Arkansas Real Estate & Relocation Guide

Harrison, Arkansas

Population: 12,152

Located in Boone County

Harrison, Arkansas - the Crossroads of the Ozarks ­ is located in the heart of fantastic scenery, family-friendly outdoor activities and premier shopping of the Ozark Mountain Region. Here, the Ozark¹s highest mountains and deepest canyons offer some of the best trails in this part of the country, breathtaking panoramas and the quaint villages serving up wholesome food and genuine homespun hospitality.

If you're looking for unspoiled scenic beauty, you can find it in every direction from Harrison. Just 15 minutes to the south and southwest lay the Boston Mountain Range of the Ozark Mountain Region. Only an hour and a half to the south of Harrison is the Ozark Folk Center at Mountain View and the Jewel of the U.S. Forest Service, Blanchard Springs Caverns, which offers year-round tours. The Folk Center features seasoned craftspeople demonstrating Arkansas pioneer skills.

The FedEx Freight general administration office is Harrison¹s employment anchor, employing more than 1,500. FedEx Freight is the largest and most progressive Less Than Truckload motor carrier in the United States. Being a FedEx corporation brings tremendous value to the local economy bringing school, health care, retail and housing values to their employees and thousands of visitors and vendors. Harrison¹s second largest employer is North Arkansas Medical Center, which boasts a new hospital wing and the finest health care in north central Arkansas.

Because of Harrison¹s inexpensive property values and low property taxes, Harrison is considered an extremely affordable area to purchase real estate, so much so that many people are able to purchase a home and have money left over to invest. The "pride of ownership" is very evident in this town, with beautiful older and newer neighborhoods to choose from. There is still an excellent selection of houses beginning with nice three-bedroom, two-bath homes for under $100,000, all the way up to luxurious homes in new subdivisions or on small to large acreages. Harrison has a nice blend of single-family homes along with newer condo units and apartments, some of which are for senior citizens only. These properties are within walking or easy driving distances to city parks, shopping (both on the historic downtown square or shopping centers) and medical facilities.

The infrastructure for education and medical services has grown and continues to grow here in Harrison with the addition of 19 new elementary classrooms over the next two years; and with the addition of the new hospital facility, new specialist are moving into the area. According to the state testing standards, the Harrison School District is within the 90th percentile of all school districts in Arkansas, making Harrison the highest academic scoring range. In comparison to other cities in the United States, the Harrison School District out scores top academic system from coast to coast.

Harrison is proud to be the home of Baker Prairie. The Prairie is all that is left of a once 5,000-acre tall-grass prairie in northwest Arkansas. Visitors can see native grasses and beautiful wildflowers in the spring, summer, and fall. Harrison is just minutes from the Buffalo National River, a premier family canoeing river in the United States, and minutes from the White River, which has world-class trout fishing.

Among Harrison¹s many city-wide special events, the Crawdad Days Music Festival has grown into one of the "must attend" festivals in Arkansas. Attended by thousands each year, Crawdad Days is held the third weekend of May around the banks of Lake Harrison and the downtown historic square. The Crawdad Days Music Festival in Harrison, Arkansas began 18 years ago as a one-day event, and now offers something for the entire family: carnival, vendors, food, car show, horseshoe tournament, burn-out competition, 5K run, cardboard boat race, crawfish eating contest, and much more!

The City of Harrison, Arkansas is a safe city with a low crime rate and quick response time. The Harrison Police Department, along with the School District, has placed a School Resource Officer in all the public schools located in the city. Furthermore, the addition of a new state-of-the-art county jail will have a huge impact on safety in this county. The county Sheriff¹s office takes crime prevention and safety very seriously.

The technical infrastructure of Harrison, Arkansas is quite extraordinary, due to the electric power and fiber optic needs of FedEx Freight. No other city of its size has the infrastructure depth. This has attracted call centers to the area as well as placed Harrison, Arkansas on the map for the State of Arkansas Knowledge-Based cities. Within FedEx Freight alone, all 1,500 employees have desktop computers. In addition, many have laptops and Blackberry devices. This is all supported by one of the largest IBM mainframes in the state.

Harrison¹s hometown atmosphere offers simple, relaxing, family-oriented living. Harrison takes pride in the fact that the way of life here intrigues people and gives them the desire to relocate to the Harrison area. You too, will discover why Harrison is included in the "100 Best Small Towns in America."