Saline County, Arkansas: History and Information

Saline County, Arkansas

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

County Seat: Benton
Year Organized: 1835
Square Miles: 725

Court House:

200 North Main
County Courthouse
Benton, AR 72015-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Saline is named for the salt reserves found within its borders.

Demographics:

History

Created on November 2, 1835, from parts of Pulaski and Hempstead counties, in which its name comes from early salt works in the area that supplied salt to all of Arkansas and shipped salt to Tennessee, Louisiana, and east Texas. The salt sold for $1.50 per bushel. The county seat is Benton. The landscape of Saline County is hilly terrain in the north and rolling hills in the south. At one time Arkansas accounted for 97% of the country's production of bauxite, used to make aluminum and most of that came from Saline County. The ore was discovered in 1887. Ups and downs in the aluminum industry have caused more diversification in the recent years and small manufacturing and service companies have added to the economy of the county. Benton, the county seat, is geographically in the center of the state and within minutes of metropolitan amenities, enjoys the small town comfort along with national forest recreation and natural beauty. The Saline River runs through the county offering good fishing. The Gann Museum of Saline County is composed of large bauxite boulders and contains a collection of antiques and memorabilia on the county's history. The county courthouse, a stately southern building, has been the setting for several scenes from the 1972 movie "White Lightning" starring Burt Reynolds and using many local residents at extras in the film.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Pulaski County

Southeast: Grant County

Southwest: Hot Spring County

West: Garland County

Northwest: Perry County

Cities and Towns:

- Alexander

town

Incorporated Area

- Bauxite

town

Incorporated Area

- Benton (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Bryant

city

Incorporated Area

- Haskell

city

Incorporated Area

- Traskwood

town

Incorporated Area

- Tull

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."

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Saline County, Arkansas

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

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

Online High Schools

County Resource Guide