Desha County is a county in Arkansas, United States, on the Mississippi River in the Arkansas Delta. It had a population of 11,395 at the 2020 census and covers 768 square miles (1,990 km2) centred near 33°45′N 91°17′W.
Arkansas City is the county seat, and its postal code is 71630. The county has six cities, one town, one census-designated place, and a number of unincorporated communities. Desha County is in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Desha County
Desha County contains 14 named places below, split between incorporated cities and towns and a scatter of unincorporated Delta communities and former river landings. Type key: CDP = census-designated place; Unincorp. = unincorporated community.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas City | City · seat | — | 71630 |
| Back Gate | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dumas | City | 4,101 | 71639 |
| Halley | CDP | — | — |
| Kelso | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Masonville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McArthur | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McGehee | City | 3,381 | 71654 |
| Mitchellville | City | — | — |
| Pea Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pendleton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pickens | Unincorp. | — | 71662 |
| Reed | Town | — | — |
| Rohwer | Unincorp. | — | 71666 |
| Snow Lake | Unincorp. | — | 72379 |
| Tillar | City | — | 71670 |
| Watson | City | — | 71674 |
| Yancopin | Unincorp. | — | — |
Tillar straddles the Desha–Drew county line, with most of the built-up town on the Desha County side. A handful of names once attached to Mississippi River landings — Jersey Point, Lucca Landing, Trippe Junction and Wargo Landing among them — survive only as local place names today; the river’s shifting channel has erased or isolated most of the county’s old steamboat stops, most famously the once-thriving river town of Napoleon, at the mouth of the Arkansas River, which the Mississippi washed away between the 1860s and 1874.
ZIP Codes
- 71630 — Arkansas City (county seat)
- 71639 — Dumas (also serves the county’s northern communities)
- 71654 — McGehee
- 71662 — Pickens
- 71666 — Rohwer
- 71670 — Tillar
- 71674 — Watson
- 72379 — Snow Lake
Smaller communities such as Halley, Mitchellville and Reed use a neighboring city’s ZIP code rather than one of their own.
Geography
Desha County sits in the Arkansas Delta, low and flat, with the Mississippi River forming its entire eastern boundary and the Arkansas River crossing the county’s north end before reaching the Mississippi. The land is heavily farmed bottomland, threaded with oxbow lakes left behind as both rivers have shifted course over the past two centuries.
Desha County borders Arkansas County to the north, Phillips County to the northeast, Lincoln County to the west, Bolivar County, Mississippi across the river to the east, and Chicot and Drew counties to the south and southwest.
Demographics
Desha County had 11,395 residents at the 2020 census, giving it a density of about 14.8 people per square mile. Dumas is the county’s largest city, followed by McGehee. Household income in Desha County runs well below the Arkansas median of $58,700, reflecting the persistent poverty of the Delta cotton and rice belt.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture drives the local economy — rice, soybeans, cotton and farm-raised catfish are grown or raised across the county’s flat Delta soil. McGehee is home to the Arkansas WWII Japanese American Internment Museum, housed in the town’s restored railroad depot, and Dumas anchors the county’s grain-elevator and processing trade.
History
Desha County was created on December 12, 1838, from parts of Arkansas County and Chicot County, and named for Captain Benjamin Desha, an officer who fought in the War of 1812. During World War II, the federal government built the Rohwer War Relocation Center in the county’s north end, one of two camps in Arkansas that held Japanese and Japanese American internees; it operated from 1942 to 1945 and held nearly 8,500 people at its peak. The Rohwer site is now a National Historic Landmark.
Getting There
U.S. Highways 65, 165 and 278 and Arkansas Highways 1, 4 and 138 cross the county; a future Interstate 69 corridor is planned through the area.
- Pine Bluff — about 35 miles northwest of Dumas
- Greenville, Mississippi — about 25 miles east of McGehee, across the Mississippi River
- Little Rock — about 90 miles northwest of Arkansas City
- Monticello — about 25 miles west of Dumas
The nearest commercial airport is Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Desha County, Arkansas?
It is in southeastern Arkansas, on the Mississippi River in the Arkansas Delta.
What is the population of Desha County?
11,395, at the 2020 census.
How big is Desha County?
768 square miles (1,990 km2).
What is the county seat of Desha County?
Arkansas City is the county seat.
How many towns and cities are in Desha County?
Six cities, one town, one census-designated place, and several unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Desha County?
Eight ZIP codes serve the county, including 71630 (Arkansas City), 71639 (Dumas) and 71654 (McGehee).
What happened to Napoleon, Arkansas?
Napoleon was a once-thriving river town at the mouth of the Arkansas River that the Mississippi River gradually washed away between the 1860s and 1874; nothing remains of it today.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arkansas.