Hempstead County, Arkansas: History and Information

Hempstead County, Arkansas

Hempstead County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

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Etymology - Origin of County Name

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History

Created in December 15, 1818, from parts of Arkansas County and was named after Edward Hempstead, Missouri Territory's representative to Congress. Hempstead County was one of the first counties organized under the laws of the Territory of Missouri. The landscape is rolling hills. The economy is made up of food processing, poultry and egg production, along with beef cattle, soybeans and fruit. Each summer the Hope Watermelon Festival is held and draws not only local citizens but also hundreds of tourists. The county had two Wildlife Management Areas, Bois D'Arc and Hope, along with Millwood Lake, which features camping, picnicking, and swimming as well as hunting and fishing. The towns of Washington that includes the Old Washington State Park hold lots of history for the county. It was a stopover for Sam Houston and Davy Crockett on their way to Texas and the Alamo. A Washington Blacksmith made Jim Bowie's famous knife and such is still being crafted at the same site. The largest magnolia tree in Arkansas, planted in 1839, grows in Washington. Hope, the county seat is also the hometown of President William Jefferson Clinton where his boyhood home has been restored and is open to the public. Hundreds of visitors pass through this town each year.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Pike County

East: Nevada County

South: Lafayette County

Southwest: Miller County

West: Little River County

Northwest: Sevier County; Howard County

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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Arkansas State...

Arkansas

Arkansas Counties

Hempstead County, Arkansas

Hempstead County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

Hempstead County, Arkansas

County Resource Guide

Penn Foster High School