Arkansas County, Arkansas

Arkansas County is a county in Arkansas, United States, on the flat Grand Prairie of the Arkansas Delta between the lower White and Arkansas rivers. It had a population of 17,149 at the 2020 census and covers 988 square miles (2,560 km2) centred near 34°24′N 91°27′W.

Arkansas County is unusual in having two county seats: Stuttgart is the county seat of the northern district and DeWitt is the county seat of the southern district. Stuttgart’s postal code is 72160 and DeWitt’s postal code is 72042. The county holds two cities, several small towns, and more than thirty unincorporated communities and landings, most dating from the steamboat and rail era. It lies in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 05001.

Towns & Villages in Arkansas County

Arkansas County has two incorporated cities (each a county seat for its own district), a handful of small incorporated towns, and a long list of unincorporated communities and river landings left over from the county’s 19th-century steamboat trade. Legend: City · seat = incorporated city and county seat, Town = incorporated town, Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no city government. Two near-duplicate entries in older lists, “La Grue Springs” and “LaGrue,” refer to the same White River landing and are combined here as one entry.

ZIP Codes

• 72160 — Stuttgart
• 72042 — De Witt
• 72003 — Almyra
• 72055 — Gillett
• 72140 — Saint Charles (also serves Tichnor-area landings)
• 72166 — Tichnor
• 72026 — Casscoe
• 72038 — Crocketts Bluff
• 72048 — Ethel

The many small landings and crossroads scattered across the county’s river bottoms, along with Humphrey (which sits astride the Arkansas–Jefferson county line), do not have their own post office and use a neighboring town’s ZIP code.

Geography

Arkansas County sits on the flat, poorly drained Grand Prairie between the White River, which forms most of its eastern boundary, and the Arkansas River, which crosses the southern part of the county on its way to the Mississippi. The land is almost entirely level farmland and bottomland hardwood, broken by bayous, oxbow lakes, and duck-hunting timber that has made the county a national destination for waterfowl hunters.

Arkansas County borders Prairie County to the north, Monroe County to the northeast, Phillips County to the east, Desha County to the south, Lincoln County to the southwest, Jefferson County to the west, and Lonoke County to the northwest.

Demographics

Arkansas County had a population of 17,149 at the 2020 census, spread across 988 square miles for a density of about 17 people per square mile — one of the more sparsely populated counties in eastern Arkansas. Stuttgart (8,264) and DeWitt (3,056) are its two largest communities and together hold about two-thirds of the county’s residents. Household income in the county trails the Arkansas median of $58,700, consistent with a rural, farming-dependent economy.

Economy & Local Life

Rice and soybean farming drive the county’s economy; the Grand Prairie around Stuttgart is one of the largest rice-growing regions in the United States, and Stuttgart is home to Riceland Foods, one of the world’s largest rice millers and marketers. Duck hunting is a major seasonal industry, drawing hunters to the county’s flooded rice fields and bottomland timber each winter. Stuttgart calls itself the “Rice and Duck Capital of the World” and hosts the annual Wings Over the Prairie Festival, which includes the World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest, over Thanksgiving weekend.

History

Arkansas County was organized on December 13, 1813, while the area was still part of Missouri Territory, making it the oldest of Arkansas’s 75 counties and the parent county from which many others were later carved. It was named for the Arkansas River, itself named for the Arkansas (Quapaw) people. Arkansas Post, within the county, was a French colonial trading post founded in 1686 and later served as the first capital of Arkansas Territory; it was the site of a Civil War battle in January 1863 when Union forces captured the Confederate fort there. Before the Civil War, enslaved labor worked the county’s cotton plantations along the rivers; rice became the dominant crop only after large-scale irrigation began in the early 1900s.

Getting There

US Highways 63, 79, and 165 and Arkansas Highways 1, 11, 17, 33, 44, and 130 cross the county.

• Little Rock — about 60 miles northwest of Stuttgart
• Pine Bluff — about 40 miles southwest of DeWitt
• Helena — about 45 miles east of Stuttgart
• Memphis, Tennessee — about 100 miles east

The nearest commercial airport is Clinton National Airport in Little Rock; Stuttgart Municipal Airport, just across the line in Prairie County, serves general aviation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Arkansas County, Arkansas?
It sits in the Arkansas Delta east-central Arkansas, on the Grand Prairie between the White and Arkansas rivers, about 60 miles southeast of Little Rock.

What is the population of Arkansas County?
Arkansas County had a population of 17,149 at the 2020 census.

How big is Arkansas County?
The county covers 988 square miles (2,560 km2) of land.

What is the county seat of Arkansas County?
Arkansas County has two county seats: Stuttgart, serving the northern district, and DeWitt, serving the southern district.

How many towns are in Arkansas County?
Two incorporated cities, several small incorporated towns, and more than thirty unincorporated communities and river landings.

What ZIP codes are in Arkansas County?
Nine standard ZIP codes serve the county, including 72160 (Stuttgart), 72042 (DeWitt), 72003 (Almyra), and 72055 (Gillett).

Why does Arkansas County have two county seats?
The county was split into northern and southern judicial districts in the 19th century because of its large size and the difficulty of travel across its rivers and bottomland, and each district kept its own courthouse.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arkansas.