Romance is an unincorporated community in west-central White County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located approximately halfway between the town of Rose Bud to the north, and the unincorporated community of El Paso to the south. Alternately, the community is about 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Beebe, and less than 5 miles (8 km) east of Mount Vernon.
Considered as a postal designation (ZIP code: 72136), the population of Romance as of the 2010 census was 1,772 residents.
Geography and history
Lacking exact boundaries, much of the Romance area falls within the borders of Marshall Township and Kentucky Township within White County. As legend maintains, the community was named by a school teacher many years ago who thought the view from bluffs on the community's eastern side was particularly romantic.[citation needed]
Naming of the community has proven significant in maintaining Romance's most visible business, a small branch post office of the United States Postal Service. The local post office is one of several within the USPS system that gain attention because of "love-themed" names, but received special focus in 1990 as the first location to issue that year's stamp in the USPS Love Stamp series. Romance's post office is among those popular around the United States for postmarks of cards for Valentine's Day, as well as for wedding invitations. A side venture of sorts has developed in recent years, with a small number of weddings performed on the grounds of the post office, though the practice is not affiliated with the USPS.
As an unincorporated community, Romance is part of the jurisdiction of the county judge of White County, the county's chief executive, and subject to county-wide ordinances. Local law enforcement is provided by the White County Sheriff's Department, as well as townshipconstables for Marshall and Kentucky townships.
A parachute drop zone, established in the 1980s for Little Rock Air Force Base, is located near Romance.
Romance is situated along two major Arkansas state highways:
Highway 5, a north–south highway serving central Arkansas. This highway continues north to the Missouri state line, and south to Cabot at U.S. Highway 67.
Highway 31, a north–south highway with a northern terminus in Romance at Arkansas 5 and southern terminus at the U.S. Highway 79 business loop northeast of Pine Bluff.
The majority of roads in the area are administered by the White County Road Department, including Hilltop Acres, which serves the center of Romance and connects to both Arkansas 5 (opposite Manning Road) and Arkansas 31 (opposite Rogers Road). Passing by the former Romance Store building, which once housed the community's post office, the southern portion of Hilltop Acres travels through something of an unofficial downtown area. The post office was relocated to a lot along Arkansas 31 in the early 1990s; the remaining general store closed soon afterward.
Among county roads in the area, four major roads serve greater Romance:
Blackjack Mountain Road (White County Road 149) is a paved county road that travels south of but somewhat parallel to the westernmost portion of Arkansas 31. The name of the approximately 6.5-mile-long east–west road is taken from blackjack oak trees found throughout the hills on Romance's south side.
Romance Road (White County Road 26) is an east–west unpaved county road that travels from its western terminus at Kentucky Valley Road near Romance's center to approximately 1/2 mile east of Gravel Hill Road, currently dead ending at Quattlebaum Cemetery, in the unincorporated community of Gravel Hill.
Kentucky Valley Road (White County Road 157) is a paved county road with a varied path mostly traveling north and northeast of the center of Romance. Its southern terminus is at Hilltop Acres, to the right of former Romance Store building and leading past the community's volunteer-staffed fire station.
Daffodil Road is a north–south unpaved county road that travels mostly north and northwest from a southern terminus intersecting with Hilltop Acres.
Education
Elementary and secondary
Children in the greater Romance area are largely served by the Rose Bud Public School District from pre-K through twelfth grade in nearby Rose Bud.[2][3] Romance's school district was consolidated with the Rose Bud district during the 1950s, and the community had a local school as early as 1895, when the Harper School on Blackjack Mountain operated.[4] Some eastern portions of the community, near neighboring Floyd, are part of the Beebe Public School District. Both are member schools of the Beebe-based Wilbur D. Mills Educational Service Cooperative. Areas near Highway 310 and Hammons Chapel Road, toward White County's western edge, are part of the Mount Vernon–Enola School District, part of the Arch Ford Educational Service Cooperative based in Plumerville.[5]
