Cross County is a rural Northeast Arkansas county in 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 ...

. Created as Arkansas's 53rd county on November 15, 1862, Cross County contains four incorporated

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, including Wynne, 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 ...

and most populous city. It is named for

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

David C. Cross, a political leader in the area. The county is largely flat and fertile, mostly used for row agriculture typical of the rich alluvial soils of the Arkansas Delta.

Crowley's Ridge Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is a geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most p ...

, a forested deposit of

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

hills rising from the flat Delta bisects the county from north to south, including part of Wynne and most of Village Creek State Park, the county's primary protected area of ecological value. Historical and cultural features range from

Parkin Archeological State Park Parkin Archeological State Park, also known as Parkin Indian Mound, is an archeological site and state park in Parkin, Cross County, Arkansas. Around 1350–1650 CE an aboriginal palisaded village existed at the site, at the confluence ...

, which preserves a prehistoric Native American mound building settlement, to the Johnston Cotton Gin marking mechanization of the cotton farm, and the Northern Ohio School, a segregated school built by a lumber company for African-American children of employees. Cross County occupies 622.33 square miles (1,612 ha) and contained a population of 16,833 as of the 2020 census. The economy is largely based on agriculture. Poverty and unemployment rates are above national averages, household incomes are below state and national averages. Cross County is mostly served by two school districts: Cross County School District and Wynne Public Schools. Higher education is provided at the Wynne campus of East Arkansas Community College, a public

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

. Crossridge Community Hospital in Wynne is a

community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, i ...

providing

primary care Primary care is a model of health care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated person-focused care. It aims to optimise population health and reduce disparities across the groups by ensuring equitable ...

in the county. Although no Interstate highways serve Cross County, the county has access to two United States highways ( US Highway 49 S 49and US 64) and thirteen Arkansas state highways. Cross County is also served by one public owned/public use

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport, Wynne Municipal Airport, and seven community water systems provide

potable water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

to customers in the county.

History

Cross County was formed in November 1862 by the Arkansas State Legislature from portions of St. Francis, Crittenden, and Poinsett Counties. The first county seat was Whittsburg, located due east of modern Wynne. In 1882, the first railroad, the Helena & Iron Mountain Railroad, was constructed in Cross County. The line was later bought out by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, & Southern Railroad. In 1903, the county seat was moved to Wynne.

Geography

Cross County is established on the rich, fertile, alluvial soils of the

Mississippi Alluvial Plain The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is an alluvial plain created by the Mississippi River on which lie parts of seven U.S. states, from southern Louisiana to southern Illinois (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Lo ...

. In Arkansas, this region is called the

(in Arkansas, usually referred to as "the Delta"), having a distinct history and culture from adjacent regions. Bisecting the county from north to south is

, a geologic anomaly rising from the Delta composed of

soil and generally remains covered in oak-hickory forest. Today, the majority (68 percent) of the county is used for row agriculture. Roughly the western third of the county is within the Western Lowlands Pleistocene Valley Train subregion of the Delta. This region is characterized as flat windblown deposits of silty, sandy soils, and

with a high groundwater table.

Post oak ''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges, and also grows in poor soils, and is resistant ...

and

loblolly pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pi ...

are native in the higher elevations, with overcup oak, water hickory, willow oak, and

pin oak ''Quercus palustris'', also called pin oak, swamp oak, or swamp Spanish oak, is a tree in the red oak section (''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae'') of the genus ''Quercus''. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native rang ...

and pondberry native in

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

. Today, row agriculture is extensive (mostly soybeans and cotton), with commercial

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

(

crawfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

, baitfish, and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

farms) also common. Crowley's Ridge is a series of loess hills more closely associated with the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

than the Delta country surrounding it. Composed of sandy loess stacked on gravel deposits later eroded by streams into ravines, Crowley's Ridge rises from the flat Delta by up to . Crowley's Ridge remains largely wooded with oak-hickory forest or

beech–maple forest A beech–maple forest or a maple beech forest is a climax community, climax Mesic habitat, mesic closed canopy hardwood forest. It is primarily composed of American beech and sugar maple trees which co-dominate the forest and which are the pinna ...

