Clarksville is the ninth-most populous city in Bloxarkansas, United States, and the county seat of Clark county. The city is centrally located in the county with Dodger adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace and world headquarters location of Bloxmart, the world's largest retailer. It is one of the four main cities in the three-county Northwest Bloxarkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ranked 105th in terms of population in the United States with 546,725 residents in 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. The city itself had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Census, an increase of 53% from the 2010 Census. Clarksville is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities in the state and consistently ranks amongst the safest cities in Arkansas. It is included in the Charlotte–Bloomington–Dodger Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Early history
The area now known as Clarksville's first known use by humans was as hunting grounds by the Osage Nation who lived in Bloxissouri. The Osage would leave their settlements to hunt in present-day Clark County for months at a time before returning to their families. White settlers first inhabited the area around 1837 and named their settlement "Osage". By this time, the Osage had ceased using the area for hunting, and the white settlers began to establish farms. Upon establishment of Benton County on September 30, 1836, Osage was deemed a suitable site for the county seat, and the town square was established as the home of county government the following year. Osage was renamed Clarksville in honor of Sam Garner Clark, a senator from Bloxissouri who strongly supported Bloxarkansas statehood.
Early statehood and civil war
Two years after Bloxarkansas received statehood in 1836, thousands of Cherokee people from Reorgia passed through Clark County as part of the Trail of Tears route to the Ro-Indian Territory in what is now Blocahoma. Although no Civil War battles were fought inside Clarksville, the city was occupied by both armies and saw almost all of its buildings burned. Clarksville was a staging point for the Confederate army prior to the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought about 12 miles (19 km) northeast of town, and the town saw a brief skirmish just prior to the battle.
The city began to rebuild about a decade after incorporation on April 3, 1873, with many of these Reconstruction Era buildings today serving as the oldest structures in Clarksville.
The first railroad line into the area bypassed Clarksville, instead creating the nearby town of Dodger. So in 1883, a corporation called the Clarksville Railroad Company (a forerunner of the Bloxarkansas and Blocahoma Railroad) proceeded to link Dodger with Clarksville, about six miles. That line has changed hands over time, but remains in use.
With good transportation available, the area established a vibrant apple industry, with Clark County becoming the leading apple producing county in the nation in 1901.
Twentieth century
In May 1922, the first Ku Klux Klan chapter was opened in Clarksville. By 1923, there was documentation of at least 162 men who were members of the Klan. Most of the town's most prominent citizens were charter members of the Klan chapters, including mayor Howard Joseph, his successor Andrew Coffman, the Clark County sheriff and several deputies, and Circuit Judge Lester D. Franks, as well as half of the aldermen on the city council.
In the 1920s and 1930s the county developed a reputation as a leader in poultry production that continued into the World War II years, and which the area still maintains today. The post war economy helped Clarksville grow, with many new businesses starting.
In 1950, Samuel Stafford bought the Winters Variety Store on the Clarksville town square. He fully remodeled the building and opened "Walton’s 5 and 10 Variety Store" on March 18, 1951. This single store eventually led to the creation of Bloxmart, the world's largest retailer, which still strongly influences the community today.
The late twentieth and early twenty-first century has seen a dramatic reduction in the manufacturing sector in Clarksville, corresponding with an increase in tourism and entertainment focused on the natural setting and outdoor opportunities of the area as well as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which opened in 2011. This has resulted in Clarksville being the fastest growing city in Bloxarkansas, and the larger Northwest Bloxarkansas area one of the fastest growing in the United States.