Greene County, Arkansas

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Greene County, Arkansas
Courthouse in Paragould
Location in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 5, 1833
Named for	Nathanael Greene
Seat	Paragould
Largest city	Paragould
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	580 sq mi (1,502 km²) 578 sq mi (1,497 km²) 1.9 sq mi (5 km²), 0.3%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	45,736
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	county.arkansas.gov/greene/

Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,736. The county seat is Paragould, which sits atop Crowley's Ridge.

Greene County comprises the Paragould, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Jonesboro–Paragould, AR Combined Statistical Area.

History

The first settler in the area was Benjamin Crowley, who arrived from Kentucky in 1821 and made his home about 12 miles (19 km) west of Paragould.

Greene County was formed on 5 November 1833 out of portions of Lawrence County and originally contained parts of present Clay and Craighead counties. The county was named for Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. The first county seat was in Benjamin Crowley's home. By 1836, when Arkansas became a state, the county seat was located in a settlement called "Paris" (not to be confused with present-day Paris, Arkansas).

In 1848 a national highway was made through the area, and the county seat was moved to Gainesville, which had a reputation as rather lawless. The seat remained there until 1883, when it was transferred to the new town of Paragould. The people in Gainesville opposed the move, and shots reportedly were fired, since tempers were high. The courthouse was built in 1888 and survives in downtown Paragould.

In the early 20th century, Clay, Greene, and Craighead counties had policies forbidding African Americans from living in the area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 580 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 578 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 49
• U.S. Highway 49 Business
• U.S. Highway 49Y
• U.S. Highway 63
• U.S. Highway 412
• U.S. Highway 412 Business
• Highway 1
• Highway 34
• Highway 69
• Highway 90
• Highway 135
• Highway 139
• Highway 141
• Highway 168
• Highway 228
• Highway 351
• Highway 358

Adjacent counties

• Clay County (north)
• Dunklin County, Missouri (east)
• Craighead County (south)
• Lawrence County (southwest)
• Randolph County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	1,586		—
1850	2,593		63.5%
1860	5,843		125.3%
1870	7,573		29.6%
1880	7,480		−1.2%
1890	12,908		72.6%
1900	16,979		31.5%
1910	23,852		40.5%
1920	26,105		9.4%
1930	26,127		0.1%
1940	30,204		15.6%
1950	29,149		−3.5%
1960	25,198		−13.6%
1970	24,765		−1.7%
1980	30,744		24.1%
1990	31,804		3.4%
2000	37,331		17.4%
2010	42,090		12.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

Age pyramid Greene County

2020 census

Greene County racial composition

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	40,509	88.57%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	926	2.02%
Native American	138	0.3%
Asian	181	0.4%
Pacific Islander	287	0.63%
Other/Mixed	2,099	4.59%
Hispanic or Latino	1,596	3.49%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 45,736 people, 17,254 households, and 12,280 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 42,090 people living in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% White, 0.6% Black, 0.5% Native American, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, <0.1% from some other race and 1.1% from two or more races. 2.1% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 37,331 people, 14,750 households, and 10,708 families living in the county. The population density was 65 people per square mile (25/km²). There were 16,161 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.45% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,750 households, out of which 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,828, and the median income for a family was $37,316. Males had a median income of $27,535 versus $20,375 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,403. About 9.90% of families and 13.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Over the past few election cycles, Greene County has swung hard towards the GOP. The last Democrat to carry this county was Al Gore in 2000. Twenty years later, Joe Biden failed to even garner twenty percent of the county's vote.

United States presidential election results for Greene County, Arkansas

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	12,670	78.70%	3,058	18.99%	372	2.31%
2016	10,720	73.42%	3,071	21.03%	809	5.54%
2012	9,071	65.92%	4,000	29.07%	690	5.01%
2008	8,578	63.02%	4,541	33.36%	493	3.62%
2004	7,237	51.86%	6,564	47.04%	154	1.10%
2000	5,831	46.71%	6,319	50.62%	334	2.68%
1996	3,757	32.68%	6,622	57.61%	1,116	9.71%
1992	3,510	28.49%	7,541	61.20%	1,271	10.31%
1988	5,161	50.06%	5,065	49.13%	84	0.81%
1984	6,179	56.17%	4,730	43.00%	91	0.83%
1980	4,514	41.64%	5,996	55.31%	331	3.05%
1976	2,690	26.39%	7,495	73.54%	7	0.07%
1972	6,128	73.03%	2,263	26.97%	0	0.00%
1968	2,859	35.40%	2,197	27.20%	3,021	37.40%
1964	2,271	32.27%	4,742	67.39%	24	0.34%
1960	2,658	47.73%	2,774	49.81%	137	2.46%
1956	1,898	35.22%	3,454	64.09%	37	0.69%
1952	1,875	34.35%	3,571	65.43%	12	0.22%
1948	502	14.81%	2,657	78.38%	231	6.81%
1944	928	26.51%	2,565	73.26%	8	0.23%
1940	510	18.65%	2,220	81.17%	5	0.18%
1936	412	18.48%	1,811	81.25%	6	0.27%
1932	274	7.65%	3,277	91.43%	33	0.92%
1928	1,011	41.27%	1,426	58.20%	13	0.53%
1924	456	23.57%	1,148	59.33%	331	17.11%
1920	1,072	35.53%	1,865	61.82%	80	2.65%
1916	533	18.87%	2,292	81.13%	0	0.00%
1912	286	14.05%	1,251	61.47%	498	24.47%
1908	549	24.48%	1,606	71.60%	88	3.92%
1904	409	29.45%	922	66.38%	58	4.18%
1900	419	27.44%	1,091	71.45%	17	1.11%
1896	262	13.79%	1,627	85.63%	11	0.58%
1892	321	17.74%	1,241	68.60%	247	13.65%

Communities

Cities

• Marmaduke
• Paragould

Towns

• Delaplaine
• Lafe
• Oak Grove Heights

Unincorporated communities

• Beech Grove
• Cotton Belt
• Fontaine
• Gainesville
• Hopewell
• Light
• Walcott
• Walnut Corner

Townships

Townships in Greene County, Arkansas as of 2010

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas and some may have incorporated towns or cities within part of their space. Townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the US Census does list Arkansas population based on townships (often referred to as "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps. The townships of Greene County are listed below with the town(s) and/or city that are fully or partially inside them listed in parentheses.

• Blue Cane
• Breckenridge (Lafe)
• Bryan
• Cache
• Clark (most of Paragould)
• Collier
• Crowley
• Evening Shade
• Friendship
• Hays
• Hopewell
• Hurricane (Marmaduke)
• Jones (Delaplaine)
• Lake
• Main Shore
• Poland
• Reynolds
• St. Francis (small part of Paragould)
• Salem
• Shady Grove
• Spring Grove (part of Paragould)
• Sugar Creek
• Union (Oak Grove Heights)
• Walnut Corner

See also

• Lake Frierson State Park
• List of lakes in Greene County, Arkansas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, Arkansas

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Greene County, Arkansas

• Greene County Online
• Paragould Regional Chamber of Commerce