, with little land in cultivation. Forests are related to the Appalachian cove forests, with post oak,

blackjack oak ''Quercus marilandica'', the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States. Description ''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to ...

southern red oak ''Quercus falcata'', also called southern red oak, spanish oak, bottomland red oak or three-lobed red oak is an oak (part of the genus ''Quercus''). Native to the southeastern United States, it gets its name the "Spanish Oak" as these are the ar ...

white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...

forest standing in contrast to the southern floodplain forests in the rest of Cross County. The eastern third of Cross County is split between the Northern Holocene Meander Belts and St. Francis Lowlands, both subregions historically influenced by the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Both regions are flat, poorly drained areas consisting of former river channels, drainageways, and floodplains drained in the late 19th century for settlement and row agriculture. Today consisting of farm fields, channelized drainage ditches,

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

s, the area is predominantly in soybean and cotton cultivation, with some corn, wheat, rice, and

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

. Remaining natural areas consist of sugarberry,

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

, cottonwood, and

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

s. Sandy "Sunk lands" are attributed to the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. Given Cross County's position along the

Mississippi Flyway The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi, Missouri, and Lower Ohio Rivers in the United States across the western Great Lakes to the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay in Canada. The main endpoints of t ...

, many natural areas and grain fields serve as wintering ground for water fowl.

Duck hunting Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for sport and meat. Waterfowl are hunted in crop fields where they feed, or in areas with bodies of water such as rivers, lakes ...

is popular in the Delta, including Cross County. 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 (1.0%) is water. It ranks 49th of the 75 Arkansas counties in area. The county is located approximately south of Jonesboro, west of Memphis,

, and east of

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. Cross County is surrounded by five other Delta counties: Crittenden County to the east, St. Francis County to the south, Woodruff County to the west, Jackson County to the northwest, and Poinsett County to the north.

Hydrology

St Francis River Parkin AR 2012-05-27 008

Water is an important part of Cross County's geography, history, and culture. Hydraulically, the county is split into two watersheds by Crowley's Ridge, with the eastern half draining to the

St. Francis River The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along th ...

or its tributaries, and the western half draining to the

L'Anguille River L'Anguille River (pronounced "lan-GWEEL" "LANG-gill" or locally as "LANE-GEE") is a tributary of the St. Francis River, approximately 110 mi (175 km) long, in northeastern Arkansas in the United States. Via the St. Francis River, it is ...

. The deep, wide, calm, and navigable

has been important for every civilization in Cross County since prehistory. The Casqui tribe settled in the area where the Tyronza River empties into the St. Francis. Today, this settlement is preserved within Parkin Archaeological State Park. Centuries later, European settlers founded Wittsburg as a port city as the northernmost navigable point on the St. Francis a few miles downstream from Parkin, opening the region to regional trade. Within the county, Brushy Creek, Cross County Ditch, Copeland Slough, Prairie Creek, and Village Creek are important watercourses.

Protected areas

The largest protected area in Cross County is Village Creek State Park on Crowley's Ridge near Wynne. The park is known as a large section of preserved forest in its natural state within the Delta, a 27-hole golf course, catfish and bass fishing in the two lakes, horseback riding trails, and a hiking trail along the former Memphis to Little Rock Military Road. The

in Parkin preserves a prehistoric Native American mound building settlement. The Brushy Creek Wildlife Management Area is a small property reforested in

bottomland hardwood forest Bottomland forest is woodland on lowland alluvial floodplains or lower terraces of rivers and streams. Bottomland forest is very rare in Europe. The bottomland hardwood forest is a type of deciduous and evergreen hardwood forest found in broad low ...

by the

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) is a state agency of Arkansas, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of t ...

near Hickory Ridge. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission maintains the Wittsburg Natural Area as natural Crowley's Ridge habitat, but there is no legal public access to the area.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,833 people, 6,653 households, and 4,652 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 19,526 people, 7,391 household, and 5,447 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 8,030 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 74.80%

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 ...

, 23.70%

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 ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.93% 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 7,391 households, of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.07. 27.80% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $29,362 and the median family income was $34,044. Males had a median income of $27,880 and females $20,133. 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 $15,726. About 16.40% of families and 19.90% 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 27.90% of those under age 18 and 17.50% of those age 65 or over.

Human resources

Education

Educational attainment in Cross County is typical for a rural Arkansas county: 83.6% of Cross County residents over age 25 held a high school degree or higher and 14.4% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to Arkansas statewide averages of 86.6% and 23.0%. Cross County is significantly below national averages of 88.0% and 32.1%, respectively.

Primary and secondary education

Two public school districts are based in Cross County: Wynne School District and Cross County School District. Almost the entire county is served by one of these districts, except for a small area in the northeast corner served by Earle School District. The two Cross County districts also serve small areas in adjoining counties. Successful completion of the curriculum of these schools leads to graduation from Wynne Senior High School and Cross County High School respectively. Both high schools are accredited by the

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 ...

