Lincoln County is located between the
Arkansas Timberlands and
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
. It is situated just outside the outer edge of the
Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state ...
metropolitan region. The
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 ...
is named for President Abraham Lincoln. Created as Arkansas's 65th county on March 28, 1871, Lincoln County has three incorporated
cities
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
, including
Star City, 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. The county contains 46
unincorporated communities and
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
s,
Cane Creek State Park at the confluence of Cane Creek and
Bayou Bartholomew
Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world, meandering approximately in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011
...
, and nine listings on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
to preserve the history and culture of the county.
Lincoln County occupies and contained a population of 12,941 as of the
2020 Census. The
rural economy is largely based on agriculture. The state has built two prisons here that also provide some local jobs. Poverty and unemployment rates are above national averages, but steady. Household incomes are below state and national averages.
Lincoln County is served by two school districts,
Star City School District and
Dumas Public Schools. Higher education and healthcare are available in Pine Bluff to the north or Monticello to the south. Although no
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 ...
serve Lincoln County, the county has access to two
United States highways (
U.S. Route 65 S 65 US 425) and eight
Arkansas state highways. Lincoln County is also served by one public owned/public use general aviation airport,
Star City Municipal Airport, and six 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
The county was established in 1871 during the Reconstruction era by the
Arkansas General Assembly
The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 1 ...
from parts of Arkansas, Bradley, Desha, Drew, and Jefferson counties. It was named for President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
. The Republican Party was chosen by most
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
after they got the franchise, as it was the one that secured their emancipation after the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...
. Some white
Union sympathizers, including veterans who decided to stay in the South, also voted for Republican candidates, and some were elected to state offices in former
Confederate states
The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised eleven U.S. states th ...
.
County government was first permanently established in Star City. The county had a second county seat at
Varner from 1885 to 1912.
Geography

Lincoln County's geography is defined by two physiographic regions of Arkansas: the
Arkansas Timberlands and 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 ...
(in Arkansas, usually referred to as "the Delta"). These two regions are separated by
Bayou Bartholomew
Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world, meandering approximately in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011
...
, the world's longest bayou, which approximately splits the county into eastern and western halves with significant differences in geography.
In the east, the Arkansas Delta is a subregion 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 ...
, which is a flat area consisting of rich, fertile sediment deposits from 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 ...
between
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
.
The western half is part of the Arkansas Timberlands, a portion of the
Gulf Coastal Plain
The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico.
This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over m ...
characterized by flat
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
and
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.
The word ''cypress'' ...
forests and
silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...
rather than
row agriculture. The county is the eighth-smallest in Arkansas, with a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water.
The county is located approximately southeast 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 ...
, southwest of
Memphis,
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 northwest of
Jackson,
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
. Lincoln County is surrounded by two Delta counties to the east,
Arkansas County and
Desha County, and a Timberlands county to the west,
Cleveland County.
Jefferson County to the north and
Drew County are border counties similar to Lincoln County, with Bayou Bartholomew delineating a similarly split geography.
Protected areas

Lincoln County contains two protected areas.
Cane Creek State Park is a state park located on the border between the West Gulf Coastal Plain and Arkansas Delta, with a lake at the center. Fishing, canoeing, and kayaking are available on the lake in addition to pavilions, trails, and a visitor center with gift shop on land. The park offers 29 RV/tent camping sites with water and electric hookups, and is owned and operated by the
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Huff's Island Public Use Area is located on the Arkansas River in northeastern Lincoln County. Managed by the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
, the park does not have a boat ramp or camping, but offers day use, river bank access from March–September, and four picnic sites.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 12,941 people, 3,773 households, and 2,711 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the
2000 census,
there were 14,492 people, 4,265 households, and 3,130 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 4,955 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 64.88%
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 ...
, 32.92%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.40%
Native American, 0.06%
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 ...
, 0.99% from
other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.81% 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 4,265 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% 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, 14.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.20% under the age of 18, 12.40% from 18 to 24, 33.20% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 142.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 154.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,607, and the median income for a family was $35,408. Males had a median income of $28,890 versus $19,990 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 $12,479. About 15.50% of families and 19.50% 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 26.60% of those under age 18 and 17.90% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The
Arkansas Department of Correction
The Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC), formerly the Arkansas Department of Correction, is the state law enforcement agency that oversees inmates and operates state prisons within the U.S. state of Arkansas. DOC consists of two divisions, ...
