Chicot County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the southeastern corner of 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 sover ...

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 Osage ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,800. 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 ...

is Lake Village. Chicot County is Arkansas's 10th county, formed on October 25, 1823, and named after Point Chicot on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. It is part of the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

, lowlands along the river that have been historically important as an area for large-scale cotton cultivation. Landmarks around the county include

Lake Chicot Lake Chicot ( ) is a lake adjacent to the Mississippi River. The lake is located on the east side of Lake Village, Arkansas in Chicot County. It is not only the largest oxbow lake in North America, but the largest natural lake in Arkansas, forme ...

, North America's largest

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...

and Arkansas's largest natural lake; the site of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

's first night-time flight; and the legendary burial site of

Hernando De Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

, near Lake Village.

History

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto came to this area with his expedition in 1542, settling for a time in the village or territory known as ''

Guachoya Quigualtam or Quilgualtanqui was a powerful Native American Plaquemine culture polity encountered in 1542–1543 by the Hernando de Soto expedition. The capital of the polity and its chieftain also bore the same name; although neither the chief n ...

''. The European-American town of Lake Village later developed in the 19th century at Lake Chicot, formed by an oxbow of the Mississippi River. Eighteenth-century French colonists named it ''Chicot'' because of the many cypress trees in the waterways. The word is translated to "stumpy, or knobby". The area along the Mississippi River and major tributaries was developed as cotton plantations, the major commodity crop before and after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

of 1861–1865. Enslaved African Americans formed the labor force, comprising a majority of the population in the antebellum years. Major large cotton plantations included Sunnyside (owned in the 20th century by

LeRoy Percy LeRoy Percy (November 9, 1860December 24, 1929) was an American attorney, planter, and Democratic politician who served as a United States Senator to the state of Mississippi from 1910 to 1913. Percy was a grandson of Charles "Don Carlos" Perc ...

, planter and US Senator from

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. Hi ...

); Florence, Patria, Pastoria, Luna, and Lakeport. During the war, Union and Confederate forces fought at the

Battle of Old River Lake The Battle of Old River Lake, also known as Ditch Bayou, Furlough, and Fish Bayou, was a small skirmish between U.S. Army troops and Confederate troops from June 5 to June 6, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Union Army force marched into C ...

from June 5 to June 6, 1864. The population of the rural county has declined since its peak in 1940. Earlier in the century, boll weevils threatened the cotton crop, and many African Americans left in the Great Migration for opportunity in northern and midwestern industrial cities. In addition, mechanization of agriculture and consolidation into industrial-style farms has reduced the need for farm labor.

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 (6.7%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 65 *

U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

U.S. Highway 165 U.S. Route 165 is a north–south United States highway spur of U.S. Highway 65. It currently runs for 412 miles (663 km) from U.S. Route 90 in Iowa, Louisiana north to U.S. Highway 70 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The route passes throu ...

* U.S. Highway 278 * Highway 8 *

Highway 35 The following highways are numbered 35: International * European route E35 Canada * Alberta Highway 35 * British Columbia Highway 35 * Ontario Highway 35 * Quebec Autoroute 35 *Saskatchewan Highway 35 China * G35 Expressway Costa Rica * ...

* Highway 159 * Highway 52 Arkansas 144

Adjacent counties

* Desha County (north) *

Bolivar County Bolivar County ( ) is a County (United States), county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,985. Its county seats are Rosedale, Mississippi, Roseda ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

(northeast) * Washington County,

(east) * Issaquena County,

(southeast) *

East Carroll Parish East Carroll Parish (french: Paroisse de Carroll Est) is a parish located in the Mississippi Delta in northeastern Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 7,459. The parish seat is Lake Providence. An area of cotton plantations in the antebell ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

(south) * West Carroll Parish,

(south) *

Morehouse Parish Morehouse Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,979. The parish seat is Bastrop. The parish was formed in 1844. Morehouse Parish comprises the Bastrop, LA Micropolitan Stat ...

