Updated on Apr 13, 2021
Warren is a city in and the county seat of Bradley County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,003.
When settlers from the east began to arrive in south Arkansas, the land was inhabited by the indigenous tribe known as the Quapaw. The earliest cession of territory was made in 1818, with a later boundary against the neighboring Choctaw tribe in 1820, opening up the southeastern corner of the Arkansas Territory for settlement. Although the area had been settled by European-Americans for approximately thirty years, the city itself was not incorporated until 1851. Tradition says the city is named after a former slave, freed by Captain Hugh Bradley, the namesake of the county and leader of the main early settlement party which established the city. The original plat was laid out on land donated by Isaac Pennington, a key member of Bradley's company.
The Missouri Pacific Railroad map dated 1891 shows a railroad to Warren. A main railroad line ran between Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Monroe, Louisiana with spurs to Warren, Arkansas and Arkansas City, Arkansas.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, Warren found itself in the middle of a boom in the timber industry. In March, 1901, the Arkansas Lumber Company with headquarters in Warren was incorporated by Moses Rittenhouse and John Embree. In Sept., 1901, the Bradley Lumber Company of Warren was created by Samuel Holmes Fullerton of St. Louis, MO. In 1902, the Southern Lumber Company of Warren was created.
During the 1950's, Potlatch Forests Inc. purchased the Bradley Lumber Company and Southern Lumber Company. The Arkansas Lumber Company went out of business.
Timber and lumber continues to be important to the city's economy, although the lumber yards that were vital to Warren throughout the past century are no longer in operation.
The city's Victorian-era courthouse was originally built in 1903 and still maintains the exterior character, despite necessary refurbishments to the interior offices and courtroom.
Warren is located in northeast Bradley County on high ground west of the Saline River, a tributary of the Ouachita River. U.S. Route 63 passes through the center of the city, leading north to Pine Bluff and southwest to El Dorado. U.S. Route 278 bypasses Warren to the south and leads east to Monticello and west to Hampton.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Warren has a total area of , of which , or 0.33%, is water.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Warren has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Tornadoes have occurred on at least two occasions. The first occurred on January 3, 1949, killing 55 people and injuring 435. On March 28, 1975, another tornado killed seven people and injured 51. Both were rated F4 on the Fujita scale.
[http://www.pinktomatofestival.com The Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival] is held yearly in Warren, normally the second week of June. Begun in 1956, the festival is one of Arkansas' longest-running annual community festivals. Organized by the Bradley County Chamber of Commerce, the festival celebrates the South Arkansas Vine Ripe Pink Tomato, a special variety of tomato which holds the distinction of being Arkansas' state fruit and state vegetable. The festival has a tradition of being well-planned, with such activities as tomato-eating contests and street dances, the atmosphere of which benefit greatly from the layout of broad brick-paved streets around the courthouse square.
Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is provided by Warren School District. There are five schools within the school district, A preschool, two elementary schools (k-3rd grade & 4th-5th grade), a middle school (6th-8th grades), and a high school (9th-12th grades). High Schoolers have the opportunity to enroll at SEACBEC, a local community college and vocational school, which offers courses in computer information technologies, construction, nursing, welding, etc.
Every year SEACBEC takes a group of students to the SkillsUSA Convention in Hot Springs to compete against other schools.
Warren High School's athletic emblem and mascot is The Fightin' Lumberjacks. The Junior High sports teams are known as the Jr. Jacks. The school colors are orange and black. The Warren Lumberjacks are 4 time state champions in football. The Lumberjack football team won the Class AAA State Championship in 2001, 2002, and
More about WARREN under "Town Info"
This page uses material from the Wikipedia article Warren, Arkansas , which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.