, which operates the
Cummins Unit and the
Varner Unit in Lincoln County, is one of the county's major employers.
Human resources
Education
Educational attainment in Lincoln County is typical for a rural Arkansas county, with a 2012 study finding 78.4% of Lincoln County residents over age 25 held a high school degree or higher and 8.9% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. The Lincoln County rates are below Arkansas averages of 84.8% and 21.1%, and significantly below national averages of 86.7% and 29.8%, respectively.
Primary and secondary education
One public school district is based in Lincoln County; the
Star City School District, which serves the western two-thirds of the county. The remainder of the county is served by the
Dumas Public School District, based in
Dumas. Successful completion of the curriculum of these schools leads to graduation from
Star City High School or
Dumas New Tech High School
Dumas High School (DHS), formerly Dumas New Tech High School, is a Comprehensive education, comprehensive secondary school, public secondary school located in Dumas, Arkansas, United States, for students in grades ten through twelve. Dumas is one ...
, respectively. Both high schools offer
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...
(AP) courses and 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). Dumas Public Schools is also accredited by
AdvancED
The Advanced Party (), otherwise known as the Advanced Association () was a liberal and centrist Zionist political association in Mandatory Palestine founded by several urban liberal Zionists. The party was founded in order to represent the voice ...
.

The school districts at
Gould and
Grady were merged into Dumas and Star City for the 2004–05 school year pursuant to the Public Education Reorganization Act passed by the
Arkansas Legislature.
Higher education
Lincoln County does not contain any institutions of higher education. The three nearest institutions in the region are
University of Arkansas at Monticello to the south and
Southeast Arkansas College (SEARK) and
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in Pine Bluff to the north, all public four-year colleges.
Library system
The Star City Branch Library in downtown Star City is a member library of the Southeast Arkansas Regional Library system. The location offers books,
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
s, media, reference, youth, business and
genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
services.
Public health
Lincoln County's above-average poverty rate suggests a high
Medicaid
Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...
eligibility rate. As of 2012, 25.6% of Lincoln County was eligible for Medicaid, with 62.8% of children under 19 eligible for
ARKids First, a program by the
Arkansas Department of Human Services that combines children's Medicaid (ARKids A) and other programs for families with higher incomes (ARKids B). These values are more in line with statewide averages than typical values for rural Arkansas counties.
The county's population is significantly above healthy weight, with 69.8% of adults and 43.5% of children/adolescents ranking as overweight or obese, above the state averages of 67.1% and 39.3%, themselves significantly above national averages of 62.9% and 30.3%, respectively.
The
Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff 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 ...
offering acute inpatient care,
emergency care
Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...
, cardiology, home health, inpatient hospice, neurology, surgery, and the UAMS South Central Family Residency Program. The facility is rated as a
Level 4 Trauma Center by the
Arkansas Department of Health.
Baptist Health Medical Center and
CHI St. Vincent Infirmary are
referral hospitals in Little Rock. The nearest
Level 1 Trauma Centers are
Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH, or "Children's") and
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a Public university, public medical school in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research cente ...
(UAMS), both in Little Rock.
Public safety
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Lincoln County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years.
The county is under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln County District Court, a
state district court.
[.] State 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 (up to $25,000), small claims, and traffic matters.
State district courts are presided over by a full-time District Judge elected to a four-year term by a districtwide election. The district is subdivided into the Star City (city), Star City (county), Gould, and Grady departments. All departments of Lincoln County District Court are located at 300 South Drew, and are presided over by one District Judge, who is elected in a countywide election.
Superseding district court jurisdiction is the
11th West Judicial Circuit Court, which covers Jefferson and Lincoln counties. The 11th West Circuit contains six circuit judges, elected to six-year terms circuitwide.
State prisons

The
Arkansas Department of Correction
The Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC), formerly the Arkansas Department of Correction, is the state law enforcement agency that oversees inmates and operates state prisons within the U.S. state of Arkansas. DOC consists of two divisions, ...
operates two prisons in
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
s in the county. The
Varner Unit is located in
Varner, and the
Cummins Unit is near Varner.
