Stamps is a city in Lafayette County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, United States. The population was 1,693 at the 2010 census, down from 2,131 at the 2000 census.

History

A post office has been in operation in Stamps since 1887. The community has the name of the local Stamps family. Stamps was the shop headquarters for the former

Louisiana and Arkansas Railway The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans. Branch lines served Vidalia, Louis ...

until the relocation in the early 1920s to Minden in

Webster Parish Webster Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Webster'') is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. As of the 2010 census, the Webster Parish population was 41,207. In 2018, the p ...

in northern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Stamps has been noted on lists of unusual place names. An early postmaster quipped that Stamps was "the only town in the U.S. that stamps Stamps on stamps". File:Stamps, Arkansas (c. 1904).jpg, Stamps Ice & Fuel Company and a boxcar of the

, c. 1904 Image:Stamps, AR Fire Department IMG_8383.JPG, Stamps Fire Department Image:Bodcaw Bank, Stamps, AR IMG_8385.JPG, Bodcaw Bank in Stamps

Geography

Stamps is in northeastern Lafayette County in southwestern Arkansas. U.S. Route 82 passes through the northern side of the city, leading west to Lewisville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, and east to Buckner. Arkansas Highway 53 has its northern terminus at US 82 and leads south through the center of Stamps to the state line near

Springhill, Louisiana Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,279 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 160 since 2000. Springhill is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area though it is thirty miles nor ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.19%, are water. Lake June lies within the southern part of the city limits.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 1,258 people, 657 households, and 378 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 2,131 people, 830 households, and 541 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,003 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 44.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 54.48%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, and 0.56% from two or more races. Of the population 0.61% was

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 830 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% were married couples living together, 21.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. Of all households 31.7% were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $22,194, and the median income for a family was $26,591. Males had a median income of $25,667 versus $17,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $11,440. About 22.8% of families and 27.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 24.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education for elementary and secondary students is provided by the Lafayette County School District, which includes Lafayette County Elementary School and Lafayette County High School. The school's mascot and athletic emblem is the Cougar. On July 1, 2003, the

Stamps School District Stamps School District was a school district headquartered in Stamps, Arkansas. On July 1, 2003, it consolidated with the Lewisville School District to form the Lafayette County School District.Lewisville School District Lewisville School District was a school district headquartered in Lewisville, Arkansas. It operated Lewisville Elementary School and Lewisville High School. The mascot was the Red Devil. It served sections of Lafayette and Miller counties, includi ...

to form the Lafayette County district.ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls
."

Arkansas Department of Education Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

. Retrieved on October 13, 2017.

Infrastructure

Highways

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

* Arkansas Highway 53

Notable people

* Maya Angelou (1928–2014), raised in Stamps by her paternal grandmother, tells about growing up in the Black community of Stamps in ''

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ''I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' is a 1969 autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of charact ...

'' – author and poet * George Doherty (1920–1987), mathematics and physical education teacher in Stamps – American football player and inspirational coach * Earl T. Ricks (1908–1954), raised in Stamps – United States Air Force major general * Rolling Thunder (1916–1997), born in Stamps – self-identified hippie medicine man

References

{{authority control Cities in Arkansas Cities in Lafayette County, Arkansas