Boone County is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, along the

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,373. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

. It is Arkansas's 62nd county, formed on April 9, 1869. Boone County is part of the Harrison, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Boone County was formed from the eastern portion of Carroll County. Contrary to popular belief, it was not named for frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

. It was originally called ''Boon'', since the residents believed it would be a "boon" to all who settled there. The county's first newspaper, begun in 1870, was the ''Boon County Advocate''. However, when Governor

Powell Clayton Powell Foulk Clayton (August 7, 1833August 25, 1914) was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 9th governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1871, as a Republican member of the U.S. Senate for Arkansas from 1871 to 1877 ...

signed the act, creating the county 1869 it was titled ''An Act to Organize and Establish the County of Boone and for Other Purposes''. So for whatever reason an "'e'" was added. In 1905 and 1909, race riots were conducted to drive African-Americans out of the area. It was marketed as an all-white

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

into the 1920s. Today, it is known as a center of

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

activity, including the national headquarters of the

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Catho ...

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. In 2017, Boone County Judge Robert Hathaway signed proclamations recognizing June as Confederate Heritage and History Month, and issued a similar proclamation for April 2019.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water. The county is located in the northwest portion of the state, and borders Missouri to the north. The county lies entirely within the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

. Rolling hills of the Springfield and Salem Plateaus characterize the majority of the topography, with the more rugged Boston Mountains lying just to the south. Isolated peaks of the Boston Mountain range are found in the south, including Boat Mountain, Pilot's Knob, and Gaither Mountain. Portions of

Bull Shoals Lake Bull Shoals Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. It has hundreds of miles of lake arms and coves, and common activities include boating, water sports, swimming, and fishing. Ni ...

and

Table Rock Lake Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas in the United States. Designed, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam ...

lie in the northeast and northwest corners, respectively. The Corps of Engineers operates and maintains popular campsites on the lakes at Lead Hill and Cricket Creek. Crooked Creek, popular with bass fishermen, winds through the county from south to east.

Major highways

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of ...

* U.S. Route 65 * US 65B

U.S. Route 65B * Arkansas 7

Highway 7 * Arkansas 14

Highway 14 * Arkansas 43

Highway 43 * Arkansas 123

Highway 123 * Arkansas 206

Highway 206 * Arkansas 281

Highway 281 * Arkansas 392

Highway 392 * Arkansas 396

Highway 396 * Arkansas 397

Highway 397 * Arkansas 980(Airport)

Highway 980

Adjacent counties

* Taney County,

(north) * Marion County (east) * Searcy County (southeast) * Newton County (south) * Carroll County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 37,373 people, 15,034 households, and 10,455 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 33,948 people, 13,851 households, and 9,861 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,426 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.60%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.11%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.71% Native American, 0.32%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.34% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.90% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 13,851 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% 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, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,988, and the median income for a family was $34,974. Males had a median income of $27,114 versus $19,229 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $16,175. About 10.70% of families and 14.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 19.00% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public school districts

* Alpena * Bergman *

* Lead Hill * Omaha * Valley Springs

Higher education

* North Arkansas College

Government

As with all county-level governments in Arkansas, Boone County's eleven-member quorum court forms the legislative branch and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives, called ''justices of the peace,'' are elected from single-member districts in every even-numbered year. District boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

, 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. Other elected officers of the county government executive branch include the Treasurer, Collector, County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, Assessor, Sheriff, and Coroner. In state government, Boone County is represented by three members in the Arkansas House of Representatives and two in the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

. Arkansas House Districts 83, 98, and 99 cover parts of Boone County, as well as Arkansas Senate Districts 16 and 17. At the federal level, Boone County is part of Arkansas's third US congressional district, currently represented by

Steve Womack Stephen Allen Womack ( ; born February 18, 1957) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district, which was once represented by future Senator J. William Fulbright, covers much of northwestern Arkansas ...

. Over the past few election cycles, Boone County has trended heavily towards the

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

. The last Democrat (as of 2020) to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1992.

Communities

Cities

* Diamond City *

(county seat)

Towns

* Alpena (portions are also in Carroll County) * Bellefonte * Bergman * Everton * Lead Hill * Omaha * South Lead Hill * Valley Springs *

Unincorporated communities

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

* Bear Creek Springs * Capps * Hopewell * Little Arkansaw *

Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...

Historic communities

* Elixir was a town in the vicinity of many springs. It was nearby present day Bergman. Heavy rains flooded the town in 1883, which was a major factor in its decline by 1892. In the 1880s, both Lead Hill and Elixir were expecting a railroad but none materialized. This also helped the town's decline. Although the town is gone, the township of

Elixir ELIXIR (the European life-sciences Infrastructure for biological Information) is an initiative that will allow life science laboratories across Europe to share and store their research data as part of an organised network. Its goal is to bring t ...

remains and currently contains Bergman. * Keener was a town around one mile south of present-day Bergman. Keener was strong in the 1880s and had a population of about 1,000 people. But, Keener began to decline fast by 1892.

Townships

Former townships include Bear Creek,

Crooked Creek Crooked Creek may refer to: Streams In Australia * Crooked Creek (Clyde River), a tributary of the Clyde River in New South Wales * Crooked Creek (Walsh River), a tributary of the Walsh River in Queensland In the United States * Crooked Cree ...

, Elmwood,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease Chronic wasting disease (CWD), sometimes called zombie deer disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting deer. TSEs are a family of diseases thought to be caused by misfolded proteins called prions and include similar dis ...

has been found in Boone county, as well as Benton, Carroll,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

, Newton,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Searcy, Sebastian, Scott, and

counties.

References

External links

County government site

Unofficial/Community guide site

County Ordinances

genealogy information pages at USGenWeb

Map of Boone County
(U. S. Census Bureau)
Map of Boone County from Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Boone County entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Boone County Historical and Railroad Society, Inc.

Boone County School District Reference Map
(U. S. Census Bureau, 2010) {{authority control 1869 establishments in Arkansas Harrison, Arkansas micropolitan area Populated places established in 1869 Sundown towns in Arkansas