(southwest) * Ashley County (west) *

Drew County Drew County is a county located in the southeast region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,509, making it the 39th most populous of Arkansas's 75 counties. The county seat and largest city is Monticello. ...

(northwest)

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 10,208 people, 4,068 households, and 2,636 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 11,800 people living in the county. 54.1% were Black or African American, 41.2%

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 on ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 3.2% of some other race and 0.8 of two or more races. 4.6% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...

(of any race).

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 14,117 people, 5,205 households, and 3,643 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 22 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 5,974 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 53.96%

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 have o ...

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 ...

, 43.24%

, 0.13% Native American, 0.40%

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 1.41% 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 0.85% from two or more races. 2.88% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 5,205 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.70% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 22.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.12. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,024, and the median income for a family was $27,960. Males had a median income of $25,899 versus $17,115 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 $12,825. About 23.10% of families and 28.60% 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 38.30% of those under age 18 and 20.70% of those age 65 or over. Since 1940, the population of the county has collapsed. Press reports indicate that in 2013, the largest settlement in the county,

Lake Village, Arkansas Lake Village is a city in and the county seat of Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,575 at the 2010 census. It is located in the Arkansas Delta. Lake Village is named for its location on Lake Chicot, an oxbow lake for ...

had two bank branches, two pharmacies, some law firms, two dollar stores, a grocery store, and no retail shops.

Politics

The county voters have traditionally supported the Democratic Party. In the 20th century, the only Democratic presidential candidate to lose the county was

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

in 1972. The county is part of

Arkansas's 1st congressional district Arkansas's 1st congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in eastern Arkansas that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It is currently represented by Republican Rick Crawford. With a Cook Partisan ...

. 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 ...

, the county is in District 26 and is represented by Republican Ben Gilmore. In the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

, it is in District 1 and represented by Republican Mark McElroy. The county supported a measure prohibiting "co-habiting couples" from adopting.

Communities

Cities

* Dermott * Eudora * Lake Village (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Arkla * Bellaire * Cosgrove * Chicot Junction *

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

* Farmwood *

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

* Grand Lake * Hudspeth * Jennie * Lakeport * Lakehall *

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

* McMillian Corner * Readland * Ross Van Ness *

Shives Shives, also known as shoves, boon or hurd, are the wooden refuse removed during processing flax, hemp, or jute, as opposed to the fibres ( tow). Shives consist of "the woody inner portion of the hemp stalk, broken into pieces and separated from ...

* Stuart Island * Wellford

Ghost town

Eunice Eunice is a feminine given name, from the Greek Εὐνίκη, ''Euníkē'', from "eu", good, and "níkē", victory. Eunice is also a relatively rare last name, found in Nigeria and the Southeastern United States, chiefly Louisiana and Georgia. Pe ...

Townships

Chicot County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large

* Bowie ( Dermott) * Carlton ( Lake Village) * Planters ( Eudora)

Notable people

* Larry D. Alexander- Visual artist, writer, Bible teacher- Encyclopedia of Arkansas - Larry Dell Alexander - 1953-
/ref> * Jim Cain - American player of

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

* Ruby Grant Martin - lawyer, federal civil rights official * Robert L. Hill - founder of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America * Mark D. McElroy - State representative for Chicot County since 2013; resides in Desha County *

Lycurgus Johnson Lycurgus Johnson (1818-1876) was an American cotton planter and large slaveholder in the Arkansas Delta during the antebellum years. Born to the powerful political and planter Johnson family in Scott County, Kentucky, he became the owner and dev ...

, the owner of the Lakeport Plantation, later a state congressman.Thomas A. DeBlack
Lycurgus Leonidas Johnson (1818–1876)
''The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture'', March 23, 2007

References

External links

* * From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia County in Arkansas, United StatesEdit Jump to navigationJump to sea {{authority control 1823 establishments in Arkansas Territory Populated places established in 1823 Arkansas counties on the Mississippi River Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Arkansas