Home inspection in Osceola, Arkansas.

Why Osceola homes need a local read

Osceola is a Mississippi County city on the Mississippi River whose 1912 Mississippi County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.

History: Settled as Plum Point in 1837; Incorporated as Osceola on January 12, 1853.

Housing: 1912 Mississippi County Courthouse (NRHP); Downtown buildings including the Osceola Times Building (1901), Bank of Osceola (1909), Planters Bank Building (1920) and Florida Brothers Building (1936); A 21st-century boom in housing developments tied to county steel-industry growth.

Around town: Sans Souci grain elevators and the Port of Osceola; Violet Cemetery (oldest grave 1831); Plum Point Energy Station; Downtown historic commercial buildings.

Setting: In the Delta, with rich Delta land historically planted in cotton.

Water, flooding and moisture in Osceola

Water nearby: Mississippi River; The river's meanders and downtown relocation have left the city a few miles west of the river.

Flood history: Floods of 1927 and 1937 caused major damage; No main breach or overtop on the river has occurred since the 1937 flood, credited to Army Corps of Engineers and St. Francis Levee District work.

EPA's Map of Radon Zones places Mississippi County in Zone 3 (predicted average indoor levels below 2 pCi/L). EPA notes that homes vary within any zone, so the map does not predict a single house.

Sources for the facts on this page

• encyclopediaofarkansas.net: osceola
• epa.gov: epa map radon zones