Pea Ridge is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The name Pea Ridge is derived from a combination of the physical location of the original settlement of the town, across the crest of a ridge of the Ozark Mountains, and for the hog peanuts or turkey peas that had been originally cultivated by Native American tribes centuries before European settlement, which later helped to provide basic subsistence once those pioneer settlers arrived.

The rural town is best known as the location of the pivotal American Civil War engagement the Battle of Pea Ridge, or, as it is locally known, the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, which took place approximately east of the town. The site of the battle is preserved as the Pea Ridge National Military Park.

The town's downtown business district is on the National Register of Historic Places and largely comprises commercial structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The population of Pea Ridge was 6,559 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas region. The local weekly newspaper is the Times of Northeast Benton County.

Geography

Arkansas Highway 94 is the main road through the city, leading south to the center of Rogers and northwest to the Missouri border. Arkansas Highway 72 leads east to U.S. Route 62 at Pea Ridge National Military Park, and southwest to Bentonville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

| align-fn = center

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Pea Ridge had a population of 6,559. The median age was 33.5 years. 30.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 100.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males age 18 and over.

There were 2,279 households and 1,455 families in Pea Ridge. Of all households, 43.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 59.7% were married-couple households, 13.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Pea Ridge racial composition

There were 1300 households, out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,244, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,340 versus $21,298 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,149. 7.7% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

Most of Pea Ridge is zoned to the Pea Ridge School District. A small section is zoned to Rogers Public Schools. Pea Ridge High School is the comprehensive high school of the former.

<gallery mode="packed" widths="180">

File:1880 Pea Ridge Masonic College.jpg|The 1880 Pea Ridge Masonic College building as it appeared in 1920, about ten years before it was razed

File:Pea Ridge in 1914.jpg|Downtown Pea Ridge looking east on Pickens Road in 1914. The white structure at the end of the street was a hotel operated by the Martin family, which burned down around 1920.

File:Old JJ Putman Store.jpg|The original J.J. Putnam's general merchandise store, which later burned down and was replaced with a cement block building, which still stands on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue. This photo antedates 1914.

File:Putman Store.jpg|The cement block building that replaced J.J. Putnam's first general merchandise store, which burned, on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue in 1914.

</gallery>

Notable people

  • Grant Hardin, convicted murderer and escapee, nicknamed "Devil in the Ozarks", grew up in Pea Ridge

See also

  • Battle of Pea Ridge

References

  • City of Pea Ridge official website
  • Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Pea Ridge (Benton County)