Urbanette, AR - Carroll County

History of Urbanette

The town of Urbanette was founded in 1902 near the historic settlement of the Standlee family, whose farm was located just west of town. Today, it would be found on HWY 21, about 6 miles north of Berryville. The town was named for two enterprising business men from Texas - Mr. Urban and his father-in-law Mr. Bennett. The name of the town is a combination of their two surnames. The two men built a store, hotel, livery stable, and restaurant to serve local passengers, wheat farmers, cattlemen, and workers of the railroad, which had extended across Carroll County in 1901. Stock pens were constructed west of the depot, and Urbanette soon became an important county shipping center for cattle. The town also had a garage, saw mill, two blacksmith shops, and a medical office. When a work camp in nearby Black Jack was relocated to Urbanette in 1902, Mr. Urban and Mr. Bennett promptly constructed frame houses for some of the railroad men. The Urbanette Post Office opened on February 10, 1902, but the town was never officially incorporated. The first postmaster was Cyrus D. Plumlee, who also operated an early store in town. A flour mill from Green Forest was also moved to the area. The post office remained in operation until it was shut down in the mid-1960's and postal service was transferred to Berryville.

In 1907, the school at Black Jack was transferred to Urbanette. The community conducted a meeting in which they decided to build a new schoolhouse. The town agreed upon a reasonable mill tax for the new school, and the old school building was sold to assist in funding the construction. Historical records indicate that in 1910 there were 79 children attending school in Urbanette. A new two-story concrete block school building was finished in 1913. It would continue to serve the community's educational needs until consolidation with the school district of Berryville in 1948. (Some rcords indicate that it was still in use as late as 1956.)

Also in Urbanette, a canning factory and store were operated by T.S. Phillips and Joe Standlee. The nearest place of worship was the Hardshell Baptist Church and Cemetery located about 1 mile to the northeast. It is sometimes called the "Jones" Cemetery. Urbanette residents also attended church in the town of Black Jack. HWY 21 brought more automobile traffic to Urbanette, as it ran through town and was blacktopped in the early 1950's. Prior to consolidation, there were about 90 students enrolled in the local Urbanette school in 1956. The town was sometimes referred to as "Hump", Arkansas by some county residents.

Communities of Carroll County: