Elaine, Arkansas

Elaine, Arkansas
Location of Elaine in Phillips County, Arkansas.
Coordinates: 34°18′31″N 90°51′12″W / 34.30861°N 90.85333°W / 34.30861; -90.85333
Country United States
State Arkansas
CountyPhillips
Area
 • Total
0.51 sq mi (1.32 km2)
 • Land0.51 sq mi (1.32 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
167 ft (51 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
509
 • Estimate 
(2024)
445
 • Density995.0/sq mi (384.19/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
72333
Area code870
FIPS code05-20950
GNIS feature ID2403548

Elaine is a small town in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region of the Mississippi River. The population was 509 at the 2020 census.

The city is best known as the location of the Elaine massacre of September 30 – October 1, 1919, in which an estimated 237 Black people were murdered in the rural county by rampaging white mobs. Five whites died in the events. This was one of the worst incidents of racial and labor violence in American history. Black sharecroppers were attempting to organize a farmers' union, which the planters resisted.