Rail depot town balances Delta farming and wartime memory
Incorporated in 1906 yet rooted in railroading and Delta agriculture, McGehee traces its name to planter Abner McGehee and its conscience to the WWII Japanese American internment camps once operated nearby. The restored 1910 Missouri Pacific depot now houses the WWII Japanese American Internment Museum, while the Rohwer Heritage Site five miles north preserves cemetery markers by sculptor Isamu Noguchi. The community's weighty past can be seen throughout town, but today, the biggest draws here are comparative home affordability, barbecue and a small-town rural feel.
Established midcentury homes
Mid-century ranch-style homes, Contemporary Craftsman bungalows and classic split-levels dominate many established streets, most of them brick-clad structures put up in the 1970s and 1990s. Around the fairways of Delta Country Club, these older properties mingle with 1990s vinyl-sided colonials and the occasional new build nestled among pecan trees, creating a varied streetscape. Fixer-upper bungalows have sold for as little as $35,000, while Contemporary homes have reached $285,000, with a median sales price hovering near $170,000. Whether a listing sits at the lower or upper end of that spectrum often hinges on how extensively the home has been renovated.
Career prep at McGehee High
McGehee Elementary school earns a C-plus from Niche, while McGehee High earns a C. Teens can rack up to 15 concurrent credits through ASU–Monticello’s satellite lab and gain hands-on skills in new HVAC and diesel-tech shops funded by a November 2022 millage. Friday-night football doubles as community theatre where locals can support the Owls.
Lake Wallace and Delta Heritage Trail headline outdoor scene
Lake Wallace, a nearly 500-acre Arkansas Game and Fish impoundment three miles west, lures crappie anglers, paddlers and wintering ducks, while downtown’s 34-acre Wiley A. McGehee Memorial Park supplies a lighted walking track, splash pad, nine-hole disc-golf course and the Johnny B. Williams ball fields refurbished in spring 2024. Cyclists can pedal the Delta Heritage Trail State Park’s southern terminus at Arkansas 4 only fifteen minutes north, linking 24 miles of shaded rail-trail that will eventually reach Helena. History buffs trade binoculars for reverence at the Rohwer Relocation Center cemetery, now a National Historic Landmark interpreted by a 2023 audio-tour app.
U.S. 65 barbecue corridor spices up downtown shopping
The 65 doubles as restaurant row, but locals know the pilgrimage ends at Hoots BBQ where fall-off-the-bone ribs and tamale-topped nachos earned a 2024 Garden & Gun “Best of the South” nod and nightly sell-outs by eight. “It’s the best barbecue in the nation,” says local Realtor Connor Wilkerson. "It's consistently the busiest place in town, and the town isn't very busy in general." Across the highway, Baja Mex Taqueria turns out brisket quesadillas, while Delta Donuts on Holly Street fries maple-bacon rings every dawn. Antique hunters browse The Perfect Touch, then wander the 1930s brick depot shops for train-themed gifts. Big-box errands sit thirty minutes up the road in Dumas, keeping McGehee’s downtown mom-and-pop culture resilient.
65-165 crossroads links McGehee to future I-69 and airports
U.S. Highways 65 and 165 intersect in the heart of town, funneling Delta crops north to Pine Bluff and south to Lake Village, while Arkansas 4 ties McGehee to the future Interstate 69 corridor now under construction near Monticello. Little Rock’s Clinton National Airport (LIT) rests 96 miles northwest—car—yet regional flyers appreciate Mid-Delta Regional (GLH) in Greenville, Mississippi.
