Columbia County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,801. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

. The county was formed on December 17, 1852, and was named for Christopher Columbus. The Magnolia, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Columbia County. Columbia County is home to

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas, United States. The university had an enrollment of 5,100 undergraduate and graduate students as of fall 2023. History Southern Arkansas University was established ...

, which dominates the economic and cultural landscape of the county.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. Columbia County is in

South Arkansas South Arkansas lies within the southernmost portions of Arkansas Gulf Coastal Plain and Delta regions. It encompasses the lower 15 counties of the state. History In the 1920s, nationwide attention focused on South Arkansas when the Smackover Fi ...

. Columbia County, along with Union County, is home to the largest

Bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

reserve in the United States. Dorcheat Bayou flows through Columbia County from its origin in Nevada County southward into Webster Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, before emptying into Lake Bistineau.

Adjacent counties

* Nevada County (north) * Ouachita County (northeast) * Union County (east) * Claiborne Parish, Louisiana (southeast) * Webster Parish, Louisiana (south) * Lafayette County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,801 people, 8,562 households, and 5,559 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 25,603 people, 9,981 households, and 6,747 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 11,566 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.08%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 36.06%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.26% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.46% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 1.05% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 9,981 households, out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were married couples living together, 15.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.10% under the age of 18, 12.30% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,640, and the median income for a family was $36,271. Males had a median income of $31,313 versus $20,099 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,322. About 15.80% of families and 21.10% 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 ...

, including 28.70% of those under age 18 and 20.00% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

* Future Interstate 69 * U.S. Highway 79 * U.S. Highway 82 * U.S. Highway 371 * Highway 19 * Highway 98 * Highway 160

Airports

Magnolia Municipal Airport is a public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

in Columbia County. It is owned by the city of Magnolia and located three nautical miles (6 km) southeast of its

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Communities

Cities

(county seat)

Towns

* Emerson * McNeil *

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

* Waldo

Unincorporated communities

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

* Big Creek * Brister * Bussey * Calhoun * Jefferson *

Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...

* Plainfield *

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

* Walkerville *

Welcome A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. Overview In ...

Townships

Columbia County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large

* Emerson ( Emerson) * McNeil ( McNeil) * Magnolia (

) * Taylor (

) * Village * Waldo ( Waldo)

Education

School districts include: * Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District * Lafayette County School District - Formed in 2003 when the Lewisville School District and the Stamps School District merged.ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls
"

Arkansas Department of Education The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) is a cabinet-level agency of the Arkansas state government overseeing public education for K-12, higher education institutions, and career and technical education. The ADE also contains the Arkansas ...

. Retrieved on October 13, 2017. * Magnolia School District * Smackover-Norphlet School District - Formerly Smackover School District until the Norphlet School District merged into it in 2014 Former school districts:
Text list
- Note that it indicates the Waldo district as being separate even though it had already merged into the Magnolia district in 2006. * The Emerson-Taylor School District formed in 2004 when the Emerson School District and the Taylor School District merged. It became the Emerson-Taylor-Bradley in 2013 after the Bradley School District merged into it. * Stephens School District - Dissolved in 2014, with the Magnolia district taking the portion in Columbia County. * Waldo School District - Merged into the Magnolia district in 2006.

Government and politics

Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the

Constitution of Arkansas The Constitution of Arkansas is the Constitution, primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Arkansas delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the Politics and government of Arkansas, state government. Arkansas' original ...

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 Columbia County Quorum Court has eleven members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the ''county judge'', who serves as the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

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. The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 9 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are: * District 1: Virginia Pate (R) * District 2: Mark Gullenwider (R) * District 3: Jason Clark (R) * District 4: Penny Cook (R) * District 5: Ricky Waller (R) * District 6: Jeremy Dodson (R) * District 7: Oliver Thomas (D) * District 8: Terry Williams (D) * District 9: Charles Michael Henderson (R) * District 10: Lynn Story (R) * District 11: Mike Loe (R) Additionally, the townships of Columbia County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the

. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult. The township constables as of the 2024 elections are: * Columbia North: Charles Holt (R) * Columbia South: Jimmy Holt (R) * Emerson: Dusty Shepherd (R) * Magnolia: Randall Adams (R) * McNeil: Charles E. Beckham III (R) * Taylor: Hunter Scott (R) * Waldo: Truman Young (D)

Politics

Columbia County's political history is deeply unusual for a county dominated by a university, as it is deeply conservative despite most college counties being Democratic strongholds. Like most fellow Southern counties, Columbia County was once a Democratic stronghold during the 19th century and most of the 20th century, before shifting rapidly towards Republicans in the late 20th century. While other Southern counties remained solidly Republican, Columbia County joined several of its fellow Arkansan counties in voting for native son

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

before it continued shifting towards Republicans in the 21st century. Republicans have generally seen slowly increasing margins (with the exception of a 0.1% decrease in 2008), with

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

securing nearly 68% of the vote in 2024, the best result a Republican has ever seen in the county other than

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's 1972 landslide. In 2014, voters overturned a 71-year-old prohibition against the sale of alcoholic beverages in the county.

References

External links

Columbia County Sheriff's Office
{{coord, 33, 14, 28, N, 93, 13, 06, W, region:US-AR_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1852 establishments in Arkansas Populated places established in 1852