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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Bonanza

Arkansas

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Don’t Know
Unions, Organized Labor?
Strong

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Surely
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
1904
Still Sundown?
Probably

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990 520 514 0
2000 514 492 0
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Violent Expulsion

Main Ethnic Group(s)

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

According to the The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, a race riot occurred in Bonanza at the beginning of the 20th century: “The Bonanza Race War of 1904 was a race riot/labor war that occurred in the coal-mining city of Bonanza (Sebastian County) and resulted in the expulsion of African Americans from the city following several days of violence. On the night of Saturday, April 30, however, tensions exploded when black and white patrons of Clinton%u2019s Saloon traded shots outside the establishment. This led to a city-wide exchange of bullets; the Fort Smith Times reported that %u201Cas many as 500 shots were fired during the night.%u201D The Arkansas Gazette reported on May 7 that nearly all African Americans had left the city. By 1930, the township in which Bonanza is located recorded no African-American residents, and it was still all white as of the 2000 Census.”