Diaz, AR

Diaz is a Jackson County city just north of Newport, created around the railroad industry in the late nineteenth century. It sits about halfway between Jacksonport State Park and the Newport Municipal Airport, and the city incorporated in 1956. The 2020 census counted 1,224 residents. A branch line toward Batesville met the main railroad north of Newport, helping make Diaz part of the transportation network that shaped this section of the White River country.

Diaz is divided between the Newport School District and the Jackson County School District, a reminder that its daily connections reach in more than one direction. A violent tornado during the overnight hours of March 14-15, 2025, caused EF4 damage and destroyed homes north of the city. That storm now belongs to the recent memory of Diaz alongside its railroad beginning and its close relationship with Newport. The city remains a small Jackson County community with an airport, state park, school, and county-seat neighbor close at hand.