Prairie County is in the Central Arkansas region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The county is named for the Grand Prairie, a subregion of the Arkansas Delta known for rice cultivation and aquaculture that runs through the county. Created as Arkansas's 54th county in 1846, Prairie County is home to four incorporated towns, including DeValls Bluff, the southern district county seat, and two incorporated cities, including Des Arc, the northern district county seat. The county is also the site of numerous unincorporated communities and ghost towns. Occupying 676 square miles (175,000 ha), Prairie County is the median-sized county in Arkansas. As of the 2020 Census, the county's population was 8,282.[1] Based on population, the county is the ninth-smallest county of the 75 in Arkansas.[2]
The county at first was land given to CherokeeIndians resettled from Tennessee and was the Western band of Cherokee reservation from 1812 to 1836. Even today, an estimated 2,000 residents have some American Indian ancestry.
The town of Fredonia (Biscoe) was named for the unsuccessful 1826 attempt of Arkansas Cherokee and to create the Republic of Fredonia by Arkansas Cherokee and Texan settlers in then Mexican Texas. The town of DeValls Bluff was the Western Cherokee's seat, and is now one of Prairie County's seats.
Prairie County suffered greatly during the Civil War. Des Arc was partly destroyed, and a local historian estimated that not more than 15 horses were left in the county by the war's end. The rest had been taken by soldiers of one army or the other.[4]
On September 5, 1913, Lee Simms became the first person to be executed in Arkansas by the electric chair. He was executed for the crime of violent rape.
Stern's Medlar, a previously unknown plant species, was discovered in Prairie County as recently as 1990. It is not known to grow anywhere else in the world. The plant is critically endangered, with only 25 known specimens, all growing within a single small wood, now protected as the Konecny Grove Natural Area.
The county is located between two primary geographic regions of Arkansas: Central Arkansas and the Arkansas Delta (in Arkansas, usually referred to as "the Delta"). The Arkansas Delta is a subregion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, which is a flat area consisting of rich, fertile sediment deposits from the Mississippi River between Louisiana and Illinois. The county is often described as being within the Grand Prairie, a subdivision of the Arkansas Delta known today for rice farming and aquaculture, rather than Central Arkansas or the Delta. It is this geographic feature from which the county derives its name.[5] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 676 square miles (1,750 km2), of which 648 square miles (1,680 km2) is land and 28 square miles (73 km2) (4.1%) is water.[6]
A minor bayou crosses Highway 33 and Highway 38 east of Des Arc
Prior to settlement, Prairie County was large, flat grassland distinct from the swamps and bayous in the nearby Delta. Although cotton and other row crops grew well in the Prairie's silty loam soil, rice production changed the cultivation patterns in the county at the turn of the nineteenth century.[5] Although some prairie and riparian areas has been preserved in conservation areas, a large portion (44 percent) of the county remains in cultivation.[Note 1] Another large land use in Prairie County is the Cache River NWR and Wattensaw Wildlife Management Area (WMA), owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, respectively.
Prairie County has a humid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa). Prairie County experiences all four seasons, although summers can be extremely hot and humid and winters are mild with little snow. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of 92 °F (33.3 °C) and an average low of 73 °F (22.8 °C). Temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) are not uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of 48 °F (8.9 °C) and an average low of 31 °F (−0.6 °C). The highest temperature was 109 °F (42.8 °C), and the lowest temperature recorded was −5 °F (−21 °C). Record snowfall in Des Arc occurred January 7, 1912, with 18 inches (46 cm).[9]
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,282 people, 3,776 households, and 2,495 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States Census,[19] there were 9,539 people, 3,894 households, and 2,795 families residing in the county. The population density was 6/km2 (16/sq mi). There were 4,790 housing units at an average density of 3/km2 (7.8/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 84.83% White, 13.71% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,894 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,990, and the median income for a family was $36,131. Males had a median income of $28,413 versus $18,808 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,907. About 12.20% of families and 15.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.00% of those under age 18 and 16.80% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The economy of Prairie County is primarily agricultural (25.6%), followed by government employees (14.3%), and professional services (14.3%).[20]
Government
The Prairie County Courthouse in DeValls Bluff is the seat of county government in the southern district of the county
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Prairie County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief operating officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.[21][22]
In Congress, Arkansas has been represented by two Republican senators (John Boozman and Tom Cotton) since January 3, 2015, ending a long history of Democratic hegemony. In the House of Representatives, Prairie County is within the Arkansas 1st district with many other agricultural Delta counties on the eastern side of the state. The Arkansas 1st has been represented by Rick Crawford since 2010.
In the Arkansas Senate, Prairie County is within the 28th District with portions of Arkansas, Lonoke, Monroe, White, and Woodruff counties. The district has been represented by Jonathan Dismang, a Beebe Republican, since January 2013. In the Arkansas House of Representatives, Prairie County is entirely within District 13, which also contains portions of Arkansas, Lonoke, and White counties. District 13 has been represented by David Hillman of Almyra since 2013.[24] Hillman switched to the Republican Party shortly after winning reelection in November 2016.[25]
Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "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 and publications. The townships of Prairie County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.
[26][27]
Prairie County contains two public owned/public use general aviation airports. Both were built during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces, and turned over to local municipalities following the war. Both are predominantly used for agricultural (spraying) operations.
The Hazen Municipal Airport is located west of Hazen along US 70. For the twelve-month period ending April 30, 2014, the facility saw 32,000 general aviation operations.[28] The Stuttgart Municipal Airport is located in southern Prairie County near the Arkansas County line. For the twelve-month period ending July 31, 2014, the facility saw 35,000 general aviation operations, 3,000 military operations, and 2,500 air taxi operations.[29]
The Arkansas Department of Health is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems throughout the state. Prairie County contains six community water systems: Biscoe Waterworks, Des Arc Waterworks, DeValls Bluff Waterworks, East Prairie County Public Water Authority (PWA), Hazen Waterworks, Southeast [White County] PWA, and Ulm Waterworks. Des Arc Waterworks has the largest retail population (3,882), followed by Hazen (1,600), and East Prairie County PWA (699).[30] All community water systems in Prairie County use groundwater as their source of raw water, except Ulm, which purchases all water from Grand Prairie Regional Water[31] and the small portion served by Southeast White County PWA.[32]
^In 2015, 103.9 thousand acres of soybeans, 63.2 thousand acres of rice, 12.1 thousand acres of corn, and 3.3 thousand acres of wheat were planted in Prairie County.[7] Total acreage for those crops is 182,600. Prairie County has 648 square miles of land area, which is 414,720 acres based on 640 acres per square mile. Acreage for the total crops (182,600) divided by acreage for the county (414,720) is 44.0 percent.
^Mileages from Prairie County to Little Rock and Memphis are based on highway miles using county seat DeValls Bluff for Prairie County.[8]
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (April 3, 2014). General Highway Map, Prairie County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
^Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas, (Chicago: Goodspeed Publishers, 1890).
^Staff of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension (2015). "Rural Profile of Arkansas"(PDF). Little Rock: University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Services. Archived(PDF) from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2016. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
United States
Arkansas
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