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Wynne, Arkansas

Wynne, Arkansas
City
"The City with a Smile"
"The City with a Smile"
Location in Cross County and the state of Arkansas
Location in Cross County and the state of Arkansas
Coordinates: 35°13′39″N 90°47′22″W / 35.22750°N 90.78944°W / 35.22750; -90.78944Coordinates: 35°13′39″N 90°47′22″W / 35.22750°N 90.78944°W / 35.22750; -90.78944
Country United States
State Arkansas
County Cross
Post office opened September 27, 1882
Government
 • Mayor Bob Stacy
Area
 • Total 8.87 sq mi (22.98 km2)
 • Land 8.86 sq mi (22.96 km2)
 • Water 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation 262 ft (80 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,367
 • Density 944/sq mi (364.5/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC−6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC−5)
ZIP code 72396
Area code 870
FIPS code 05-77090
GNIS feature ID 0078815
Website www.cityofwynne.com

Wynne is the county seat and largest city of Cross County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 8,367 at the 2010 Census. Nestled between the Arkansas Delta and Crowley's Ridge, Wynne is the closest city to the second largest state park in Arkansas, Village Creek State Park.

Wynne was named for Captain Jesse Watkins Wynne. Wynne, a Texan, achieved the rank of Captain in the Civil War at the age of just 21, and he was famous for once leading a group of his captors up to the Confederate lines, where he then marched them to headquarters as his own prisoners.

In 1867, Captain Wynne moved to St. Francis County, Arkansas, and joined the finance company of Dennis & Beck. At that time, the Dennis & Beck company held savings for other companies and for individuals, but eventually, it became the Bank of Eastern Arkansas, and Wynne became its first president.

From 1880 to 1885, as the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad was under construction, active steamboat riverports like Wittsburg, at that time the county seat of Cross County, were deserted for the railroads.

The location of the settlement of Wynne was first chosen in 1882, when a train derailed, leaving one boxcar without wheels and off the tracks. That boxcar was then turned upright as a building, and as a compliment to Captain Wynne, it was designated the "Wynne Station". On September 27, 1882, the Wynne Station Post Office was opened.

When the east-west railroad line was completed, it crossed the north-south line near the boxcar, and the name "Wynne Junction" became well known in the area. On May 28, 1888, the "Junction" part of the name was dropped, and the town of Wynne was formed.

By the 1890s, the railroad traffic and the resulting activity in Wynne made it a more vibrant town than the town of Vanndale, which had been the county seat since 1886. In 1903, the county seat of Cross County was moved to Wynne.


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