Poinsett County is a county in Arkansas, United States, in the northeast corner of the state along Crowley’s Ridge. It had a population of 22,965 at the 2020 census and covers 764 square miles (1,980 km2) of land and water, centred near 35°34′N 90°40′W.
Harrisburg is the county seat, and its postal code is 72432. The county has seven cities, one town, two census-designated places and several unincorporated communities, all in the Central time zone. Poinsett County was formed on February 28, 1838, and carries FIPS code 05107.
Towns & Villages in Poinsett County
Poinsett County’s largest city is Trumann, but the county seat is Harrisburg. Cities, towns and CDPs sit alongside dozens of smaller rural communities that never incorporated — some are working farm crossroads, others are little more than a church, gin, or grain elevator. In the table below, “CDP” marks a Census Bureau-defined place with no city government, and “Unincorp.” marks a named community with no formal municipal boundary.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | City · seat | — | 72432 |
| Trumann | City | — | 72472 |
| Marked Tree | City | — | 72365 |
| Lepanto | City | — | 72354 |
| Tyronza | City | — | 72386 |
| Weiner | City | — | 72479 |
| Fisher | City | — | 72429 |
| Waldenburg | Town | — | — |
| Payneway | CDP | — | — |
| Rivervale | CDP | — | — |
| Greenfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hatchie Coon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Judd Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Northern Ohio | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Uno | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Alto | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Anderson Tully | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bay Village | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beasley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Black Oak | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Boat Run | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brushey Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cassidy | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Deckerville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dewey Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dobell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Donnick | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dub | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Frys Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gaulett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Huskey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hydrick | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Joyland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Landers | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maple Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McCormick | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McDaniel | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mount Olive | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mulligan | Unincorp. | — | — |
| North Pitts | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Weona | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pitts | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Promised Land | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shady Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Spear Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stacy | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stewart | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tulot | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tyronza Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Walnut Grove Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Weed | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Weona | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Weona Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Whitaker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Whitehall | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wilbeth | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wiley Crossing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Yellow Banks | Unincorp. | — | — |
The old list carried Payneway and Rivervale twice each; the duplicates were dropped here. Old Weona and Weona Junction are distinct locations near the CDP-era community of Weona, on the L’Anguille River northeast of Marked Tree, and are kept separately since local usage treats them as different sites.
ZIP Codes
- 72432 — Harrisburg (also serves nearby rural addresses in the county’s centre)
- 72472 — Trumann
- 72365 — Marked Tree
- 72354 — Lepanto
- 72386 — Tyronza
- 72479 — Weiner
- 72429 — Fisher
Waldenburg, the CDPs, and the county’s many unincorporated communities use the ZIP code of their nearest post-office town rather than one of their own.
Geography
Poinsett County sits in the Arkansas Delta and is bisected north-south by Crowley’s Ridge, a narrow, wind-deposited highland that rises above the surrounding flatland. The L’Anguille River runs the length of the county, and Lake Poinsett State Park lies near its centre. East of the ridge, deep alluvial soils support cotton; west of it, land is given over largely to rice and soybeans. The county has 758 square miles of land and 5.2 square miles of water.
Poinsett County borders Craighead County to the north, Mississippi County to the east, Crittenden County to the southeast, Cross County to the south, and Jackson County to the west. It also borders Mississippi County directly along its eastern line.
Demographics
At the 2020 census, Poinsett County had 22,965 residents, a median age of 41.0 years, and was 68.5% rural. The population was 84.4% White, 7.8% Black or African American, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, and 5.1% two or more races. Trumann and Marked Tree are the county’s two largest communities. Poinsett County’s median household income runs below the Arkansas median of $58,700, consistent with a county whose economy still leans heavily on agriculture. Population density works out to roughly 30 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Row-crop agriculture drives the county economy: cotton on Crowley’s Ridge’s eastern flank, rice and soybeans on the western Delta bottomland. Historic cotton gins and rice dryers still mark the landscape around Marked Tree, Tyronza and Weiner. Four school districts serve the county — Trumann, Harrisburg, East Poinsett County, and Marked Tree — anchoring their respective towns as local employment and civic centres.
History
Poinsett County was established on February 28, 1838, and named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, U.S. Secretary of War under President Van Buren. The county was among the hardest-hit areas of the catastrophic 1927 Mississippi River flood, which displaced thousands of Delta farm families. In 1935, sharecroppers and tenant farmers in Tyronza organised the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, an interracial union formed to fight for better pay and working conditions for the region’s poorest agricultural workers — one of the notable civil-rights-era organising efforts to emerge from the rural South.
Getting There
Interstate 555 and US Highways 49 and 63 cross the county, along with several Arkansas state routes.
- Jonesboro — about 20 miles north
- Memphis, Tennessee — about 60 miles southeast
- West Memphis — about 50 miles southeast
- Forrest City — about 30 miles south
Jonesboro Municipal Airport offers the nearest commercial and general-aviation service; Memphis International Airport, about an hour and a half away, is the nearest major air hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Poinsett County?
It is in northeast Arkansas, bisected by Crowley’s Ridge, part of the Jonesboro–Paragould Combined Statistical Area.
What is the population of Poinsett County?
22,965 at the 2020 census.
How big is Poinsett County?
764 square miles (1,980 km2), including 758 square miles of land.
What is the county seat of Poinsett County?
Harrisburg is the county seat.
How many towns are in Poinsett County?
Seven cities, one town, two census-designated places, and dozens of smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Poinsett County?
Main ZIP codes include 72432 (Harrisburg), 72472 (Trumann), 72365 (Marked Tree), 72354 (Lepanto), 72386 (Tyronza), 72479 (Weiner) and 72429 (Fisher).
What is Poinsett County known for?
Crowley’s Ridge, Lake Poinsett State Park, and the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, organised in Tyronza in 1935.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arkansas.