Camden, Arkansas

Camden, Arkansas
City
City of Camden
Downtown Camden
Council logo
Motto:  "Star of the River"
Location in Ouachita County and the state of Arkansas
Camden Show map of Arkansas Camden Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 33°35′15″N 92°51′48″W / 33.58750°N 92.86333°W / 33.58750; -92.86333
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
County	Ouachita
Township	Ecore Fabre, Lafayette
Incorporated	December 11, 1844 (179 years ago) (1844-12-11)
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
Area [1]
• Total	16.62 sq mi (43.04 km2)
• Land	16.53 sq mi (42.80 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.24 km2)
Elevation [2]	102 ft (31 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,612
• Density	642.14/sq mi (247.93/km2)
Time zone	UTC−06:00 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−05:00 (CDT)
ZIP codes	71701, 71711
Area code	870
FIPS code	05-10720
GNIS feature ID	2403976[2]
Website	camden.ar.gov

Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlooking the Ouachita River, the city developed because of the river.

The recorded history began in 1782 when a Spanish military post was established on the site of an old French trading post called Écore à Fabri. When Ouachita County was formed in 1842, American settlers changed the name to Camden. The city became an important port during the steamboat era when Camden became known as the “Queen City” of the Ouachita. In 1864, Camden became the unintended focus of the Red River Campaign, a major Civil War effort resulting in several significant battles.^[3]

In 2000, Camden had a population of 13,154, but it lost 7.4 percent of its residents and recorded 12,183 in 2010.^[4] Camden is the principal city of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Ouachita and Calhoun counties.