Howard County, Arkansas: History and Information

Howard County, Arkansas

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

County Seat: Nashville
Year Organized: 1873
Square Miles: 588

Court House:

421 North Main Street
County Courthouse
Nashville, AR 71852-2007

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Howard is named for James H. Howard, an Arkansas state senator. James Howell Howard (April 13, 1913 – March 18, 1995) was a general in the United States Air Force and the only fighter pilot in the European Theater of Operations in World War II to be awarded the Medal of Honor — the United States military's highest decoration. CBS commentator Andy Rooney, then a wartime reporter for Stars and Stripes, called Howard's exploits "the greatest fighter pilot story of World War II". In later life, Howard was a successful businessman, author, and airport director.

Demographics:

History

Created in 1873 from parts of Hempstead, Sevier, Polk and Pike Counties, in which Center Point was the County Seat. In 1905 the county seat was moved to Nashville. The Arkansas & Louisiana Railroad ran from Hope to Nashville. The present day courthouse was built in 1938. Howard County is made up of 384,000 acres or about 600 sq. miles. Farming was the main source of income; the major crops were cotton, corn, peaches and cattle. Now, Howard County has several large industries that provide approximately 4,500 jobs. The major industries are: Frigidaire Home Products James Hardy Gypsum Jan-Eze Planting Mission Plastics Pilgrims Pride Tyson's Trucking Industries Weyerhaeuser Company Oxbodies The total number of county employees is 86. County Road Dept. has 20. Sanitation has 20. Communities not to be forgotten that had schools, churches, cemeteries and stores: Northern Hills Baker Springs Burg Pates Bethel Galena Three Chutes Blue Ridge Mineola Flower Springs Central Plains Antioch County Line Mt. Carmel Salem Blue Bayou Fellowship Muddy Fork Sardis Briar Creek Greens Plains Pleasant Valley Temperancevill Center-Rosedale Kolb Town Polk Wakefield Chapel Hill Longview Possum Hollow Bethany Welcome Corinth Madison Twp Pump Spgs. York's Chapel Southern Prairies Blackland Midway Sorghum City Bluff Springs Schaal Buck Range Shiloh

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Montgomery County; Pike County

Southeast: Hempstead County; St. Landry Parish, La.

Southwest: Little River County; Sevier County

Northwest: Polk County

Cities and Towns:

- Dierks

city

Incorporated Area

- Mineral Springs

city

Incorporated Area

- Nashville (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Tollette

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

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...

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Arkansas Counties

Howard County, Arkansas

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

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide