Helena is an old city (the second oldest incorporated city in Arkansas) and was one of the most preeminent cities in early Arkansas. Established in 1833, Helena quickly became an important steamboat stop due its location along the Mississippi River. Mark Twain even wrote about the city, saying ldquo;Helena occupies one of the prettiest situations on the Mississippi.rdquo;br/ br/Just before the Civil War, Phillips County was the richest county in the state. Of course, that wealth is probably because most of the labor came from enslaved people (in 1860, Phillips County had the highest number of enslaved people in Arkansas - at 8,941). After the Union Army liberated the city in 1862, the population of Helena bulged to about 25,000 people. Most of that number were soldiers, but there was a significant population of freed people, who flocked to the city during the war. br/ br/The modern hardships of the Delta economy have taken its toll on Helena and Phillips County. In 1990, the US Census listed Phillips County as among the 16 poorest counties in the US. Between 2010 and 2019, Phillips County had the highest decline of population of any county in the state (at 18%).br/ br/Downtown Helena features a good number of historic buildings, but many of them are fragile and in rough shape. Unfortunately, a severe storm in 2020 did significant damage to many older buildings in Helena, including the historic Centennial Baptist Church.br/br/ br/ Taken: 2017