Woodruff County, officially the County of Woodruff, is located 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 William E. Woodruff, founder of the state's first newspaper, the

Arkansas Gazette The ''Arkansas Gazette'' was a newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas, that was published from 1819 to 1991. It was known as the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River. It was located from 1908 until its closing at the now historic Gazette ...

. Created as Arkansas's 54th county in 1862, Woodruff County is home to one incorporated

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and four incorporated cities, including Augusta, 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 ...

. The county is also the site of numerous 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. Occupying only , Woodruff County is the 13th smallest county in Arkansas. As of the 2020 Census, the county's population was 6,269. Based on population, the county is the second-smallest county of the 75 in Arkansas. Located in the Arkansas Delta, the county is largely flat with fertile soils. Historically covered in forest, bayous and swamps, the area was cleared for agriculture by early settlers. It is drained by the Cache River and the White River. Along the Cache River, the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) runs north–south across the county, preserving bottomland forest,

sloughs A slough ( or ) is a wetland, usually a swamp or shallow lake, often a Backwater (river), backwater to a larger body of water. Water tends to be Water stagnation, stagnant or may flow slowly on a seasonal basis. In North America, "slough" may re ...

and wildlife habitat. 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 ...

are located in Woodruff County, two United States highways ( US 49 and

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,281 miles (3,672 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route ...

) and twelve Arkansas state highways run in the county. Two

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

lines cross the county.

Geography

The county is located in the Arkansas Delta, one of the six primary geographic regions of Arkansas. 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 ...

. 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 (1.2%) is water. Major hydrologic features include the Cache River, which roughly bisects the county north–south,

Bayou De View Bayou DeView is an waterway that flows through parts of Poinsett, Woodruff, Monroe and Prairie counties in northeastern Arkansas. The bayou is part of the Cache and White River basins, ultimately flowing into the Mississippi River. Several mi ...

, which runs through eastern Woodruff County, and the White River, which serves as the county's western boundary. Prior to settlement, Woodruff County was densely forested, with bayous, sloughs, and swamps crossing the land. Seeking to take advantage of the area's fertile soils, settlers cleared the land to better suit

row crops A row crop is a crop that can be planted in rows wide enough to allow it to be tilled or otherwise cultivated by agricultural machinery, machinery tailored for the seasonal activities of row crops. Such crops are sown by drilling or transplanti ...

. Although some swampland has been preserved in the Cache River NWR and some former farmland has undergone reforestation, the majority (56 percent) of the county remains in cultivation. Another large land use in Woodruff County is the Cache River NWR, owned by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

. Stretching approximately across adjacent counties, the NWR is listed as a Ramsar wetlands of international importance, and serves as a key wintering area for

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s and the largest contiguous tract of

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 ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The NWR aggressively seeks willing property owners to sell land to add to the NWR's boundaries, adding in 2015. The county is located approximately northeast 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 ...

and west 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 ...

. Woodruff County is surrounded by five other Delta counties: Jackson County to the north, Cross County to the northeast, St. Francis County to the southeast, Monroe County to the south and Prairie County to the southwest. West of Woodruff County is White County, which is something of combination point for the Delta,

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

, and

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 ...

Climate

Woodruff County has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa''). Woodruff County experiences all four seasons, although summers can be extremely hot and humid and winters are mild with little snow. July is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of and an average low of . Temperatures above are not uncommon. January is the coldest month with an average high of and an average low of . The highest temperature was , recorded in 1936 and 1972. The lowest temperature recorded was , on January 8, 1942.

Communities

Four incorporated cities and one incorporated town are located within the county. The largest city and county seat, Augusta, is located in the western part of the county near the White River and the White County border. Augusta's population was 1,998 as of the 2020 Census, well below its peak of 3,496 at the 1980 Census. McCrory and Patterson are adjacent to each other, located near the county's center. Cotton Plant and

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

are both located in the southern part of Woodruff County, with 2020 populations of 529 and 103, respectively. Woodruff County has dozens of unincorporated communities and ghost towns within its borders. This is due to early settlers in Arkansas tending to cluster in small clusters rather than incorporated towns. For example, Fitzhugh had a post office at some point in its 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

Becton Becton is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Charles Becton, attorney, former judge and president of the North Carolina Bar Association *Frank Becton (1873–1909), English professional footballer *Frederick J. Becton (1908–199 ...

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas have shifted over the years), or the extent of the area i ...

* Fitzhugh * Grays * Gregory * Hillemann * Howell * Little Dixie‡ * McClelland * Morton * New Augusta * New Salem * Pleasant Grove * Pumpkin Bend * Shady Grove

Historic communities

* Barson * Bemis * Bulltown * Casey * Cavell * Colona * Cow Mound * Daggett * DeView *

Flynn Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish Ó Floinn or possibly Mac Floinn, meaning "descendant or son of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname t ...

