Ashley County, Arkansas

Ashley County, Arkansas
Location in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1848
Named for	Chester Ashley, who represented Arkansas in the U.S. Senate.
Seat	Hamburg
Largest city	Crossett
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	939.08 sq mi (2,432 km²) 921.15 sq mi (2,386 km²) 17.93 sq mi (46 km²), 1.91%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	21,853 24/sq mi (9.1/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Ashley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and was formed in 1848 from parts of Chicot, Drew and Union Counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,853. The county seat is Hamburg. It is named for Chester Ashley. It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 939.08 square miles (2,432.2 km²), of which 921.15 square miles (2,385.8 km²) (or 98.09%) is land and 17.93 square miles (46.4 km²) (or 1.91%) is water. The lowest point in the state of Arkansas is located on the Ouachita River in Ashley County and Union County, where it flows out of Arkansas and into Louisiana.

Major highways

US Route 82 US Route 165 US Route 425 Highway 8

Highway 52 Highway 133 Highway 144 Highway 160

Highway 169 Highway 173 Highway 189 Highway 209

Highway 890 Highway 902

Adjacent counties

• Drew County (north)
• Chicot County (east)
• Morehouse Parish, Louisiana (south)
• Union Parish, Louisiana (southwest)
• Union County (west)
• Bradley County (northwest)

National protected areas

• Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Ouachita National Forest (part)
• Overflow National Wildlife Refuge

History

Ashley County, the fifth-largest county in Arkansas, was formed on November 30, 1848 from portions of Drew, Chicot and Union Counties. It was named after Chester Ashley, a US Senator and land speculator. The final borders were laid in 1861. The courtroom in the courthouse has a one-of-a-kind architecture: it is round, and the seats are arranged so that members of the audience can see always each other.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	2,058		—
1860	8,590		317.4%
1870	8,042		−6.4%
1880	10,156		26.3%
1890	13,295		30.9%
1900	19,734		48.4%
1910	25,268		28.0%
1920	23,410		−7.4%
1930	25,151		7.4%
1940	26,785		6.5%
1950	25,660		−4.2%
1960	24,220		−5.6%
1970	24,976		3.1%
1980	26,538		6.3%
1990	24,319		−8.4%
2000	24,209		−0.5%
2010	21,853		−9.7%

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,209 people, 9,384 households, and 6,906 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 10,615 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.78% White, 27.10% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.73% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 3.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,384 households out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,758, and the median income for a family was $37,370. Males had a median income of $35,089 versus $19,501 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,702. About 13.90% of families and 17.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.70% of those under age 18 and 17.20% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2010 Ashley County had a population of 21,853 people. 68.19% of the population were non-Hispanic whites, 25.81% were blacks, 0.32% Native Americans, 0.18% Asians and 4.89% Hispanics or Latinos.

In 2000, the largest denominational group was the Evangelical Protestants (with 16,752 adherents) and Mainline Protestants (with 1,817 adherents). The largest religious bodies were The Southern Baptist Convention (with 11,398 members) and The American Baptist Association (with 2,890 members).

Cities and towns

Crossett Fountain Hill Hamburg

Montrose North Crossett

Parkdale Petersburg Portland

West Crossett Wilmot

Townships

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

• Banner
• Bayou
• Bearhouse
• Beech Creek
• Carter (Hamburg)
• De Bastrop (Parkdale)
• Egypt (Crossett, West Crossett, most of North Crossett)
• Elon
• Extra
• Longview
• Marais Saline
• Mill Creek (part of North Crossett)
• Montrose (Montrose)
• Portland (Portland)
• Prairie
• Union
• White (Fountain Hill)
• Wilmot (Wilmot)

See also

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

External links

• Ashley News Observer