Norphlet, AR

Norphlet began as a small railroad and timber settlement in Union County. Its post office was created in 1891, after earlier names Jesse and Haymos gave way to Norphlet, reportedly a misspelling of Nauphlet Goodwin. The railroad brought a depot and new movement through the forested hills, but oil changed the city's scale. In 1922, the Murphy No. 1 well hit a large pocket of gas; the resulting fire sent flames more than 300 feet up and left a crater hundreds of feet across. The crater, now filled with water and fenced, was listed on the National Register in 2008.

Today Norphlet's school and city life carry that oil-country history into a smaller, steadier setting. Smackover-Norphlet School District serves local students through Norphlet Elementary and Norphlet Middle, with Smackover High nearby in the shared district. The former MacMillan Oil Refinery closed in 1987, and the site later underwent federal cleanup after contamination affected surrounding water. Norphlet remains tied to the Union County oil belt, while churches, small businesses, schools, and the road to El Dorado shape the everyday city around the old boomtown story.