The southwest Arkansas city of Hope may be the hometown of U.S. President Bill Clinton, but for those who call this small community of 9,000 home, melons are its defining export. That’s because the annual Hope Watermelon Festival, a summer celebration since the 1920s, brings to town a change of pace, an influx of out-of-towners and some seriously big melons – some even topping 200 lbs.
Agricultural feats aside, healthcare and manufacturing are the leading industries in Hope, thanks to the Southwest Arkansas Regional Medical Center and Tyson Foods, Inc.’s hatchery and processing plant. “It’s a small, rural community with lots of industry – agriculture, poultry and timber, which is mainly pine,” says local Jodi King, a Realtor with Stavely and Associates Real Estate. “We’re mostly known for watermelons, though.
Hope’s historic downtown
Hope’s historic downtown is a quaint collection of red-brick storefronts and vibrant murals. Locally owned businesses cluster around the streets just south of the Hope Visitor Center and Museum, a 1912 train depot that is not only an operational Amtrak station but also serves as a mini President Clinton museum. Big-box stores like Piggly Wiggly and Walmart are on Hope’s fringes.
Fair Park
The town maintains three parks, including Northside Park, popular for youth sports. At over 140 acres, Fair Park is the biggest public green space in town. It features a 10-acre pond and a smaller section for fishing derbies. It’s also well-known as the site of the Hope Watermelon Festival and the Southwest Arkansas District Fair. King says the event brings food vendors, live music, livestock shows and rodeos to town. The park also hosts a popular spring livestock show.
Ranch-style homes on lots of land
The median price in Hope is roughly $117,000, less than a third of the national average. That said, sales data is limited since houses around here don’t sell often. “Especially in the farm community. Everyone hangs on to their property and passes it down,” King says. Many of Hope’s rustic ranch-style homes and bungalows were built between the 1920s and the late 1960s. President Clinton’s childhood home, a beautifully preserved American Foursquare on South Hervey Street, was built in 1917. Generally, lot sizes are bigger the farther out from the center of town, with ranches on the outskirts sprawling across more than 100 acres. Hope residents enjoy a subtropical climate, which comes with a rainy season between March and July, so homebuyers should check their prospective property’s flood zone when considering insurance.
Hope Public Schools
Hope Public Schools earns a C from Niche. Hope High School, Home of the Bobcats, is graded B and offers a concurrent enrollment program, allowing students to attend high-school courses on campus while taking college-level classes at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. The two-year university is part of the University of Arkansas system and offers over 50 areas of study on Hope’s south side.
Interstate 30 to Little Rock
Hope is about 34 miles from Texarkana Regional Airport, which has connecting flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, the closest international airport. The state capital, Little Rock, is just over 110 miles northeast. Interstate 30, a direct route to Little Rock, runs along the north side of town.
The Hope Police Department
The Hope Police Department serves the community. Crime statistics for the area are not readily available.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
