, created the first settlement in 1686. The U.S. purchased this area in a package deal called the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Arkansas started out as some of the Territory of Missouri but separated in 1819. The cotton industry thrived and Arkansas was part of the Southern plantation system until the Civil War.
The largest employer is the food industry, and lumber and wood follow close behind that. Arkansas leads in the growth of soybeans, rice and cotton. The only active diamond mine in the U.S. is near Murfreesboro and it's a great tourist attraction. Major state sights include the Buffalo National River, which is in the Ozarks, and Hot Springs National Park. Bill Clinton's birthplace in Hope, the Historic Arkansas Museum which is in Little Rock, Blanchard Springs Caverns and in Mountain View, the Arkansas Folk Center -- draw thousands of visitors each year.
Retirement Communities:
None Currently
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