Chicot County is a county in Arkansas, United States, on the Mississippi River in the southeast corner of the state. It had a population of 10,208 at the 2020 census and covers 644 square miles (1,670 km2) centred near 33°17′53″N 91°16′30″W.
Lake Village is the county seat, and its postal code is 71653. The county has three incorporated cities and roughly 40 unincorporated communities. Chicot County is in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 05017.
Towns & Villages in Chicot County
Chicot County has three incorporated cities — Dermott, Eudora and the county seat Lake Village — plus dozens of small unincorporated communities scattered through the Delta farmland and along the Mississippi River batture. The table below lists every settlement with a confirmed record; places marked Unincorp. have no formal government and often no dedicated ZIP code of their own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Village | City · seat | 2,065 | 71653 |
| Dermott | City | 2,021 | 71638 |
| Eudora | City | 1,728 | 71640 |
| Ashton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bellaire | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Boeuf | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bowman | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chanticleer | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chicot | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chicot Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cosgrove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Deep Elm | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dewey | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Elmwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Eminence | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Empire | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fairview | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Grand Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gum Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Halley Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hanna | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Harwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hickory Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hudspeth | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hurds | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Indian | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jennie | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lakehall | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lakeport | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Leland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Luna | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Macon Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McMillan Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Myrtle Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Panther Forest | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Point Comfort | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Readland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Red Leaf | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ross Van Ness | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shives | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sunnyside | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Vaucluse | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wellford | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Yellow Bayou | Unincorp. | — | — |
Lakeport, on the Mississippi River batture north of Lake Village, is home to the Lakeport Plantation, the only antebellum plantation house on the Arkansas side of the river still standing near its original riverfront site. Chicot itself, a small settlement near the old Point Chicot landing, gave the county its name and is distinct from the town of Chicot Junction a few miles away.
ZIP Codes
- 71653 — Lake Village (county seat; also serves nearby lakeside communities)
- 71638 — Dermott (also serves the county’s northwest farm communities)
- 71640 — Eudora (also serves the county’s southeast river communities)
Most of the unincorporated places in the county use the ZIP code of the nearest post office town rather than a code of their own.
Geography
Chicot County sits in the Arkansas Delta, a flat alluvial plain built by the Mississippi River, which forms the county’s entire eastern boundary. Lake Chicot, an oxbow lake cut off from the river’s old channel, runs along the county for roughly 20 miles and is the largest oxbow lake in North America. Cotton, soybean and catfish farming dominate the flat, fertile land west of the lake.
Desha County lies to the north, Ashley County to the west and Drew County to the northwest. Across the Mississippi River, Chicot County borders Bolivar County to the northeast, Washington County, Mississippi to the east, and Issaquena County, Mississippi to the southeast. To the south and southwest lie East Carroll Parish, West Carroll Parish and Morehouse Parish, Louisiana.
Demographics
Chicot County recorded a population of 10,208 at the 2020 census, with a density of about 16 people per square mile across its 644 square miles of land. Dermott and Lake Village are the county’s two largest communities, each just over 2,000 residents, with Eudora close behind. County median household income runs well below the Arkansas median of $58,700, consistent with the county’s dependence on agricultural work and its long population decline since the mid-20th century.
Economy & Local Life
Row-crop agriculture — cotton, soybeans, corn and rice — remains the backbone of the county economy, alongside catfish farming in ponds near Lake Chicot. Chicot County government and the county’s public schools are among the largest employers outside agriculture. Dermott holds an annual community festival each May, successor to the long-running Dermott Crawfish Festival, one of the state’s older local festivals before it lapsed in 2012.
History
Chicot County was organized on October 25, 1823, Arkansas’s tenth county, and takes its name from Point Chicot, a Mississippi River landmark; “chicot” is French for a stump or snag, describing the cypress stumps that once studded the riverbank there. The area was a major cotton-plantation region before the Civil War, and fighting reached the county during the Battle of Old River Lake in June 1864. During World War II, Dermott held a camp for German prisoners of war, one of several such camps in Arkansas.
Getting There
U.S. Route 65 runs the length of the county along the west side of Lake Chicot, linking Lake Village and Dermott; U.S. Route 82 crosses the county east-west through Lake Village toward the Mississippi River bridge at Greenville, Mississippi.
- Greenville, Mississippi — 10 miles east of Lake Village
- Monticello, Arkansas — 40 miles northwest
- Pine Bluff, Arkansas — 75 miles north
- Greenville Mid-Delta Regional Airport — the nearest commercial-service airport, just across the river in Mississippi
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chicot County?
It is in the southeast corner of Arkansas, on the Mississippi River across from Mississippi and near the Louisiana state line.
What is the population of Chicot County?
10,208 residents at the 2020 census.
How big is Chicot County?
644 square miles (1,670 km2) of land.
What is the county seat of Chicot County?
Lake Village.
How many towns are in Chicot County?
Three incorporated cities — Dermott, Eudora and Lake Village — plus dozens of unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Chicot County?
The main ZIP codes are 71653 (Lake Village), 71638 (Dermott) and 71640 (Eudora).
What is Lake Chicot?
An oxbow lake formed by the Mississippi River, roughly 20 miles long, running the length of the county and the source of its name.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Arkansas.