Romance, Arkansas
Encyclopedia
Romance, Arkansas is an unincorporated community in west-central White County
White County, Arkansas
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 77,076. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, Jackson, and Pulaski counties and named for Hugh Lawson White, a...

, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

. The community is located approximately halfway between the town of Rose Bud
Rose Bud, Arkansas
Rose Bud is a town in White County, Arkansas, in the United States. Tammy Tipton Bomar is the current mayor. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 429...

 to the north, and the unincorporated community of El Paso
El Paso, Arkansas
El Paso is an unincorporated community in central Arkansas, located in southwestern White County. Its name is Spanish for "the pass", referring to a small gap in the hills on the community's northern edge...

 to the south. Alternately, the community is about 16 miles (25.7 km) northwest of Beebe
Beebe, Arkansas
Beebe, Arkansas is a city in White County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,930 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous in the county after Searcy. The city is home to a branch campus of Jonesboro-based Arkansas State University. It was named for Roswell Beebe, a...

, and less than 5 miles (8 km) east of Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, Arkansas
Mount Vernon is a town in Arkansas located in portions of Faulkner County and White County. The population was 144 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

.

Considered as a postal designation (ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

:
72136), the population of Romance as of the 2000 census was 1,732 residents.

Geography & History

Lacking exact boundaries, much of the Romance area falls within the borders of Marshall Township and Kentucky Township within White County. As legend maintains, the community was named by a school teacher many years ago who thought the view from bluffs on the community's eastern side was particularly romantic.

Naming of the community has proven significant in maintaining Romance's most visible business, a small branch post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 of the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

. The local post office is one of several within the USPS system that gain attention because of "love-themed" names, but received special focus in 1990 as the first location to issue that year's stamp in the USPS Love Stamp series. Romance's post office is among those popular around the United States for postmarks of cards for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...

, as well as for wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

 invitations. A side venture of sorts has developed in recent years, with a small number of weddings performed on the grounds of the post office, though the practice is not affiliated with the USPS.

Government

As an unincorporated community, local government of Romance is part of the jurisdiction of the county judge of White County, the county's chief executive, and subject to county-wide ordinance
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...

s. The current County Judge is Michael Lincoln of Searcy. The community is represented legislatively in the county's quorum court in Searcy
Searcy, Arkansas
Searcy is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,663. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of White County...

, the county seat, during monthly and special meetings by the quorum court district's justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

. The current JP for the area is Cameron Cooper of nearby Gravel Hill. Local law enforcement, similarly, is provided directly from the county level by deputies of the White County Sheriff's Department, as well as township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...

 constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

s for Marshall and Kentucky townships. The current Sheriff is Ricky Shourd and the current Constable is Curtis Elliot. Judicial enforcement is the responsibility of the circuit court judge and prosecuting attorney.

A small southern portion of the Romance area is federally-controlled territory used as a parachute drop zone for Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.-Overview:...

 in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Arkansas
Jacksonville is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, and a suburb of Little Rock. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 28,364. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area....

; the base is approximately 33 miles (53.1 km) south of the territory. The drop zone was first established in the early 1990s.

Additionally, Romance is represented legislatively on the state level in the Arkansas General Assembly as part of Senate District 12 and House District 49; the community is part of Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District on the federal level.

Terrain & Climate

Small creeks and ponds can be found around the community, including Cedar Creek on Romance's south side. Clifty Creek flows through the center of Romance. Bad Luck Creek and Bayou Des Arc also flow nearby to the east, with Des Arc being dammed and forming Barnett Lake between Romance and the nearby community of Floyd. Scenic waterfalls can be found along these streams. There are a series of steep and elevated bluffs along Highway 31, with several pull off points to enjoy the scenic view. Geographically, Romance is considered to be in the foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...

 of the Ozark Mountains. The southern portion of the community, which is situated atop Black Jack Mountain, is significantly higher in elevation than other parts of Romance. The overall climate is somewhat similar to that found in other north central Arkansas communities, with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters. Severe weather can include thunderstorms, hail, and tornados during the warm months, with snow, sleet, freezing rain and frigid windchills in the winter months.

Transportation

Romance is situated along two major Arkansas state highways:
  • Highway 5, a north-south highway serving central Arkansas. This major portion of the highway continues north to the Missouri
    Missouri
    Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

     state line, and south to Cabot
    Cabot, Arkansas
    As of the census of 2000, there were 15,269 people, 5,432 households, and 4,329 families residing in the city. The population density was 798.2 people per square mile . There were 5,712 housing units at an average density of 298.8 per square mile...

     at U.S. Highway 67. Among other intersections, this path provides access to U.S. Highway 64 at El Paso, and U.S. Highways 62 and 412 in Mountain Home
    Mountain Home, Arkansas
    Mountain Home is a city in and the county seat of Baxter County, Arkansas, United States, in the southern Ozark Mountains.It was recently listed in the top 20 cities in the U.S. for sportsmen in the current edition of Outdoor Life magazine, was recently ranked #2 for Field and Stream's Best Fishing...

    .
  • Highway 31, a north-south highway with a northern terminus in Romance at Arkansas 5, and continuing through Beebe and Lonoke
    Lonoke, Arkansas
    Lonoke is the second most populous city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as its county seat. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 4,553...

     towards its southern terminus at the U.S. Highway 79 business loop northeast of Pine Bluff
    Pine Bluff, Arkansas
    Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...

    . The path provides access to U.S. Highway 67 in Beebe, and Interstate 40
    Interstate 40
    Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...

     in Lonoke.


The majority of roads in the area are administered by the White County Road Department, including Hilltop Acres, which serves the center of Romance and connects to both Arkansas 5 (opposite Manning Road) and Arkansas 31 (opposite Rogers Road). Passing by the former Romance Store building, which once housed the community's post office, the southern portion of Hilltop Acres travels through something of an unofficial downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....

 area. The post office was relocated to a lot along Arkansas 31 in the early 1990s; the remaining general store closed soon afterward.

Among county roads in the area, four major roads serve greater Romance:
  • Blackjack Mountain Road (White County Road 149) is a mostly unpaved road of the White County road system that travels south of but somewhat parallel to the westernmost portion of Arkansas 31. The name of the approximately 6.5-mile-long east-west road is taken from blackjack oak
    Blackjack oak
    Quercus marilandica is a small oak, one of the red oak group Quercus sect. Lobatae, but fairly isolated from the others...

     trees found throughout the hills on Romance's south side. Its western terminus is at Arkansas 5, opposite a portion of Highway 310. Its eastern terminus is at Arkansas 31, to the northwest of the unincorporated community of Floyd
    Floyd, Arkansas
    Floyd is an unincorporated community in western White County, Arkansas. The rural community is situated along Highways 31 and 305, in addition to the county-maintained El Paso Road...

    .
  • Romance Road (White County Road 26) is an east-west unpaved road of the White County road system that travels from its western terminus at Kentucky Valley Road near Romance's center to approximately 1/2 mile east of Gravel Hill Road, currently dead ending at Quattlebaum Cemetery, in the unincorporated community of Gravel Hill. A portion of the road runs parallel to Bad Luck Creek. For all basic purposes, the Gravel Hill community is considered an integral part of the greater Romance area. The local fire departments have noted that the Floyd/Romance Volunteer Fire Department will service those living on the south end of Gravel Hill Road, with the department based in the nearby unincorporated community of Joy providing service to those on the north end of Gravel Hill.
  • Kentucky Valley Road (White County Road 157) is a paved road of the White County road system with a varied path mostly traveling north and northeast of the center of Romance. Its southern terminus is at Hilltop Acres, to the right of former Romance Store building and leading past the community's volunteer-staffed fire station
    Fire station
    A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...

    . Occasionally taking 90-degree turns, its final turn is toward a northern terminus at Daffodil Road. Kentucky Valley Road travels toward Kentucky Township, with both the road and township taking their names from early settlers of the area having arrived from Kentucky
    Kentucky
    The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

    .
  • Daffodil Road is a north-south unpaved road of the White County road system that travels mostly north and northwest from a southern terminus intersecting with Hilltop Acres, as that road veers to the left, near the center of Romance. Daffodil Road continues toward a northern terminus at Denison Road, south of Rose Bud.


The closest navigable waterway for commercial use is the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

 at Little Rock. Commercial rail service is available in Little Rock and North Little Rock
North Little Rock, Arkansas
the city was 62.55% White, 33.98% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races...

, with passenger rail service also in Little Rock. The nearest airfield is Dennis F. Cantrell Field
Dennis F. Cantrell Field
Dennis F. Cantrell Field is a public use airport located one nautical mile southeast of the central business district of Conway, in Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. It is owned by the City of Conway....

 in Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...

, offering charter service at Conway Municipal Airport (CWS). Major airlines and air freight service are available in Little Rock at Little Rock National Airport
Little Rock National Airport
Little Rock National Airport , officially Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field, is located 2 miles east of the central business district of Little Rock, a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. It is Arkansas' largest commercial service airport, serving more than 2.1 million...

 (LIT), Adams Field.

Early Childhood

Education for children in Romance prior to the age of 5 years is primarily home-based, though a limited amount of day-care facilities can be found within short drives from the community.

