The city got its name from a tree located on the bank of the St. Francis River until 1890 that had been blazed to mark a section of the river where Native Americans could walk about across land to reach the Little River and avoid paddling upstream. Marked Tree has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.
Geography
Marked Tree is located on the St. Francis River at the intersection of US Route 63 and Arkansas highways 140, 149 and 308. The south end of the Marked Tree Floodway lies just west of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,800 people, 1,126 households, and 731 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,208.8 people per square mile. There were 1,234 housing units at an average density of 532.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 50.36% White, 47.07% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 1.25% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 2.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 1,126 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couplesliving together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,591, and the median income for a family was $30,197. Males had a median income of $26,305 versus $19,602 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,867. About 25.6% of families and 32.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.4% of those under age 18 and 28.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary school students is provided by the Marked Tree School District. Until 1966, a dual system of education was provided with one set of schools for white children, and a different set for blacks. The first school for blacks was built in 1938, and was named George Washington Carver from 1952 until it was closed in 1966. As of 2018, the Marked Tree School District consists of the following schools:
Marked Tree Elementary School, serving prekindergarten through grade 6th
