Buffalo National River Redesignation Draws Huge Crowd To Small Arkansas Town

"JASPER — A sign on the way into this Newton County town states its population is 547.

On Thursday evening, more than twice that number, upwards of 1,185 people, squeezed into the cafeteria at the local high school. The original 400 chairs had been supplemented by another 273 that students toted in from every classroom on campus — even then, the crowd spread along the walls of the gym, into the vestibule and hallways, past vending machines and photos of past graduates.

Those numbers did not include the 500 people watching on the library’s Zoom livestream (their subscription caps streams at 500), or the more than 1,400 folks who tuned in via Facebook Live."

Jordan P. Hickey reports for States Newsroom Oct 27, 2023.