Montgomery 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 ...

in the U.S. state of

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 9,487. 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 Mount Ida. Montgomery County is Arkansas's 45th county, formed on December 9, 1842, and named after

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

general.

History

Stone

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

and

dart Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

points found in the area verify that people from the

Dalton Culture The Dalton tradition is a Late Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic projectile point tradition. These points appeared in most of Southeast North America around 10,000–7,500 BC. :''"They are distinctive artifacts, having concave bases with "ears" t ...

were present in Montgomery County around 8500 BC. Early signs of houses and American Indian cemeteries are present in and around

Caddo Gap, Arkansas Caddo Gap is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Arkansas, United States. It lies between Glenwood and Norman, on the Caddo River. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population ...

, indicating the definite presence of the

Caddo Indians The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

having settled in the area in the 13th century and 14th century. In 1541, the explorer

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 ...

fought the Tula Indians at Caddo Gap, and he was injured during that battle.Carter, Cecile Elkins
''Caddo Indians: Where We Come From''.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001: 21. The first white settlers arrived in 1812, when Martin and Mary Collier settled what is now Caddo Gap. They befriended the local tribes, and seemingly had no problems from them whatsoever. Granville Whittington arrived in 1835, and built a road that led from

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

to his farm about a mile north of the settlement of Montgomery. By 1836 when Arkansas received statehood, most of the native Indians were gone. Some of the native Indian women had intermingled and intermarried with local white settlers. Whittington opened a general store that drew customers from the surrounding area, and in 1842 he opened the Mount Ida Post Office in Mount Ida. West of the

Ouachita River The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It is the 25th-longest river in the United States ( ...

, settlers from a

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

wintered in what is now Oden, and decided to stay when the weather cleared. Montgomery County was named after General

, an American general who died during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Originally part of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

, it was first claimed by Spain, then France, and in 1813 was part of Arkansas County, then in 1818 was part of Clark County. On December 9, 1842, Montgomery County became its own county, with Montgomery as its county seat. In 1850 Salem became the county seat, but later that same year the county seat changed again, to Mount Ida, where Whittington's Post Office was located. Mount Ida incorporated in 1854.

Civil War era

When the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out, most of Montgomery County favored the Confederacy. Mount Ida settlers John Lavender and John Simpson formed one company to serve in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, and the 4th Arkansas Infantry originated in Mount Ida also, but after the war few from the company organized by Lavender and Simpson returned to Montgomery County. With mostly women left to tend to the farms, soldiers from both the Confederate and the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

raided homes and farms for supplies, leaving settlers with little to eat. After the war, soldiers from both armies settled in the area, building schools and homes. In 1884 Oden built a steam saw, a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

Up to modern times

With the arrival of the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

in Caddo Gap around the turn of the 20th century, Caddo Gap and Black Springs began to thrive. In 1910 the county population reached its peak, with

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s springing up in several locations. That same year, the town of Womble was settled. It changed its name to Norman in 1925. In 1918 the logging camp of

Mauldin, Arkansas Mauldin or Mauldin Logging Camp is a ghost town in Montgomery County, Arkansas, United States. Established in 1918 by Billy Mauldin in cooperation with Thomas Rosborough, it became heavily populated by 1922 by workers drawn to industries cutting ...

sprang up, and a railroad line was built to it from Norman. However, almost overnight in 1936, Mauldin closed up, dismantled everything, and moved on having depleted the

virgin timber An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

in the area. This, combined with the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, had a devastating effect on the county. Many people moved away to find work elsewhere, while others found employment with the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, people continued to leave Montgomery County, with the men going off to war, and others leaving to find employment in war plants. Mining became one source of local employment for a time, but did not last. Most mines were due to a large abundance of

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

in the county. In 1922 there were eighty three school districts in Montgomery County. Today there are three, Caddo Hills, Mount Ida, and Ouachita River. Cattle, swine, and poultry are now the main areas of employment in the region.

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 (2.6%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 70 * U.S. Highway 270 * Highway 8 * Highway 27 * Highway 88

Adjacent counties

* Yell County (north) * Garland County (east) * Hot Spring County (southeast) * Clark County (southeast) * Pike County (south) *

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

(west) * Scott County (northwest)

National protected area

Ouachita National Forest The Ouachita National Forest is a vast congressionally-designated United States National Forest, National Forest that lies in the western portion of Arkansas and portions of extreme-eastern Oklahoma, USA. History The Ouachita National Forest is t ...

(part)

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 8,484 people, 3,754 households, and 2,563 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, there were 9,245 people, 3,785 households, and 2,747 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 5,048 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.42%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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 ...

, 1.11% Native American, 0.37%

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 ...

, 0.01%

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 ...

, 1.56% 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 1.23% from two or more races. 2.53% 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 3,785 households, out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% 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 2.85. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.50% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,421, and the median income for a family was $32,769. Males had a median income of $25,865 versus $18,063 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,668. About 13.00% of families and 17.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.50% of those under age 18 and 16.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Over the past few election cycles Montgomery County has trended heavily towards the GOP. The last Democrat (as of 2020) to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1996.

Communities

Cities

* Mount Ida (county seat)

Towns

* Black Springs *

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Oden is a type of nabemono (Japanese one-pot dishes), consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and processed fishcakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth. Oden was originally what is now commonly ca ...

Census-designated places

* Caddo Gap * Pencil Bluff

Other unincorporated communities

* Alamo * Black Springs ( Black Springs) * Caddo Gap * Caney (small parts of Glenwood) * Center * Fannie * Hopper * Mount Ida ( Mount Ida) * Norman (

) * Oden (

) * Pencil Bluff * Sims * Washita

Townships

Montgomery County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large

Notable people

Osro Cobb Osro Cobb (May 28, 1904 – January 18, 1996) was a Republican lawyer who worked to establish a two-party system in the US state of Arkansas. In 1926, he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County and served as th ...

, (1904–1996), Republican member of 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 ...

from 1927 to 1930; later the state Republican chairman, and the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas during the

Little Rock Integration Crisis The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...

Mack Ray Edwards Mack Ray Edwards (October 17, 1918 – October 30, 1971) was an American child sex abuser and serial killer who molested and murdered at least six children in Los Angeles County, California, between 1953 and 1970. Sentenced to death, he died by ...

(1918–1971), child sex abuser/serial killer; committed

suicide by hanging Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck. Hanging is often considered t ...

in his prison cell *

Lon Warneke Lonnie Warneke (March 28, 1909 – June 23, 1976) (pronounced WARN-a-key), nicknamed "The Arkansas Hummingbird", was a Major League Baseball player, Major League umpire, county judge, and businessman from Montgomery County, Arkansas, whose caree ...

, (1909–1976),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, was born in Mount Ida.

References

External links

Montgomery County entry in the Arkansas Encyclopedia

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office
{{authority control 1842 establishments in Arkansas Populated places established in 1842