Poinsett County, Arkansas

This article is based on the corresponding article in another wiki. For Familypedia purposes, it requires significantly more historical detail on phases of this location's development. The ideal article for a place will give the reader a feel for what it was like to live at that location at the time their relatives were alive there. Also desirable are links to organizations that may be repositories of genealogical information..
Please help to improve this page yourself if you can.

Poinsett County, Arkansas
Poinsett County Courthouse, June 2011
Location in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 28, 1838
Named for	Joel Roberts Poinsett
Seat	Harrisburg
Largest city	Trumann
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	763 sq mi (1,976 km²) 758 sq mi (1,963 km²) 5.2 sq mi (13 km²), 0.7%
PopulationEst.  - (2015)  - Density	24,040 32/sq mi (12/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.poinsettcounty.us

Poinsett County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,583. The county seat is Harrisburg.

Poinsett County is included in the Jonesboro, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Cotton gins, such as the Judd Hill Cotton Gin, and rice dryers, such as the Hubbard Rice Dryer, have been historically vital to the economy of Poinsett County. Both properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Poinsett County was formed on February 28, 1838, and named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, U.S. Secretary of War. County business was initially conducted in the county judge's home until first court was held in Bolivar upon completion of a courthouse in 1839. County government was moved in 1859 to Harrisburg, a more central locale. Poinsett County acquired its current boundaries in the years following this move. The northern portion became Craighead County, the south portion became Cross County. Sunken lands were added to eastern Poinsett County during this time, including Lepanto and Marked Tree.

The Civil War devastated the county financially, and it wouldn't recover until the railroads gave farmers a new avenue to market their crops and the emergence of a timber industry. The Texas and St. Louis Railway Company completed track through Weiner and the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railway ran through the center of the county in 1882, with the Kansas City, Ft. Scott, and Gulf Railroad opening service in east Poinsett County the following year. Shipping timber had become feasible and began throughout northeast Arkansas following the completion of railroads. Farmers were also able to bring their cotton and farm animals to new markets. Many small railroad towns boomed during this period. Despite this uplift, the county mostly consisted of poor sharecroppers and tenant farmers.

Poinsett County was the hardest hit county by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, resulting in the flooding of thousands of fields and destruction of homes countywide. The Southern Tenant Farmers Union was founded in Tyronza in the years after the flood. The organization was an interracial union to improve the pay and working conditions of poor sharecroppers. The Southern Tenant Farmers Union Museum in Tyronza is now operated by Arkansas State University.

Geography

See also: Arkansas delta and Crowley's Ridge

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 764 square miles (1,980 km²), of which 758 square miles (1,960 km²) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km²) (0.7%) is water. Located in Arkansas's northeast corner, the county is bisected by Crowley's Ridge and the L'Anguille River which both pass north-south through the county. The soils in the eastern part of the county have been deposited by the Mississippi River and are mostly used for cotton farming. Western Poinsett County is generally dedicated to rice fields. Lake Poinsett State Park is centrally located within the county.

Major highways

• Interstate 555
• U.S. Highway 49
• U.S. Highway 63
• Highway 1
• Highway 14
• Highway 18
• Highway 69
• Highway 75
• Highway 118
• Highway 135
• Highway 136
• Highway 140
• Highway 149
• Highway 158
• Highway 163
• Highway 198
• Highway 214
• Highway 308
• Highway 322
• Highway 373
• Highway 463

Adjacent counties

• Craighead County (north)
• Mississippi County (east)
• Crittenden County (southeast)
• Cross County (south)
• Jackson County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	1,320		—
1850	2,308		74.8%
1860	3,621		56.9%
1870	1,720		−52.5%
1880	2,192		27.4%
1890	4,272		94.9%
1900	7,025		64.4%
1910	12,791		82.1%
1920	20,848		63.0%
1930	29,695		42.4%
1940	37,670		26.9%
1950	39,311		4.4%
1960	30,834		−21.6%
1970	26,822		−13.0%
1980	27,032		0.8%
1990	24,664		−8.8%
2000	25,614		3.9%
2010	24,583		−4.0%
Est. 2015	24,040		−6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2015

Age pyramid Poinsett County

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 25,614 people, 10,026 households, and 7,228 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 11,051 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.98% White, 7.13% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,026 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 13.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,558, and the median income for a family was $32,257. Males had a median income of $26,633 versus $19,199 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,087. About 17.60% of families and 21.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.60% of those under age 18 and 20.50% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education

Early childhood, elementary and secondary education is available from four school districts listed from largest to smallest based on student population:

• Trumann School District based in Trumann with four facilities serving more than 1,600 students.
• Harrisburg School District based in Harrisburg with five facilities and serving more than 1,300 students.
• East Poinsett County School District based in Lepanto with three facilities serving more than 750 students.
• Marked Tree School District based in Marked Tree with three facilities serving more than 650 students.

Libraries

Poinsett County is served with central and branch libraries from two library systems, the Crowley Ridge Regional Library System and Trumann Library System.

Communities

Lake Poinsett within Lake Poinsett State Park, June 2011

Cities

• Fisher
• Harrisburg (county seat)
• Lepanto
• Marked Tree
• Trumann
• Tyronza
• Weiner

Town

• Waldenburg

Unincorporated communities

• Greenfield
• Rivervale

Townships

Townships in Poinsett County, Arkansas as of 2010

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas and some may have incorporated towns or cities within part of their space. Townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the US Census does list Arkansas population based on townships (often referred to as "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps. The townships of Pointsett County are listed below with the town(s) and/or city that are fully or partially inside them listed in parentheses.

• Boliver (Harrisburg)
• Dobson
• Greenfield
• Greenwood (Lepanto)
• Little River (Marked Tree)
• Lunsford
• Owen (Fisher, Waldenburg)
• Scott
• Tyronza (Tyronza)
• West Prairie (Weiner)
• Willis (Trumann)

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Poinsett County, Arkansas

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Poinsett County, Arkansas