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Swifton, Arkansas

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Glass Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72471. The Survey maps it on the Swifton West quadrangle. 733 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 249 feet above sea level.

Swifton within Jackson County

On record in Swifton

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

2 figures

Swifton fell from 798 to 733 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
2010798
2020733-65 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 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

9 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Swifton between 1999 and 2017, burning about 157 acres in total. None started naturally. 6 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/incendiarism6
Debris and open burning1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
9 August 2007Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 1999Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
22 August 1999Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
22 August 1999Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
17 April 2006Arson/incendiarism27 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
9 December 2006Debris and open burning3.0 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
30 November 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined70 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named
30 November 2002Arson/incendiarism40 acresArkansas Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

40 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Swifton in 40 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 21 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 4 flash flood, 4 flood. 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
May 2011FloodSwifton$1,500,000Parts of Arkansas Highways 14, 18, 37, 42, 69, 69S, 224, 226, and 384 were closed due to flooding. Jacksonport and areas to the north of town were evacuated; Jacksonport State Park was closed. Flooding in Jackson County continued into June.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindSwifton$250,000Damaging thunderstorm winds blew through Swifton. At the fire department administrative building (old City Hall), a bay door blew in. Once the wind was inside the building, it blew out much of the rear of the building and took off a large part of the roof. Rain poured in, leaving more than an inch of water on the floor of the offices. Across the street, a large tree fell on a garage. Nearby, a huge tree fell into a house, causing large limbs to jut through the ceilings of several rooms.
April 2011FloodSwifton$125,000Widespread areal flooding occurred. A portion of Arkansas Highway 14 was closed from the afternoon of the 26th through the end of the month. Part of Arkansas Highway 224 was closed from the morning of the 27th through the end of the month. Parts of Arkansas Highways 37, 69, and 226 were closed from the morning of the 28th through the end of the month.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindSwifton$50,000Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindSwifton$30,000A roof was removed from a home in Swifton.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindSwifton$25,000A roof was blown off a night club.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindSwifton$25,000A hay barn was blown down.
December 2013Flash FloodSwifton$20,000Sections of Arkansas 224 and Arkansas 226 near Swifton flooded, as did several county roads.
December 2013FloodSwifton$15,000Sections of Arkansas 224 and Arkansas 226 were flooded for a week.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindSwifton$10,000A few trees were uprooted, and a fence and a farm shop wall were blown down.
March 2019Thunderstorm WindSwifton$2,000Trees and fence were blown over in Swifton.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindSwifton$500Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
January 2025Flash FloodSwifton-Arkansas Highway 224 was closed in both directions due to high water from Cattail Creek over the roadway near the community of Swifton.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Trees and powerlines were down in Swifton. Gusts were estimated at 60-70 mph.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Winds were measured at 68 mph in Swifton, in addition to quarter sized hail. Numerous trees were uprooted.
January 2020Flash FloodSwifton-ARDOT reported Hwy 224 south of Swifton was closed due to high water. Time was estimated from radar.
May 2020HailSwifton-The public reported golf ball size hail in Swifton.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Trees were blown down and large limbs were down as well. Winds gusted to an estimated 60 mph.
May 2019Tornado (EF0)Swifton-This tornado was observed by Law Enforcement in rural areas of Jackson County southeast of Swifton, just north of Arkansas Hwy 226. Damage was minimal due to staying mainly in open fields.
February 2018FloodSwifton-State Highway 226 was closed south of Swifton due to high water on the road.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindSwifton-There was damage to several outbuildings.
January 2017HailSwifton-Hail 1.00 inch in diameter fell in Swifton.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Trees and power lines were blown down.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Thunderstorm winds knocked down some highway signs.
April 2003Tornado (F0)Swifton-A weak tornado moved from Independence County into Jackson County about 5.5 miles west of Swifton. The tornado traveled to the northeast for approximately 4.5 miles before lifting 5 miles northwest of Swifton. The tornado continued to track along the Black River bottoms. Several trees were pushed over. Also, the tops of some trees along with other large limbs were twisted and broken.
May 2001Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Several trees were blown down at Swifton.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Thunderstorm winds uprooted a large tree and knocked down some large limbs.
October 1995Thunderstorm WindSwifton-Some trees were blown down.
February 2024HailSwifton-no account filed
June 2018HailSwifton-no account filed
April 2010HailSwifton-no account filed
April 2004Flash FloodSwifton-no account filed
July 2004HailSwifton-no account filed
October 2004HailSwifton-no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindSwifton-no account filed
February 2001Thunderstorm WindSwifton-no account filed
April 2000HailSwifton-no account filed
November 2000HailSwifton-no account filed
November 1998Thunderstorm WindSwifton-no account filed
March 1996Thunderstorm WindSwifton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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
Vance3.6 miles10
Centerville5.0 miles10
Kenyon5.4 miles10
Tuckerman7.3 miles11
Tuscany (historical)8.7 miles10
Amith Addition8.8 miles11
Elgin9.6 miles12
Grubbs12.2 miles10

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 SwiftonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79493The 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 58723. 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.

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.