(ADE). Cross County HS is part of the New Tech Network.

Higher education

Cross County contains one institution of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

, the Wynne Campus of the East Arkansas Community College, a public

based in

Forrest City Forrest City is a city in and the county seat of St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a notable Confederate war hero who later became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Shortly ...

. The

Arkansas State University System The Arkansas State University System, based in Little Rock, serves almost 40,000 students annually on campuses in Arkansas and Querétaro, Queretaro, Mexico, and globally online. The Arkansas State University System includes Arkansas State Unive ...

offers two institutions in the region:

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

, a public four-year university in Jonesboro, and Arkansas State University Mid-South, a public community college in West Memphis.

Libraries

The East Central Arkansas Regional Library is headquartered at the Cross County Library, 410 Merriman Avenue East in downtown Wynne. The Cross County Library has a branch library at 122 Wilson Street in Parkin.

Public health

The Cross County Hospital was established in 1952 in Wynne, and operated as a county hospital until a lease agreement with Jonesboro-based St. Bernards Healthcare started in 1999. Now known as CrossRidge Community Hospital, the hospital is supported by a 1% sales tax renewed by voters every four years. The nearest Level 1 Trauma Centers are RegionalOne Health Center and Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, both in Memphis. The county's population is significantly above healthy weight, with 39.4% of adults ranking as

obese Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...

, above the state average of 35.7%, itself significantly above national average of 29.6%.

Public safety

The Cross County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Cross County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years. Police departments in Wynne and Cherry Valley provide law enforcement in their respective jurisdictions, with Hickory Ridge and Parkin contracting with the Cross County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services. The county is under the jurisdiction of the Cross County District Court, a local district court. Local district courts in Arkansas are courts of

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems, original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

for criminal, civil, small claims, and traffic matters. Local district courts are presided over by an elected part-time judge who may privately practice law. The district court has three departments: Cherry Valley, Parkin, and Wynne. In 2021, the court will be merged into the 25th District state district court, which includes St. Francis County. Superseding district court jurisdiction is the 1st Judicial Circuit Court, which covers Cross, Lee, Monroe, Phillips, St. Francis, and Woodruff counties. The First Circuit contains five circuit judges, elected to six-year terms circuit wide.

Fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially Conflagration, destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, Compartmentalization (fire protection), compartmentalisation, suppression and inve ...

is provided by seven agencies in Cross County, together covering the entire county. The four incorporated municipalities provide fire protection beyond their corporate limits. Rural areas are served by the Bay Village Volunteer Fire Department, Fair Oaks Volunteer Fire Department, and Vanndale Volunteer Fire Department. All fire departments in Cross County are volunteer-based, except the Wynne Fire Department.

Culture and contemporary life

Parkin Archeological State Park Parkin AR 12

Cross County has several facilities, monuments, and museums dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the area. The Cross County Museum, owned and operated by the Cross County Historical Society, preserves and interprets the history and culture of Cross County for visitors. Cross County Historical Society also maintains the New Hope School outside Wynne. Parkin contains remains of a historic palisaded village with one mound Late Mississippian village, today listed as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

and interpreted via the

. Also in Parkin, the Northern Ohio School is a

one-room school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

built by a lumber company to educate the children of African-American employees in the first half of the 20th century. Wynne was the primary beneficiary of transportation improvements following the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, becoming a commercial hub for Cross County. Many of the historic structures in downtown Wynne were constructed during economically prosperous times on the farm, leading to the construction of ornate homes in the East Hamilton Avenue Historic District. The commercial centers are preserved as the Wynne Commercial Historic District and the Wynne Wholesale Commercial Historic District. Other cultural points of interest in Cross County include: * Grace Episcopal Church built in 1917 *The Woman's Progressive Club has housed the Woman's Progressive Club, Wynne's oldest social club since 1935

Media

The '' Wynne Progress'' and the '' Cross County Times'' are the county's two weekly newspapers. The county has had several former publications that have closed over the years, including newspapers published at Parkin and Wittsburg. Cross County is within the Memphis

designated market area A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

with the following local TV stations: WREG (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

), WMC (NBC), WKNO (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

), WHBQ (

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

), WTWV, WATN ( ABC),

WLMT WLMT (channel 30) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside ABC affiliate WATN-TV (channel 24). The two stations share studios at the Shelby Oaks C ...

(

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

), WBUY, and WPXX ( Ion TV). The county is home to two radio stations: KWYN (92.5 FM) and sister station, KWYN (1400 AM).