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 Lincoln County Quorum Court has nine 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 4 Republicans, 3 Democrats, and 2 Independents. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:
* District 1: Kip Dutton (D)
* District 2: Corey Dial (R)
* District 3: Brad Henley (R)
* District 4: Jeffery L. Frizzell (R)
* District 5: Drew I. Steed (I)
* District 6: Edwin Branson (D)
* District 7: Phillip Thomas (D)
* District 8: Bill Dowdy (R)
* District 9: Jax Gasaway (I)
Additionally, the townships of Lincoln County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth 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 ...
. 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:
* Wells Bayou: Jeff Branson (D)
Politics
Lincoln County historically followed the
Solid South
The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...
voting trend of strong support for Democrats. However, following the election of
Arkansas Governor 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, ...
, the county has turned increasingly
Republican, including in state and local races. Politically, the white-majority Lincoln County has transitioned from reliably
Democratic in presidential elections to steadily
Republican since the election of
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
.
In
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, Arkansas has been represented by two Republican senators (
John Boozman
John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repre ...
and
Tom Cotton
Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...
) since January 3, 2015, ending a long history of Democratic hegemony. In the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, Lincoln County is within
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 Parti ...
with many other agricultural Delta counties on the eastern side of the state. The district has been represented by Republican
Rick Crawford since
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
.
In the
Arkansas State Senate, Lincoln County is split essentially in half between north and south. The northern half is within District 25, which also includes most of Jefferson and Phillips counties and a small portion of Desha County. The district has been represented by
Stephanie Flowers, a Democratic lawyer from Pine Bluff, since January 2013. The southern half of Lincoln County is within District 26, which reaches to the southeastern corner of the state. District 26 has been represented by
Eddie Cheatham, a Democratic retired educator from
Crossett, since January 2013.
In the
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...
, Lincoln County is split among three districts. The western third of Lincoln County is within District 10, which includes parts of four nearby counties. District 10 has been represented by
Mike Holcomb since January 2013. Holcomb was initially elected as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican party in August 2015. The eastern third of the county is within District 12, which extends across Arkansas and Desha counties to include all of Phillips County. District 12 has been represented by Chris Richey, a Democratic pastor from
Helena-West Helena, since January 2013. A small portion in northern Lincoln County, including Grady and Varner, is within District 16. The district contains the eastern half of Jefferson County, including the southeastern half of Pine Bluff, and has been represented by
Ken Ferguson, a Democrat, since January 2015. District 13 has been represented by
David Hillman since 2013.
Taxation
Property tax
A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...
is assessed by the Lincoln County Assessor annually based upon the fair market value of the property and determining which tax rate, commonly called a ''millage'' in Arkansas, will apply. The rate depends upon the property's location with respect to city limits, school district, and special
tax increment financing
Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program i ...
(TIF) districts. This tax is collected by the Lincoln County Collector between the first business day of March of each year through October 15 without penalty. The Lincoln County Treasurer disburses tax revenues to various government agencies, such as cities, county road departments, fire departments, libraries, and police departments in accordance with the budget set by the quorum court.
Communities
Cities
*
Gould
*
Grady
*
Star City (county seat)
Lincoln County has 46 unincorporated communities and ghost towns within its borders. This is due to early settlers in Arkansas tending to settle in small clusters rather than incorporated towns. For example, communities like Varner had a post office and dozens of buildings at some point in their history. Other communities are simply a few dwellings at a crossroads that have adopted a common place name over time. Some are officially listed as populated places by the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
, and others are listed as historic settlements.
Unincorporated communities
*
Avery
*
Branchville
*
Cades
*
Calhoun
*
Cornerville
*
Crigler
*
Cummins Unit
*
Douglas
*
Feenyville
*
Flynn
*
Fresno
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
*
Garnett
*
Garrett Bridge
*
Glendale
*
Gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...
*
Little Garnett
*
Maroney
*
Mills
*
Nebo
*
Palmyra
Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
*
Phenix
*
Relfs Bluff
*
Rose Hill
*
Sarassa
*
Shannon Tank
*
Tarry
*
Tyro
In Greek mythology, Tyro () was an Elean princess who later became Queen of Iolcus.
