Pea Ridge is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The name Pea Ridge is derived from a combination of the physical location of the original settlement of the town, across the crest of a ridge of the Ozark Mountains, and for the hog peanuts or turkey peas that had been originally cultivated by Native American tribes centuries before European settlement, which later helped to provide basic subsistence once those pioneer settlers arrived.
The rural town is best known as the location of the pivotal American Civil War engagement the Battle of Pea Ridge, or, as it is locally known, the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, which took place approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of the town. The site of the battle is preserved as the Pea Ridge National Military Park.
Arkansas Highway 94 is the main road through the city, leading south 8 miles (13 km) to the center of Rogers and northwest 6 miles (10 km) to the Missouri border. Arkansas Highway 72 leads east 5 miles (8 km) to U.S. Route 62 at Pea Ridge National Military Park, and southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Bentonville.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,559 people, 2,021 households, and 1,455 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the 2010 Census, Pea Ridge had a population of 4,794. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 90.7% white, 0.7% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 2.0% from two or more races and 5.8% Hispanic or Latino.[6]
There were 1300 households, out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,244, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,340 versus $21,298 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,149. 7.7% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
The 1880 Pea Ridge Masonic College building as it appeared in 1920, about ten years before it was razed
Downtown Pea Ridge looking east on Pickens Road in 1914. The white structure at the end of the street was a hotel operated by the Martin family, which burned down around 1920.
The original J.J. Putnam's general merchandise store, which later burned down and was replaced with a cement block building, which still stands on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue. This photo antedates 1914.
The cement block building that replaced J.J. Putnam's first general merchandise store, which burned, on the southeast corner of Pickens Road and Curtis Avenue in 1914.