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

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 after the 2024 elections is 8 Republicans and 1 Democrat. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are: * District 1: Amy Imboden (R) * District 2: John Kyle Wilson (R) * District 3: Anthony Jarrett (R) * District 4: Glenda Vance (R) * District 5: Gloria Ferguson Aldridge (D) * District 6: Kevin Jumper (R) * District 7: Carl Loewer (R) * District 8: Jay Gahr (R) * District 9: Scott May (R) Additionally, the townships of Cross 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: * District 1: Chris Bouland (R) * District 2: Mark Sherman (R) * District 3: Josh Orman (R)

Politics

Politically, Cross County has transitioned from reliably Democratic to steadily Republican since the mid-20th century. It has voted Republican by increasing margins in each presidential election from 2004-2024.

Communities

Incorporated communities

* Cherry Valley * Hickory Ridge * Parkin * Wynne (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Bay Village * Birdeye * Central * Coldwater * Colton Crossing * Duvall * Ellis Chapel * Fair Field * Fair Oaks * Fitzgerald Crossing * Flag Lake Crossing *

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

* Gieseck * Gladden * Hamlin * L'Anguille * Levesque * McDonald * McElroy * Mersman *

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

Mounds A mound is an artificial heap or pile, especially of earth, rocks, or sand. Mound and Mounds may also refer to: Places * Mound, Louisiana, United States * Mound, Minnesota, United States * Mound, Texas, United States * Mound, West Virginia * Moun ...

* Pittinger * Pleasant Hill * Princedale * River Front * Riverside * Rose Place * Smith Chapel * Smithdale * Tilton *

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

* Twist * Vanndale * Wick Mill * Wilkins * Wittsburg * Yarbo Place

Historic communities

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

* Bellknap * Budsmith * Dunn * Merck * Saint Francis * Turney * Welford * Wrape

Townships

Cross County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large

* Bedford (small part of Wynne) * Birdeye * Brushy Lake * Coldwater * Ellis * Fair Oaks * Hickory Ridge ( Hickory Ridge) * Mitchell ( Cherry Valley) * Searcy * Smith * Smithdale * Twist * Tyronza ( Parkin) * Wynne (most of Wynne)

Infrastructure

Major highways

Cross County is not served by any

Interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

; the nearest access to the Interstate system is

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

(I-40) in St. Francis County to the south. Two United States highways serve Cross County: U.S. Highway 49 (US 49) runs north–south in western Cross County; and US 64 runs east–west across the length of Cross County. Eleven

state highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

serve the traveling public in the county, varying from short connector routes to long highways traversing the entire county. Highway 1, which runs north–south the length of the Arkansas Delta, essentially bisects the county, serving as a principal arterial through Wynne and connecting Cherry Valley and Vanndale to the state highway system. Highway 42 runs east–west across the northern part of Cross County through Hickory Ridge, Cherry Valley, Birdeye, Coldwater, and Twist. Highway 75 runs north–south through east Cross County, connecting Parkin and Coldwater to I-40 to the south and

I-555 Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway connecting I-55 in Turrell with Highway 91 in Jonesboro. It provides a complete freeway corridor between Jonesboro, Arkansas's fifth-largest city, and Memphis, Tennessee. Formerly kno ...

to the north. Highway 163 begins at Wittsburg and runs north along Crowley's Ridge to Birdeye and toward Jonesboro. It is designated as the Crowley's Ridge Parkway, a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

and Arkansas Scenic Byway.

Utilities

Entergy Arkansas is the sole provider of electricity in most of Cross County, with exception of an area northeast of Wynne roughly between Highway 1 and the St. Francis River, which is served by

Woodruff Electric Cooperative Woodruff Electric Cooperative is a non-profit rural electric utility cooperative headquartered in Forrest City, Arkansas, with district offices in Augusta and Moro, Arkansas. The Cooperative was organized in 1937. The Cooperative serves portion ...

. Telephone communication service is provided by

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

, cable television is provided by East Arkansas Video. Centerpoint Energy is the natural gas utility in Cross County. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems throughout the state. Cross County contains seven community water systems. Cross County Rural Water System is the largest by customer count (9276), though it extends into portions of five other counties. Wynne Water Utilities is largest by customers in Cross County (8837), followed by the Vanndale-Birdeye Water Association (2389). Cherry Valley Waterworks, Hickory Ridge Waterworks, Parkin Rural Water Association, and Parkin Water Company are all smaller water systems with under 1000 customers. All use groundwater from various aquifers as source water.

References

Notes

External links

* {{authority control 1862 establishments in Arkansas Populated places established in 1862