Hempstead County, Arkansas

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Hempstead County, Arkansas
Hempstead County Courthouse in Hope, Arkansas
Location in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 15, 1818
Named for	Edward Hempstead
Seat	Hope
Largest city	Hope
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	741.36 sq mi (1,920 km²) 728.77 sq mi (1,888 km²) 12.59 sq mi (33 km²), 1.70%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	22,609 31/sq mi (11.97/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Veterans Monument in front of current 1939 Hempstead County Courthouse in Hope

Hempstead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 22,609. The county seat is Hope. Hempstead County is Arkansas's fourth county, formed on December 15, 1818, alongside Clark and Pulaski counties. The county is named for Edward Hempstead, a delegate to the U.S. Congress from the Missouri Territory, which included present-day Arkansas at the time. It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.

Hempstead County is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Historic Washington State Park is located in Hempstead County some nine miles northwest of Hope in the historic village of Washington, Arkansas. The state park opened in 1973 as "Old Washington Historic State Park", but the "Old" was dropped from the name in 2006. The park offers walking tours of the historic village, which contains more than a dozen historic structures from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 741.36 square miles (1,920.1 km²), of which 728.77 square miles (1,887.5 km²) (or 98.30%) is land and 12.59 square miles (32.6 km²) (or 1.70%) is water. Hempstead County is alternately considered as part of the greater regions of South Arkansas or Southwest Arkansas.

Major highways

• Interstate 30
• U.S. Highway 67
• U.S. Highway 278
• U.S. Highway 371
• Highway 4
• Highway 27
• Highway 29
• Highway 32

Adjacent counties

• Pike County (north)
• Nevada County (east)
• Lafayette County (south)
• Miller County (southwest)
• Little River County (west)
• Howard County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	2,512		—
1840	4,921		95.9%
1850	7,672		55.9%
1860	13,989		82.3%
1870	13,768		−1.6%
1880	19,015		38.1%
1890	22,796		19.9%
1900	24,101		5.7%
1910	28,285		17.4%
1920	31,602		11.7%
1930	30,847		−2.4%
1940	32,770		6.2%
1950	25,080		−23.5%
1960	19,661		−21.6%
1970	19,308		−1.8%
1980	23,635		22.4%
1990	21,621		−8.5%
2000	23,587		9.1%
2010	22,609		−4.1%
Est. 2012	22,373		−5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 2012 Estimate

Age pyramid Hempstead County

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,587 people, 8,959 households, and 6,378 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 63.28% White, 30.36% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.17% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. 8.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,959 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.40% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,622, and the median income for a family was $34,082. Males had a median income of $25,830 versus $17,383 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,103. About 16.00% of families and 20.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.20% of those under age 18 and 16.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

The 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse in the historic village of Washington is now the visitors center for Historic Washington State Park.

The upper floor courtroom in the former Hempstead County Courthouse in Washington, Arkansas

Blevins Fulton Hope McCaskill McNab Oakhaven Ozan Patmos Perrytown Washington Springhill

Unincorporated communities

• Clow

Townships

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 Hempstead County are listed below with the town(s) and/or city that are fully or partially inside them listed in parentheses.

• Bodcaw (Patmos)
• Bois d'Arc (Fulton, McNab)
• De Roan (Hope, Perrytown)
• Garland
• Mine Creek (part of Ozan)
• Noland (small part of Emmet)
• Ozan (Oakhaven, Washington, most of Ozan)
• Redland (McCaskill)
• Saline
• Springhill
• Wallaceburg (Blevins)
• Water Creek

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hempstead County, Arkansas