The Cross County, Arkansas town of Parkin is yet another rural town ravaged by Arkansas’s forced school consolidation law. The loss of its local schools ended any possibility of a recovery for Parkin, whose main street, known as Parkin Avenue, is a two-block stretch of ruins, vacant lots and collapsing buildings. Like many Delta towns, Parkin has suffered from a declining population, as well as mysterious fires that have destroyed buildings. The only viable businesses at this point seem to be a gas station, a grocery, and a nightclub, Griffin’s Lounge. Another night club, Club Hundred Grand, is abandoned out on Highway 64, with holes visible in its roof.
Although about a thousand people live in Parkin, they shop, work and go to school in Wynne, where there are more stores and opportunities. Parkin these days writes an inordinate number of traffic tickets, which seems to be an effort to fund the town government, as there are almost no businesses or industries in the community.
Parkin’s decline began in 1982, when the ag concerns came together and prevented a major manufacturing company from coming into town. I am. Parkin native who left in 1990. My dad was a police officer, firefighter, emt, and chief of police devoting 42 years of his life to that town.
There is a state park here in Parkin on hwy 184 if you turn at the ruins of the 100 grand night club. it is parkin archeological state park. parkin has the honor of being the place where the spanish first met the native people of what is now arkansas. we say history began at arkansas post, but that is not exactly true. the first written history of the people in arkansas happened here in parkin, arkansas in 1541; more than 100 years before the french came here.
There is a small diner, a bbq drive thru restaurant, a post office, a salon, a children’s center for preschool children and a few churches in Parkin in addition to the places you listed. The town has had ticket writing suspended until 2030 due to the speed trap laws. The town can only write tickets on city streets, no longer on the highways. This will make revenue a bigger problem for the town, but needed to happen (Imo).
being on the furthest eastern edge of cross county makes it out of sight – out of mind to the county as well. thank you for showing the situation through your pictures and your writing.