Earle is a city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,831.
Geography
Earle is located in western Crittenden County. U.S. Route 64 passes through the northern part of the city, bypassing the downtown area. US 64 leads west to Wynne and east to Memphis, Tennessee.
Earle has a total area of , all land.
History
Early history
The city of Earle originally started as two neighboring communities started in the 1860s, Earle and Norvell. Norvell was originally settled in July 1872 by local doctor James Throgmorton. Earle was a train stop established in the late 1880s on land owned by Josiah Francis Earle, a former Confederate soldier and Klansman. The train stop was established after his death in 1884.
Reconstruction period
In 1888, a branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern Railway was built south of Earle. The line still exists as a part of the Union Pacific Railroad. The town had two lumber company-owned railroads connect to it in the early 1900s, the Crittenden Railroad and the Tyronza Lumber Company Railroad.
Early 20th century
Originally, the Earle post office was located within Norvell. The move caused some controversy in the two communities, and in 1904 an altercation took place between the former and then current men who owned the land the post office sat on. John Watt, who formally controlled the post office, shot the current owner, W.M. Brown. Watt was later acquitted of the Brown's murder.
From its formal incorporation in 1905 to the 1940s, Earle was one of the largest towns in Crittenden County. Referred to by locals as the "Pearl of the St. Francis," for many years the town was a center of industry and an important transportation hub for the Arkansas Delta.
One of the more notable residents of Earle was George Berry Washington. Born into slavery in 1864, Washington established a thriving business as a landlord, and through this enterprise provided a means of income for hundreds of Black Arkansans. In 1928, the widow and family of local figure George Berry Washington had a monument, known as "the Angel in the Field", built to honor Washington's life.
In 1918, an African-American man named Elton Mitchell was eviscerated with a knife and hanged from a tree after he refused to work for a white landowner for free.
thumb|The old Missouri Pacific Depot in Earle. Constructed in 1922, it is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Crittenden County, Arkansas|National Register of Historic Places.|left]]
Modern era
A merger of Norvell and Earle was proposed as early as 1913. In 1978, the two towns were formally merged.
2008 tornado
On May 2, 2008, WMC-TV reported that a tornado which was reported to be large and very dangerous affected the Earle area causing major damage in parts of the town and some injuries. There were reports of people missing or unaccounted for. Homes were reportedly destroyed, while businesses and the high school were damaged. The tornado was later confirmed on the same day as an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with winds near 150 to 160 mph.
The 2022 Earle mayoral election resulted in a historic victory for Jaylen Smith, who at 18 years old became the youngest Black person to be elected mayor in any U.S. city.