Hempstead 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 20,065, down from 22,609 at the 2010 census. 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 ...

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

. Hempstead County is Arkansas's fourth county, formed on December 15, 1818, alongside Clark and Pulaski counties. The county is named for Edward Hempstead, a delegate to the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

from the

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southe ...

, which included present-day Arkansas at the time. It is an alcohol prohibition or

dry county In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties n ...

. The 42nd

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

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, ...

, who served from 1993 to 2001, was born in the county seat of Hope on August 19, 1946. As of 2025, Clinton is the only President to have been born in Arkansas.

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 (1.8%) is water. Hempstead County is alternately considered as part of the greater regions of

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 ...

or Southwest Arkansas.

Major highways

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from Interstate 20, I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas ...

U.S. Highway 67 * US 278

U.S. Highway 278 * US 371

U.S. Highway 371 * Arkansas 4

Highway 4 * Arkansas 27

Highway 27 * Arkansas 29

Highway 29 * Arkansas 32

Highway 32 The following highways are numbered 32: International * Asian Highway 32 * European route E32 Australia * Great Western Highway * Barrier Highway * East Derwent Highway * Mitchell Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 32 * Manitoba Highway 3 ...

Adjacent counties

* Pike County (north) * Nevada County (east) * Lafayette County (south) * Miller County (southwest) * Little River County (west) * Howard County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,065 people, 8,094 households, and 5,711 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 23,587 people, 8,959 households, and 6,378 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,178 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 63.28%

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 ...

, 30.36%

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 ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 4.17% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. 8.25% 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 8,959 households, out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.40% 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, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% 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 3.09. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.30% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,622, and the median income for a family was $34,082. Males had a median income of $25,830 versus $17,383 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 $14,103. About 16.00% of families and 20.30% 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 29.20% of those under age 18 and 16.70% of those age 65 or over.

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 Hempstead 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 7 Republicans and 3 Democrats, with one seat vacant due to no filings. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are: * District 1: James Griffin (D) of Hope * District 2: (''seat currently Vacant'') * District 3: Doris Brown (D) of Hope * District 4: Ed B. Darling (R) of Hope * District 5: Victor Ford (R) * District 6: Troy K. Lerew (R) of Hope (''seat currently Vacant'') * District 7: Steve Atchley (R) of Hope * District 8: C. David Clayton (R) of Hope * District 9: Jessie Henry (D) * District 10: Jay Lathrop (R) of Nashville * District 11: B. Keith Steed (R) Additionally, the townships of Hempstead 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: * Bodcaw: David Keith Cummings (R) * Bois D'Arc: Maurice Henry (D) * Deroan: Reyn Brown (R) * Garland: Randall Hatfield (R) * Ozan: Becky Medlen-Billings (R) * Spring Hill: Jimmy F. Singleton (R) * Wallaceburg: Thomas Luke Everett (R) * Watercreek: Frankie Ingersoll (R)

Politics

Starting in 2008, voters of Hempstead County have shifted to the political right in US presidential elections. That said, the city of

is still very Democratic as of the 2020 election.

Communities

Cities

* Blevins *

(county seat) *

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Towns

* Fulton * McNab * McCaskill * Oakhaven * Ozan *

Patmos Patmos (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where, according to Christian belief, John of Patmos received the vision found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. ...

* Perrytown

Unincorporated communities

* Clow *

DeAnn ''DeAnn'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Zach Bryan, released on August 24, 2019, through Belting Bronco. The album is named after Bryan's mother, who died in 2016. The album first charted in 2021 and debuted on the US ...

Townships

* Bodcaw (

) * Bois d'Arc ( Fulton, McNab) * De Roan (

, Perrytown) * Garland * Mine Creek (part of Ozan) * Noland (small part of Emmet) * Ozan ( Oakhaven,

, most of Ozan) * Redland ( McCaskill) * Saline * Spring Hill * Wallaceburg ( Blevins) * Water Creek

References

External links

* {{coord, 33.7353, -93.66844, format=dms, region:US-AR_type:adm2nd_source:wikidata, display=title 1818 establishments in Missouri Territory Hope micropolitan area Populated places established in 1818

Geography

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

2000 census

Government

Government

Politics

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

References

External links