Lawrence 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 of

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 16,216. 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 ...

is Walnut Ridge. Lawrence County is Arkansas's second county, formed on January 15, 1815, and named for Captain James Lawrence who fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. 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 ...

History

Following the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

, the area currently encompassing Lawrence County was contained within the Louisiana Territory from 1805 to 1812, and the Missouri Territory from 1812 until the creation of

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a organized incorporated territory of the United States, territory of the United States from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the ...

in 1819. While the southern portion of Missouri Territory began to be settled, Lawrence County was created on January 15, 1815, from New Madrid County and Arkansas County. The large area spanned from Cape Girardeau County to the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Randolph County (north) * Greene County (east) * Craighead County (southeast) * Jackson County (south) * Independence County (southwest) * Sharp County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,216 people, 6,463 households, and 4,466 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 17,774 people, 7,108 households, and 5,011 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 8,085 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.78%

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 ...

, 0.44%

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 ...

, 0.57% Native American, 0.05% 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 ...

, 0.12% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 0.68% 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 7,108 households, out of which 30.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% 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, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.00% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,139, and the median income for a family was $32,163. Males had a median income of $26,288 versus $18,518 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 $13,785. About 13.90% of families and 18.40% 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 25.50% of those under age 18 and 20.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas 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 Lawrence County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief executive officer 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: Pardo Roberts (R) * District 2: Frank Brewer (R) * District 3: Lloyd Clark (R) * District 4: Heath Davis (D) * District 5: Frank Binkley (R) * District 6: Jeff Yates (R) * District 7: Tracy Moore (R) * District 8: Kenny Jones (R) * District 9: Troy Owens (R) Additionally, the townships of Lawrence County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the Constitution of Arkansas. 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: * Annieville: Joseph A. Warnick (D) * Black River: Jimmy D. Smith (R) * Black Rock: Jewel Tommy Milgrim (R) * Boas: Mark VanBrook (R) * Cache: Ronnie Clay Knight (R) * Campbell: Kenneth Cole (R) * Duty: Shawn King (R) * Lawrence: Duane Hutchinson (R) * Marion: William Teague (R) * Reeds Creek: Hunter Durham (R) * Thacker: James Saxe (R)

Townships

Lawrence County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large

* Annieville * Ashland ( Minturn) * Black River ( Powhatan) * Black Rock (most of Black Rock) * Boas ( Hoxie, part of Walnut Ridge) * Cache * Campbell ( College City, most of Walnut Ridge) * Dent ( Imboden) * Duty ( Portia, small part of Black Rock) * Eaton * Flat Creek * Jesup * Lawrence * Marion ( Alicia) * Morgan ( Lynn) * Promised Land ( Sedgwick) * Reeds Creek (

Strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

) * Richwoods (small part of Walnut Ridge) * Spring River (small part of Ravenden) * Strawberry ( Smithville) * Thacker (most of Ravenden)

Education

Public education is available from four school districts: * Hillcrest School District * Hoxie School District * Lawrence County School District * Sloan–Hendrix School District

Communities

Cities

* Black Rock * Hoxie * Walnut Ridge (county seat)

Towns

* Alicia * College City (former) * Imboden * Jesup * Lynn * Minturn * Portia * Powhatan * Ravenden * Sedgwick * Smithville *

Infrastructure

Major highways

* * * * U.S. Route 63B * * U.S. Route 67B * U.S. Route 67Y * U.S. Route 412 * Highway 25 * Highway 34 * Highway 90 * Highway 91 * Highway 115 * Highway 117 * Highway 117 Spur * Highway 228 * Highway 230 * Highway 361

History

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

2000 census

Government

Government

Townships

Education

Communities

Cities

Towns

Infrastructure

Major highways

See also

References

Further reading