Batesville is Arkansas’ oldest incorporated city, and nearly 200 years later, the town’s economy keeps on tickin’, officials say.
The town sits along the White River in Independence County with a population of more than 10,700 people.
Kyle Christopher, tourism director for the Batesville Chamber of Commerce, said the town’s three biggest industries are healthcare, poultry and education.
Christopher said the largest employer in Batesville is the White River Health System, followed by Ozark Mountain Poultry and the school districts and colleges.
Although river traffic was once a large economic driver early in the town’s history, Christopher said the White River is now “almost an untapped resource” the town is working to grow and advance as a tourism feature.
While river traffic used to consist of steamboats, now it’s mainly fishing and recreational crafts.
Batesville was hit with plant closures in 2008 and 2009, but Christopher now describes the town’s economy as a “snowball just getting ready to start rolling down the hill.”
Mayor Rick Elumbaugh said the town’s jobs market is now “extremely strong.”
“Everyone who wants to work in Independence County has that ability to go to work,” the mayor said.
The town has two colleges, Lyon College and the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. Both are really engaged in local workforce development, the tourism director said. Students can take classes and training while still in high school so they’re ready to enter the workforce upon graduation, Christopher said.
In addition to the colleges, Batesville has several other economic strengths including a first-class wastewater treatment facility, quality of life, an award-winning new community center, greenway trails and an affordable cost of living, according to the tourism director.
In particular, the Batesville Community Center, which was completed in June 2017, has already seen over 200,000 people, Kyle said. The $22 million project was funded by a city-wide recreational tax.
Christopher said the chamber and others are working to make Batesville a great place to invest in and for people to travel to. In fact, the chamber has placed a big focus on building a traveling economy and is looking to continue that as an economic driver, according to Christopher.
With new greenway trails and a wonderful recreational resource like the White River, travelers who love the outdoors have great reasons to visit Batesville.
Looking to the future, Christopher said Batesville’s economy is a train just starting to get moving.
He said, “All the pieces are coming together.”
>>Check out some of our past city profiles on Helena-West Helena, Texarkana and Siloam Springs<<
