BlockBefore

Chidester, Arkansas

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Red Hill Township. It lies in ZIP code area 71726. The Survey maps it on the Chidester quadrangle. 253 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 236 feet above sea level.

Chidester within Ouachita County

On record in Chidester

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Chidester fell from 335 to 253 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000335
2010287-48 (-14%)
2020253-34 (-12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

78 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Chidester between 1997 and 2019, burning about 421 acres in total. 15 started naturally. 22 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Arson/incendiarism22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Debris and open burning16
Natural15
Recreation and ceremony3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Equipment and vehicle use2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2010Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
26 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2011Natural2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
21 September 1999Natural1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
2 September 2007Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
2 September 2000Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
19 September 1997Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
12 September 2011Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Ouachita County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Chidester: 5 past producers, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Hope Brick Co PitClay, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
ChidesterClayPast Producer
No NameClayPast Producer
Jackson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Ouachita County

Storms near this place

33 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chidester in 33 storm reports between 1993 and 2020: 16 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 3 flash flood, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2009Flash FloodChidester$75,000Arkansas Highway 57 west of Stephens was closed due to high water. Numerous county roads were closed across Ouachita County due to high water.
October 2014Thunderstorm WindChidester$15,000Trees were blown down onto Arkansas 24 and 57.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindChidester$5,000Trees were blown down.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindChidester$5,000A few large trees were blown down along Arkansas Highway 24.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindChidester$5,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down some trees.
October 1993Thunderstorm WindChidester$5,000no account filed
September 2009FloodChidester-Flash flooding which developed on the 17th became widespread areal flooding during the early hours of the 18th.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindChidester-Trees were down on Arkansas Highway 24.
March 2007Flash FloodChidester-Water was over Ouachita County Road 25.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindChidester-Numerous trees were blown down at various locations between Chidester and Bearden.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindChidester-Thunderstorm winds downed about 25 large trees onto trails at White Oak State Park.
August 2005Flash FloodChidester-Heavy rains caused localized flooding at White Oak State Park.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindChidester-A cluster of severe thunderstorms moved across northern Ouachita County. The storms tracked from near Chidester to around Bearden, and downed numerous trees along the way. One tree fell on a mobile home at Chidester. The storms also pruduced torrential rainfall, with flooding reported later in the evening.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindChidester-Thunderstorm winds blew down some large trees.
July 1997HailChidester-Hail up to quarter size damaged the roofs of several buildings and some vehicles.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindChidester-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees.
February 2020HailChidester-no account filed
February 2020HailChidester-no account filed
August 2004HailChidester-no account filed
October 2003HailChidester-no account filed
May 2001HailChidester-no account filed
August 2001HailChidester-no account filed
May 1999HailChidester-no account filed
September 1999Thunderstorm WindChidester-no account filed
August 1998HailChidester-no account filed
August 1998Thunderstorm WindChidester-no account filed
January 1997Thunderstorm WindChidester-no account filed
January 1997LightningChidester-no account filed
April 1996HailChidester-no account filed
October 1996HailChidester-no account filed
October 1996Thunderstorm WindChidester-no account filed
February 1996Thunderstorm WindChidester-no account filed
June 1994HailChidester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Ouachita County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Van Wagoner (historical)2.2 miles15
Barham2.3 miles16
Red Hill2.8 miles16
Bragg City3.1 miles15
Good Hope4.5 miles16
Wyloe (historical)5.1 miles15
Sayre5.1 miles17
Wise (historical)5.5 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ChidesterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q80189The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 57546. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.