Cleveland County, Arkansas

Cleveland County, Arkansas
Cleveland County courthouse in Rison, Arkansas
Location in the state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	April 17, 1873
Seat	Rison
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	598.80 sq mi (1,551 km²) 597.74 sq mi (1,548 km²) 1.06 sq mi (3 km²), 0.18%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	8,689 15/sq mi (5.6/km²)

Cleveland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 8,689 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is at Rison.

History

The Arkansas legislature established Dorsey County as Arkansas's 71st county on April 17, 1873, naming it for Stephen W. Dorsey, the U.S. Senator from Arkansas. When he was indicted for defrauding the Post Office, they renamed it on March 5, 1885, for Grover Cleveland, the newly elected President of the United States.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 598.80 square miles (1,550.9 km²), of which 597.74 square miles (1,548.1 km²) (or 99.82%) is land and 1.06 square miles (2.7 km²) (or 0.18%) is water.^[1]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 63
• U.S. Highway 79
• U.S. Highway 167
• Highway 8
• Highway 11
• Highway 15 (now US 63)
• Highway 35

Adjacent counties

• Grant County & Jefferson County (north)
• Lincoln County (east)
• Drew County (southeast)
• Bradley County (south)
• Calhoun County (southwest)
• Dallas County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	11,362		—
1900	11,620		2.3%
1910	13,481		16.0%
1920	12,260		−9.1%
1930	12,744		3.9%
1940	12,570		−1.4%
1950	8,956		−28.8%
1960	6,944		−22.5%
1970	6,605		−4.9%
1980	7,868		19.1%
1990	7,781		−1.1%
2000	8,571		10.2%
2010	8,689		1.4%
[2][3][4]

Age pyramid Cleveland County^[5]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 8,571 people, 3,273 households, and 2,513 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 3,834 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.79% White, 13.22% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 1.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,273 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.20% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% 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 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,405, and the median income for a family was $38,164. Males had a median income of $31,282 versus $21,172 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,362. About 11.40% of families and 15.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.50% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Kingsland
• Rison

Census Designated Places

• New Edinburg
• Rye
• Staves
• Woodlawn

Townships

Townships in Cleveland 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 Cleveland County are listed below with the town(s) and/or city that are fully or partially inside them listed in parentheses. ^[7][8]

• Bowman
• Hudgin
• Harper
• Hurricane (CDP Rye)
• Kingsland (Kingsland)
• Lee
• Miller (CDP Woodlawn)
• Niven
• Redland (CDP New Edinburg)
• Rison (Rison)
• Rowell
• Saline
• Smith
• White Oak (CDP Staves)
• Whiteville

Famous residents

• Monroe Schwarzlose, a turkey farmer and political maverick who polled 31 percent of the vote against Governor Bill Clinton in the 1980 Democratic primary. He won in Cleveland County.
• Youell Swinney, the only major suspect in the Texarkana Phantom slayings, hailed from Cleveland County. He was the son of a Baptist minister.
• Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland.
• Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was born in Moro Bottom.
• Eric Grider-Songwriter/Singer raised near Rowell, recorded albums in Nashville and Memphis.
• Mike Vinson-Raised in Pansy. Member of the United States Powerlifting Team. Won a Gold Medal at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia- 1990.
• Sen Charles Bishop (R) Ala Was born in Moro Bottoms
• Tyrell Johnson plays safety in the NFL was born and raised in Rison.

Joe Johnson Atlanta Hawks

County officials for 2007-2009

• County Judge: Gary Spears
• County Sheriff: Joe Paul King
• County Clerk: Sharon Gray
• County Treasurer: B. Tollison
• County Tax Collector: M. Jacks
• County Tax Assessor: R. Morgan

All six county officials are Democrats.

Gary Spears beat Bobby Hyatt in a run-off election. Current County Judge Vernon Dollar did not make the run-off. Gary Spears garnered the endorsement of another county judge candidate, Raymond Redmond, when Redmond withdrew from the Judge's race.

Treasurer Tollison beat Ray Redmond, Jr. in the Primary election. Redmond was one of the youngest county-wide candidates on the ballot in the United States during the 2006 primary election. He was 22 years old and a Democrat.

Collector Jacks beat Findley in the Primary Election by an overwhelming majority.

All other candidates were unopposed.

See also

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

References

1. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
2. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/ar190090.txt
3. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
4. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
5. ^ Based on 2000 census data
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ US Census Bureau. 2011 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): Cleveland County, AR (Map). http://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/bas11/st05_ar/cou/c05025_cleveland/BAS11C20502500000_000.pdf. Retrieved 20110814. 
8. ^ http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/DC10_GUBlkMap/cousub/dc10blk_st05_cousub.html#C

Coordinates: 33°53′50″N 92°10′12″W / 33.89722°N 92.17°W / 33.89722; -92.17