Nevada 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 southwestern part of 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 ...
. As of the
2020 Census, the population was 8,310, less than half of its peak in 1920. 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
Prescott.
Nevada County is Arkansas's 63rd county, formed during 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 ...
on March 20, 1871, from portions of Hempstead, Ouachita and Columbia counties. It was named after the state of
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
because of the perceived similarity between their physical shapes; the Arkansas county's shape, inverted, roughly follows the same outline as the state's boundary. 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
This area was historically occupied by members of the
Caddoan Confederacy, whose territory extended into present-day Texas and Louisiana. They settled along the waterways, using them for transportation and fishing. Colonial French and later European-American settlers also took over lands along the waterways, which formed their basic transportation routes well into the 19th century. After the Congress repealed Prohibition in the early 20th century, Nevada County voted to retain it and the county is still "
dry."
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 (0.5%) is water.
The county is bounded on the north by the
Little Missouri River, a branch of the
Ouachita River
The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the United States, U.S. U.S. state, states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River (Louisiana), Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It i ...
, and drained by several tributaries of that stream and of
Red River. Nevada 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
*
U.S. Highway 278
*
U.S. Highway 371
*
Highway 19
*
Highway 24
*
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 ...
*
Highway 51
*
Highway 53
Adjacent counties
*
Clark County (northeast)
*
Ouachita County (east)
*
Columbia County (south)
*
Lafayette County (southwest)
*
Hempstead County (west)
*
Pike County (northwest)
Demographics
The population declined by more than half from 1920 to 1970, due to mechanization of agriculture and the decline of the lumber industry causing loss of jobs. In addition, blacks left in the
Great Migration to midwestern and western industrial cities, where they found better work and less social oppression.
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 8,310 people, 3,397 households, and 2,263 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the
2000 United States Census,
there were 9,955 people, 3,893 households, and 2,721 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 4,751 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 66.90%
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 ...
, 31.18%
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 ...
, 0.38%
Native American, 0.06%
Asian, 0.85% from
other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. 1.52% 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 3,893 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% 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, 14.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,962, and the median income for a family was $33,095. Males had a median income of $27,888 versus $17,920 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 $14,184. About 18.30% of families and 22.80% 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 28.00% of those under age 18 and 27.10% of those age 65 or over.
Government
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 Nevada 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 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:
* District 1: Dennis Pruitt (D) of Prescott
* District 2: Willie Wilson (D) of Prescott
* District 3: Patricia Grimes (D) of Prescott
* District 4: James Roy Cornelius (R) of Prescott
* District 5: Eric Jackson (D) of Prescott
* District 6: Herbert Coleman (D) of Rosston
* District 7: Regina Irizarry (R) of Buckner
* District 8: Todd Butler (R) of Emmet
* District 9: Tommy Poole (R) of Prescott
Additionally, the townships of Nevada 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:
* Alabama: Nelson Irizarry (D)
* Albany: Micah Stockton (R)
* Emmet: Ryan McBrayer (R)
Politics
Historically, the county was a stronghold of the
Greenback Party
The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...
, controlling county offices from 1880 to 1884, and later a stronghold for the
Populist Party in the 1890s.
Prior to 2000, Nevada County was considered an "ancestral" Democratic-voting county, with exceptions for the
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
campaign and the
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
and
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
landslides of
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
and
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, respectively.
Communities
Cities
*
Emmet
*
Prescott (county seat)
Towns
*
Bluff City
*
Bodcaw
*
Cale
*
Rosston
*
Willisville
*
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...
Census-designated place
*
Reader
Townships
* Alabama
* Albany
* Boughton
* Caney (
Cale,
Rosston)
* Emmet (
Emmet)
* Georgia
*
Jackson
*
Leake
* Missouri (
Prescott)
* Parker (
Bodcaw)
* Redland
* Taylor (
Willisville)
* Union (
Bluff City,
Reader)
See also
*
Camp Bragg (Arkansas)
*
List of lakes in Nevada County, Arkansas
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Nevada County, Arkansas
References
{{authority control
Hope micropolitan area
1871 establishments in Arkansas
Populated places established in 1871