* Four Forks * Goodrich * Kramer * Maberry * McGregor * Morelock * Negro Head Corner * Overcup * Penrose * Quinlan * Revel * Riverside * Simmons * Sturdevant * Taylorville * Tip * Union * Wiville

Townships

* Augusta ( Augusta) * Barnes * Cache * Caney (

) * Cotton Plant ( Cotton Plant) * Dent * De View ( McCrory, Patterson) * Franks * Freeman * Garden * Point * Pumpkin Bend * White River

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,269 people, 2,932 households, and 1,855 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 8,741 people, 3,531 households, and 2,439 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 4,089 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 67.86%

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 ...

, 30.75%

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, 0.07% Asian, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 0.79% 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 3,531 households, out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.60% 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, 16.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 28.20% 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 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.00% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,099, and the median income for a family was $27,824. Males had a median income of $24,051 versus $17,995 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 $13,269. About 21.70% of families and 27.00% 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 38.10% of those under age 18 and 27.00% 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 Woodruff 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. Woodruff County, like most rural white Southern counties, leaned heavily Democratic for most of its history, particularly in the

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

and immediate post-Jim Crow eras. From

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

to 2012, the county failed to back the Democratic nominee in a presidential election only twice: in

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 ...

, when it backed the third-party candidacy of

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 ...

(who was otherwise affiliated with the Democratic Party) and in

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, ...

, when it and every other county in the state backed Republican

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 ...

amidst a national landslide. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, it voted for Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

amidst large Republican gains in rural areas across the nation. The 2020 election marked a historic shift, as the county swung substantially to the right despite Trump losing the national election. This marked the first time in history that a Democrat was elected president without carrying Woodruff County, and Trump's 28-point win was the largest Republican margin in the county's history. Despite Woodruff County's Republican trend at the state and federal levels, many Democratic and Independent politicians still hold numerous local offices. As of 2025, the Quorum Court is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile the majority of countywide officials are independents. Woodruff County is represented in the 10th district of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

by Republican Ron Caldwell, a real estate businessman from Wynne in Cross County, and in the 61st district of 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 ...

by Republican Jeremiah Moore, a real estate broker from Clarendon in Monroe County. The county is part of the 1st congressional district in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, and is represented by Republican Rick Crawford. The composition of the Quorum Court after the 2024 elections is 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 1 Independent. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are: Additionally, the townships of Woodruff 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: * Augusta Township: Joe Atkins (D) * Cotton Plant Township: Allen Holmes (R) * McCrory Township: Johnnie Jay Hodge (R)

Infrastructure

Aviation

The Woodruff County Airport located along US 64 between Patterson and Augusta is the only public own/public use airport in the county. It is a

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, serving primarily agricultural (spraying) and recreational operations. For the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2014, the facility saw 5,500 general aviation operations..

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

. Accessed December 10, 2015.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 49 * U.S. Highway 64 * Highway 17 * Highway 33 * Highway 37 * Highway 38 * Highway 78 * Highway 145 * Highway 260 * Highway 262 * Highway 269 * Highway 284 * Highway 306 * Highway 339

Utilities

The Arkansas Department of Health is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems throughout the state. Woodruff County contains seven community water systems: Augusta Waterworks, Breckenridge Union Water Association (UWA), Cross County Rural Water System, Cotton Plant Waterworks, McCrory Waterworks, Patterson Waterworks, and West Woodruff Water District. Within the county, Augusta Waterworks has the largest retail population (2,284), followed by McCrory (1,647), and Breckenridge UWA (1,267). All community water systems in Woodruff County use groundwater as their source of raw water, except West Woodruff Water District, who purchases all water from Patterson.

Education

* Augusta School District, with two schools serving more than 300 students; includes Augusta High School. In 2004, the Cotton Plant School District consolidated into Augusta and the Cotton Plant campus was later closed in 2014. *

McCrory School District McCrory School District 12 is a school district in Woodruff County, Arkansas Woodruff County, officially the County of Woodruff, is located in the Arkansas Delta in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The County (United States), county is named fo ...

, with two schools serving more than 500 students; includes McCrory High School. The southeastern portion of Woodruff County, including

, is served by the Brinkley School District in neighboring Monroe County.

References

;Notes ;References

External links

*
ARGenWeb Woodruff County
genealogy resources for the county * *
Woodruff County, Arkansas
at the

Encyclopedia of Arkansas The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas'' is a web-based encyclopedia of the U.S. state of Arkansas, described by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as "a free, authoritative source of information abo ...

* {{Authority control Arkansas counties 1862 establishments in Arkansas Populated places established in 1862