After the only industry and several small businesses in Decatur (Benton County) Arkansas began closing their doors in 1952, most people predicted that the town of 390 would soon become a ghost town. However, concerned citizens, including Chamber of Commerce President David Compton and industrialist Lloyd Peterson, established the Decatur Development Company and obtained enough money for a new poultry plant. After Decatur citizens secured a new poultry processing plant employing 65 persons, they built a new airport, built a sale barn, opened the State Bank of Decatur, and commenced publication of The Decatur Herald. Decatur, Arkansas, did not die, and for that, Look Magazine and the National Municipal League presented Decatur, Arkansas, with the All-America City Award on February 4, 1955.