Looking west on Emerson.
1919 promotional write-up of
Paragould:
The dream of the wanderer, the hope of the
unsettled, the ambition of the prudent man is to find a place where
he and his family "settle down" and make their permanent home. And
he who is wise in selecting a location will ask twin questions: "Is
this a good place in which to make a living? And is this a good
place in which to live?" The fact that Paragould can answer both of
these questions with an emphatic affirmative and prove the "yes" by
evidence, is the reason so many people are coming here every year to
reside, and why every native of Paragould is thankful that through
accident or design his lot was cast here. It is naturally one of the
attractive cities of Arkansas and upon it is stamped the signet of
enterprise and public spirit. To the attractiveness of nature are
added the grace of architectural design, and the solidity and
substantial character of municipal improvement. Paragould is one of
the cleanest, best governed, most modern and most up-to-date cities
of its size in the State. With yearly enhancement of valuation and
greatly increased expansion of trade, Paragould offers superior
advantages to those seeking investment where it will yield sure
returns.
Paragould is a beautiful and very rapidly developing little city of
approximately 8,000 inhabitants, situated on the gently rolling
hills of the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge. As a result of the
good drainage thus offered, and the splendid sewer system
maintained, sanitary conditions are excellent and make the city's
record from a health standpoint enviable. Its water supply, derived
from deep wells, is pure and wholesome. It has more miles of paved
streets and sidewalks than any other city of its size in Arkansas.
It is a city built mainly by its trade with the surround territory,
though it has considerable manufacturing and railroad interests. Its
geographical situation is such that a more desirable location for
mercantile and manufacturing establishments cannot with reason be
asked.
Paragould is located on the Cotton Belt and Missouri Pacific
Railways, 223 miles south of St. Louis, and 78 miles northwest of
Memphis. It is the county seat of Greene County and the second
largest city in northeast Arkansas. The surround country comprises
beautiful rolling and level lands, teeming with well cultivated
farms and peopled by thousands whose multifarious wants must be
available for their needs through the most convenient channels and
the most profitable medium, and that medium is Paragould.
Every one of the different church denominations has one or more
churches, proof ample that the community if made up of a moral
God-fearing, broad-minded, hospitable and progressive people.
Extending eastward from Paragould is the famous valley of the St.
Francis, rivaling in fertility that of the Nile. Here can be raised
cotton, corn, wheat, alfalfa, potatoes - in short, all truck, grain,
and forage crops. Extending westward is Crowley's Ridge, splendidly
adapted to the growing of fruit and stock raising.
Paragould has four strong banks, three wholesale grocery houses,
four stave mills, two heading factories, three handle factories, two
spoke factories, one flour mill, two lumber yards, and ice cream
factory, and a motorized fire department.
