Town file
Pleasant Grove, Arkansas
Pleasant Grove, Arkansas (Stone County, Arkansas) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 501, "Kill Them All" (13 June 2024). Ronald Gene Simmons was born in Chicago on 15 July 1940, the son of Loretta and William Simmons.
- Town
- Pleasant Grove
- County
- Stone County
- State
- Arkansas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 501
- Approximate location
- 35.820, -91.907
Episode 501 / 13 June 2024 / 172 min / full
Kill Them All
"Pleasant Grove, Arkansas, just outside Dover; this is in Stone County, Arkansas." about 0:06:15
The case: The Ronald Gene Simmons Christmas murders (December 1987). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 335
- Median age
- 51
- Median household income
- $42,083 a year
- Median home value
- $125,200
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $710
- Cost of living
- $73 out of $100
- Religious
- 48%
- Property crime
- right at average
- Violent crime
- ▼ just below the average
- People killed
- 16
History, in brief
- Originally called Red Stripe, because of the redness of the iron ore in the soil. about 0:06:20
- The community was first in Independence County and later in Stone County. about 0:06:31
- A post office was established in 1912 with Mabel Estes Blair as postmaster. about 0:07:35
- It was renamed because of the bad publicity from the Connie Franklin murder case. about 0:07:43
- In the spring of 1929 Connie Franklin was allegedly murdered near St. James and Red Stripe by four local men. about 0:08:28
- Franklin had arrived in St. James and began seeing a young woman; four men beat the couple, raped the woman, tortured and killed him and burned his corpse. about 0:08:47
- In the middle of the trial a man claiming to be Connie Franklin walked into the courtroom, and the defendants were found not guilty. about 0:09:13
- Many people believed the man was an imposter, possibly a friend of the defendants, though some said the real Franklin had been framed and others said it was his ghost. about 0:09:42
- The fake Connie Franklin died of appendicitis three years later. about 0:10:20
- In 1930 the town was renamed Pleasant Grove. about 0:10:26
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A quintessential small town with a unique, close-knit community where everyone knows your name; community fairs and festivals, nature's tranquillity, a peaceful slower-paced lifestyle, and essential amenities including a Dollar General and a Harps."about 0:10:59
5 stars
"A small, quaint town where everyone knows everyone and it is amazingly safe, with great schools and involved teachers; the nightlife is not great but that is to be expected, and the Dollar General is the big store."about 0:12:20
3 stars
"More establishments could be opened to give Dover more of a real town feel; the reviewer goes to Russellville for basically all business and shopping."about 0:12:57
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Kensett, Arkansas43 miles
- Austin, Arkansas56 miles
- Cabot, Arkansas59 miles
- Pocahontas, Arkansas61 miles
- Jonesboro, Arkansas69 miles
- Marmaduke, Arkansas89 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.