Tyro was the daughter of King Salmoneus of Elis and Alcidice. She married her uncle, King Cretheus of Iolcus, and had three sons with him, and also bore twin s ...
*
Varner
*
Warrenton
*
Whitefield
*
Woodville
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Yorktown
Historical communities
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Champion
*
Four Groves
*
Kimbrough
*
Oakdale
*
Quawpaw Village
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Rest
REST (Representational State Transfer) is a software architectural style that was created to describe the design and guide the development of the architecture for the World Wide Web. REST defines a set of constraints for how the architecture of ...
*
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
*
South Bend
South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
*
Todd
*
Villa Vale
*
Youngstown
Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
Townships

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Auburn
*
Bartholomew
Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2).
New Testament references
The name ''Bartholomew ...
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Cane Creek (contains
Star City)
*
Choctaw
The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
(contains
Grady)
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Gould (contains
Gould)
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Kimbrough
*
Lone Pine
*
Mill Creek
*
Owen
Owen may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
Places United States
* Owen, Missouri, a ghost town
* Owen, Wisconsin
* Owen County, Indiana
...
*
Smith
*
Spring
*
Wells Bayou
Source:
Infrastructure
Aviation
Lincoln County contains 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,
Star City Municipal Airport. For the twelve-month period ending February 28, 2014, the facility saw 5,400 general aviation operations. The nearest commercial service airport is
Clinton National Airport in Little Rock.
Major highways
The most heavily traveled highway in Lincoln County is
U.S. Highway 65, with 7,700 vehicles per day estimated in Gould in 2016. The route connects travelers to Pine Bluff (and Little Rock via
Interstate 530 -530 to the north, and
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
and
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
to the south.
U.S. Highway 425 crosses the county from south to north, passing through Star City.
Highway 530 was opened to traffic in 2013 as two lanes of a future four-lane
controlled access facility between Pine Bluff and the future
Interstate 69
Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of eight unconnected segments. The longest segment runs from Evansville, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and includ ...
in Monticello. Currently, the route serves as direct access to Pine Bluff and points north for Star City travelers, in less distance than US 65.
Eleven state highways serve the traveling public in the county, varying from short connector routes to long highways traversing the entire county.
Highway 11 is an important highway in the county, running from
US 63 just over the
Cleveland County line northeast through Star City and Grady to Huff's Island park on 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 ...
.
Highway 54 crosses the county from east to west on a winding, indirect route between Dumas and Pine Bluff.
Highway 114 and
Highway 212 serves as east–west routes across the county.
Highway 83,
Highway 199, and
Highway 293 are rural routes in the south, north and southeast parts of Lincoln County, respectively.
Highway 388 runs from US 65 toward Cummins and Varner units.
Highway 980 connects Star City Municipal Airport to Highway 114.
Two unsigned state highways
Highway 600 and
Highway 831, serve as institutional roads for Cane Creek State Park and the state prisons, respectively.
Utilities
Water
The
Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems throughout the state. Six community water systems are based in Lincoln County: Yorktown Water Association, Arkansas Department of Corrections - Cummins Unit, Star City Water, Gould Municipal Water/Sewer, Grady Waterworks, and the Garrett Bridge Water Association. All of these utilities use the Sparta Sand Aquifer for source water. Small, rural parts of the county are served by the Highway 63 Water Association and the Ladd Water Association.
Yorktown Water Association has the largest retail population, with 8,169 total retail population, mostly within Lincoln County. ADC Cummins Unit has a retail population of 3,800, followed by Star City with 2,842, Gould with 1,041, and all others under 1,000 retail population served.
Wastewater
The
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) regulates and oversees wastewater treatment and discharge permits in the state. Lincoln County contains three municipal wastewater systems, and one active domestic NPDES permit for Cummins Unit.
See also
*
List of lakes in Lincoln County, Arkansas
There are at least 25 named lakes and reservoirs in Lincoln County, Arkansas.
Lakes
* Cane Creek Lake, , el.
* Douglas Old River Lake, , el.
* Echubby Lake, , el.
* Harm Coat Bayou, , el.
* Lake Dian (Arkansas), Lake Dian, , el.
* Long ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Arkansas
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
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Further reading
*
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1871 establishments in Arkansas
Populated places established in 1871
Pine Bluff metropolitan area
Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway metropolitan area