BlockBefore

Rector, Arkansas

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1984. It stands in East Oak Bluff-Blue Cane Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72461. The Survey maps it on the Rector quadrangle. 1,862 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 285 feet above sea level.

Rector within Clay County

On record in Rector

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Rector fell from 1,977 to 1,862 between 2010 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
20101,977
20201,862-115 (-6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 14 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

4 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Rector between 1997 and 2017, burning about 117 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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
Debris and open burning2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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
25 August 1997Debris and open burning40 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
3 February 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
28 November 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined60 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
11 November 1999Debris and open burning15 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Clay County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Rector: 6 past producers, 5 unknowns, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: 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
Guy BucySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
I GoldenSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
I StahlSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Johnson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Melvin Copeland PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Stahl Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Stahl Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Stahl Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Tri-County Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Trs Trucking PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Clay County

Storms near this place

46 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rector in 46 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 23 thunderstorm wind, 18 hail, 4 flash flood, 1 tornado. 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
January 2013Thunderstorm WindRector$250,000Straight line winds damaged a couple farm buildings and overturned two irrigation pivots.
March 2006Thunderstorm WindRector$75,000A farm shop collapsed. A hangar and an airplane were damaged at the Rector Airport. A portion of the roof was damaged at Crockett Oil Company. Some trees and power lines were knocked down.
August 2024Flash FloodRector$50,000Several bridges were washed or under water between Rector and Greenway.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindRector$50,000Some sheds were destroyed and several trailers were damaged. Numerous trees were knocked down.
April 1998Thunderstorm WindRector$50,000One house was destroyed. A barn was spread out over a one-half mile area. Numerous trees were blown down.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindRector$25,000A barn was destroyed. Several farm shops and barns were damaged. A car and a truck were also damaged. A patio cover was blown away. Some trees were uprooted and some utility poles were blown down.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindRector$25,000A barn was destroyed. A church steeple was torn off. Several trees and power lines were blown down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindRector$25,000A crop duster flipped over at the Rector airport. Several trees were knocked down.
January 1996Thunderstorm WindRector$20,000no account filed
March 2026Thunderstorm WindRector$15,000An outbuilding was destroyed, and a second one was partially damaged near the intersection of South Dodd Street and West 13th Street. Several trees were also downed.
June 1999Tornado (F0)Rector$15,000A tornado briefly touched down just east of Rector. An airplane was turned over. Several large tree limbs were blown down as well.
April 2006HailRector$10,000no account filed
May 2022Thunderstorm WindRector$5,000Trees down in Rector.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindRector$5,000Several power lines were blown down.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindRector$5,000Several power lines were knocked down.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindRector$3,000Numerous large tree limbs down and a downed power pole in Rector.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindRector$2,000Power lines down in Rector.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindRector$2,000Tree down close to the town of Rector.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindRector$2,000Several trees were blown down.
November 2005Thunderstorm WindRector$1,000A couple of trees were knocked down.
April 2008HailRector$1,000no account filed
May 1995HailRector$1,000no account filed
April 2003HailRector$250no account filed
April 1998HailRector$100no account filed
March 2002HailRector$20no account filed
July 2006Flash FloodRector$10Flash flooding caused 3 to 4 inches of water on roads in the town of Rector.
June 2005HailRector$10no account filed
July 2005HailRector$10no account filed
March 2001HailRector$10no account filed
April 2026Thunderstorm WindRector-Wind gusts estimated at 60 mph near Rector.
March 2025HailRector-Quarter sized hail, 2 miles north of Rector, AR.
October 2021Flash FloodRector-Highway 49 was flooded between Rector and Greenway.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindRector-A few trees were knocked down in Rector.
July 2012HailRector-Quarter size hail fell north of Rector.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindRector-Straight line winds destroyed a shed in Rector.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindRector-Straight line winds knocked a few trees down and flipped a trampoline in the town of Rector.
August 2009Flash FloodRector-Heavy rain produced flash flooding in Rector. A few streets were flooded as a result.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindRector-Winds were estimated at 60 mph in Rector.
August 2024HailRector-no account filed
June 2023HailRector-no account filed
April 2020HailRector-no account filed
March 2015HailRector-no account filed
May 2012HailRector-no account filed
April 2010HailRector-no account filed
June 2009HailRector-no account filed
December 2008Thunderstorm WindRector-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Clay 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
Pratt2.2 miles14
Heubner3.3 miles14
Hargrave Corner3.4 miles12
Leonard3.8 miles12
Hammett (historical)4.4 miles12
Mitchell6.0 miles12
Greenway6.6 miles12
Boydsville6.9 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 RectorAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79382The 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 58468. 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.