Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff is conveniently located in the mid-south region of Arkansas, and serves as the major trade center for the southeast portion of the state. With a population of more than 55,000, Pine Bluff has it all: A historic downtown district, outdoor recreation, attractions, a diverse manufacturing base and warm, friendly people.

The cultural climate of Pine Bluff is healthy and breathes diversity. The Pine Bluff Convention Center is one of the state's largest meeting facility. The Arts and Science Center's facilities features exciting theatrical performances and workshops for children and adults. Pine Bluff also boasts the only Band Museum in the country, downtown murals depicting the history of Pine Bluff, a historical museum and a railroad museum.

Recreational opportunities in Pine Bluff range from water sports and some of the best bass fishing in the state on the Arkansas River to golf and tennis. As host to 30-35 bass tournaments each year, Jefferson County Regional Park has earned Pine Bluff the nickname of "Bass Capital of the World." Pine Bluff is also well-known as a baseball town, hosting many national tournaments including high school, Babe Ruth and Little League. A multi-million dollar Nature Center at Regional Park and the Arkansas entertainers hall of fame at the Pine Bluff Convention Center draw thousands to the area each year.

Pine Bluff's quality educational facilities guide children from early years to college. The Pine Bluff School District includes elementary magnet schools to meet special interests in the fields of math, science, foreign language, communications, and fine and performing arts. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is the second oldest public institution in the state of Arkansas, and the oldest with a black heritage. The newly accredited Southeast Arkansas College features technical career programs as well as a 2-year college curriculum.

Agriculture is a mainstay in Pine Bluff. Jefferson County is located in the heart of a rich agricultural area in the Arkansas River Basin. The leading products include cotton, soybeans, cattle, rice, poultry, timber and catfish. Principle industries in the area are engaged in processing cotton, production of cottonseed oil, paper and wood products, the manufacture of wire products, poultry processing, the manufacture of electric transformers and metal fabrication. Major employers are Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Tyson Foods, International Paper, the Pine Bluff Arsenal and Union Pacific Railroad.

Quality of life and quality living are important to the residents of the city. The citizens of Pine Bluff are warm, caring and friendly people who work hard to help themselves, their families and others. It's this kind of spirit and attitude that allows Pine Bluff to be consistently selected as one of the state's Volunteer Communities of the Year. Our motto is "Positively Pine Bluff!" It's an attitude shared by all of our residents.

The Pine Bluff Commercial, a tradition of excellence for more than a century.

The Pine Bluff Commercial was established as a weekly on April 18, 1881, by Maj. Charles Gordon Newman, former co-owner of the Pine Bluff Press who had served as president of the Arkansas Press Association in 1878-79. Newman continued to operate the paper until his death in 1911, except for a short time in 1882 when Chester Flourney published The Commercial. The newspaper became a daily for a short time in 1887 and then permanently in 1888. For several years, a weekly edition appeared on Saturdays.

Edmond Wroe Freeman, Newman's son-in-law, joined The Commercial in 1902 and became a partner about a year later. When Newman died in 1911, Freeman became the publisher. In 1940, The Commercial began publishing a Sunday edition. E. W. Freeman Sr. died in 1945 and was succeeded by his son, E.W. Freeman Jr., as publisher of the The Commercial. E.W. Freeman III came to The Commercial in 1953 and served as editor and later as publisher until 1986, when the newspaper was sold to the Donrey Media Group. Donrey was purchased by Stephens Inc. in 1993 and changed its name to the Stephens Media Group in 2002. The company owns 21 newspapers in eight states.

The Commercial has a long history of being an award-winning newspaper, garnering honors each year from the Arkansas Press Association, The Associated Press and the Stephens Media Group. The most prestigious award the newspaper has received came in 1969, when Paul Greenberg, then-editorial page editor, won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials on race issues. It is one of only two Pulitzers captured by an Arkansas newspaper.