Camden, Arkansas

=== 20th century to present ===
Before the steamboat era faded, Camden had become a railroad town—served by the mainline of the [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway|St Louis-Southwestern Railroad]] (Cotton Belt) and by branch lines of the [[Missouri Pacific Railroad|Missouri Pacific]] and the [[Rock Island Railroad|Rock Island]] railroads. The town remained an important cotton shipping depot through the early decades of the twentieth century. The South Arkansas oil boom of the 1920s resulted in a thriving economy.

[[File:Camden News, Camden, AR IMG 2233.JPG|thumb|left|''The Camden News'' headquarters 113 Madison Avenue, Northeast]]
In 1927, the [[International Paper]] Company built a processing mill at Camden, following development of south Arkansas' lumber industry. For several decades, Camden was the headquarters of the [[Clyde E. Palmer]] newspaper chain, which included ''[[The Camden News]]'', the ''[[Texarkana Gazette]]'', the ''Hot Springs Sentinel-Record'', and the ''Magnolia Banner News''. The daily newspaper in Camden is the original flagship publication of [[WEHCO Media]].

During [[World War II]], Camden was home to one of Arkansas's three contract training fields for primary pilots in the [[United States Army Air Forces]]. The base was named [[Harrell Field]]; ground was broken for it in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/camden-army-air-field-5760/|title = Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref>  The site became surplus to the Army's needs in 1944 and was handed over to the US Navy for the [[Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot]].
Thousands of new jobs were created. The [[Korean War]] generated new jobs and activity at the depot, which closed after war's end. The city and county redeveloped its facilities and grounds into an extensive industrial area. This was the site of some major defense establishments and multiple smaller industries. [[Southern Arkansas University Tech|A technical campus]] of [[Southern Arkansas University]] is also located there.

In the 1990s, post [[Cold War]] downsizing of the defense industry brought severe job losses—and resulting population decline—to the Camden area.  The International Paper Company mill closed a few years later, resulting in more job losses. In recent years, however, a partial resurgence of defense contracts and the development of a diversified mixture of small business and professional activity have stabilized the town's economy.

Camden is the home of Buckshot Smith (born 1929) who was America's oldest active duty police officer from 2020 until he retired in 2023, 2 months before his 94th birthday.<ref>[https://face2faceafrica.com/article/meet-the-91-year-old-who-is-the-oldest-cop-in-the-us-and-has-been-protecting-arkansas-for-nearly-60-years Face to Face Africa]</ref><ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/im-91-still-working-police-officer-1575653 News Week]</ref><ref>[https://www.police1.com/police-heroes/articles/arkansas-oldest-officer-retires-at-93-after-nearly-65-year-career-E5xa3ZWzxC8EnR5v/ Buckshot Smith retires]</ref>

Ukraine has a significant demand for all of the rockets and missiles made at the [[Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control]] facility in neighboring [[East Camden, Arkansas|East Camden]], including those used by the Army's Patriot missile system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-is-burning-through-ammunition-faster-than-the-us-and-nato-can-produce-it-inside-the-pentagon-s-plan-to-close-the-gap/ar-AA17AIYF|title=Ukraine is burning through ammunition faster than the US and NATO can produce it. Inside the Pentagon's plan to close the gap. Story by Haley Britzky, Feb 16, 2023 11:01 PM|website=[[MSN]] }}</ref>