Elementary & Secondary

Children in the greater Romance area are largely served by the Rose Bud Public School District in nearby Rose Bud. Romance's school district was consolidated
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...

 with the Rose Bud district during the 1950s, and the community had a local school as early as 1895, when the Harper School on Blackjack Mountain operated. Extreme eastern portions of the community are part of the Beebe Public School District. Both are member schools of the Beebe-based Wilbur D. Mills Educational Service Cooperative. Far western portions of the area are part of the Mount Vernon-Enola Public School District, part of the Arch Ford Educational Service Cooperative based in Plumerville
Plumerville, Arkansas
Plumerville is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 854 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plumerville is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....

.

Colleges & Universities

Seven post-secondary institutions of higher learning are located within a 45 miles (72.4 km) radius of Romance:
  • Arkansas State University Beebe
    Arkansas State University Beebe
    Arkansas State University-Beebe is a public two-year college system located in central Arkansas, with its flagship campus in Beebe, Arkansas. The ASU-Beebe system is a subset of the Arkansas State University System.- Campuses :...

     — a campus of the state's second-largest public university — is a satellite of the main campus
    Arkansas State University
    Arkansas State University is a public university and is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System, the state's second largest college system and third largest university by enrollment. It is located atop on Crowley's Ridge at Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA...

     in Jonesboro
    Jonesboro, Arkansas
    Jonesboro is a city in and one of the two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city was 67,263. A college town, Jonesboro is the largest city in northeastern Arkansas and the fifth most populous city in the state...

    . ASU-Beebe further serves as a parent campus to two-year branch campuses in Searcy and Heber Springs
    Heber Springs, Arkansas
    Heber Springs is a city in Cleburne County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 6,432 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Cleburne County.-Geography:Heber Springs is located at ....

     within the radius; a learning center operated at Little Rock Air Force Base is also part of the ASU-Beebe system. Via distance learning connections, the Beebe campus offers varied bachelor's degree
    Bachelor's degree
    A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

    s as well as several associate-level degrees. The university is the oldest and second-largest two-year institution in the state, in terms of student enrollment.
  • Harding University
    Harding University
    Harding University is located in Searcy, Arkansas, in the United States, about north-east of Little Rock. It is a private liberal arts Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ. The university takes its name from James A...

    , a private four-year university affiliated with the Church of Christ
    Church of Christ
    Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...

    , with its main campus in Searcy, a graduate school of biblical studies and religion in Memphis, Tennessee
    Memphis, Tennessee
    Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

    , and varied international study programs in Europe
    Europe
    Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

    , Africa
    Africa
    Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

    , South America
    South America
    South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

     and Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

    .
  • Hendrix College
    Hendrix College
    Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college located in Conway, Arkansas. The student body averages around 1,400 and currently represents forty-three states and fourteen foreign countries. In US News and World Report's America's Best Colleges, Hendrix is ranked annually in the top tier of...

    , a private four-year college affiliated with the United Methodist Church
    United Methodist Church
    The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

    , located in Conway
    Conway, Arkansas
    Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...

    , and like Harding, regarded by many as one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind in Arkansas.
  • The University of Central Arkansas
    University of Central Arkansas
    The University of Central Arkansas is a state-run institution located in the city of Conway, the seat of Faulkner County, north of Little Rock and is the fourth largest university by enrollment in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and the third largest college system in the state. The school is most...

    , a leading four-year public university in the region, located in Conway, particularly notable for programs in educating teachers. The broadcast center of the Arkansas Educational Television Network
    Arkansas Educational Television Network
    Arkansas Educational Television Network is a state network of simulcast non-commercial educational public television station covering the state of Arkansas...

     is located on the UCA campus.
  • Central Baptist College
    Central Baptist College
    Central Baptist College is a four-year, private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Majors are available within the fields of behavioral science, business, general education, missions, music, religion, and science. Located on a campus , CBC was founded in 1952 and awards both associate and...

    , a private four-year college affiliated with the Missionary Baptist Church
    Baptist Missionary Association of America
    The Baptist Missionary Association of America is a fellowship of autonomous Baptist churches for the purpose of benevolence, Christian education, and missions....

    , located in Conway and near the UCA campus. The school is notable for religious studies programs, with more recently developed programs geared toward instruction in media, public service and medical careers.

Economy

Few businesses are found in Romance, with commuting
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...

 to jobs in surrounding communities being very common. The average travel time from home to work as of 2000 is typically around 44 minutes, according to research from the U.S. Census Bureau. Those businesses most easily identified, other than the USPS, include hay and grass farming, raising of livestock, meat processing, and antique and craft sales. The Romance area is also part of the Fayetteville Shale Play, a region for natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

resource exploration throughout northern Arkansas since 2005.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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