Welcome to the Kensett Volunteer Fire Department web Site.
We currently have 14 firefighters on our department.
Our fire district covers approximately 30 square miles
with a population of approximately 2200.
Our Iso rating is class 6.
We have 2 stations
We have 4 trucks all of which are foam equipped and 1 brush truck.

Sincerely;
Chief Allen Edge

Kensett VFD website (http://www.kensett.net/fd/message.htm)

Kensett, Arkansas (pop. 1741 - 2000 Census) was not officially incorporated until the late 19th century (between 1880 and 1895). It existed alongside other cities in Arkansas' White County, though it had no distinct city lines. The city is roughly 30 miles northeast of Little Rock and sits firmly on the western bank of White River.

In 1903, the Iron Mountain Railroad constructed the first automobile bus line in Arkansas, and Kensett marked one of its earliest stopping points. At the same time, construction on the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad began in an effort to connect St. Louis and Joplin, Missouri to Little Rock and Knoxville. Kensett's citizenry provided lots of manpower and surveying knowledge to the effort.

In the city's 100 year history, it has had two major celebrities emerge: Wilbur Mills and Bill Dickey.

  • Mills aka "Wilbur the Boy Wonder" was a charming young lawyer when in 1938 he ran for the U.S. Congress at the young age of 29. He carried every district of White County, the first and only candidate to do so, and he held on to his post as Congressman for 40 years, becoming chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Loved by almost every one, and respected by the rest, Wilbur earned accolades from every President from FDR to George H.W. Bush. He even made an unsuccessful bid for the Presidency in 1972. However, Mills' sterling career was marred in 1977, with an interesting incident involving an Argentinian striptease artist and a fistfight. (If you think I'm joking, look around.)
  • Dickey, of course, went from being a "good hunter" in Kensett to becoming a Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees, and arguably the greatest catcher of all-time. Perhaps most famous for being Lou Gehrig's roommate and best friend, Dickey himself set tons of records for catchers in the majors, many of which still stand today.

Today Kensett is a quiet town, with a few lumber businesses, farms, and ranches scattered throughout the city. Its proximity to Searcy and Little Rock give it a good commercial surrounding, and its hometown charm provides a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Oh yes, and full disclosure: my great-uncle lived there until his death in 1997. You should hear some of the stories about the flooding!

Sources

  • http://www.bobbittville.com/kensett.htm
  • http://www.rootsweb.com/~arwhite/wchs/wilbur_the_boy_wonder.html