Greene County, Arkansas

Greene County
Greene County
County
	Courthouse in Paragould
	Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
	Arkansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°06′21″N 90°33′41″W / 36.105833333333°N 90.561388888889°W
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Founded	November 5, 1833
Named for	Nathanael Greene
Seat	Paragould
Largest city	Paragould
Area
• Total	580 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Land	578 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	1.9 sq mi (5 km2) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	45,736
• Density	79/sq mi (30/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
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.^[1] The county seat is Paragould,^[2] which sits atop Crowley's Ridge.

Greene County is included in Jonesboro–Paragould 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 November 5, 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
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%
2020	45,736		8.7%
2023 (est.)	46,743	^[5]	2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790–1960^[7] 1900–1990^[8] 1990–2000^[9] 2010^[10]

2020 census

Greene County racial composition^[12]
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,^[13] 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 people/km²). There were 16,161 housing units at an average density of 28 units per square mile (11 units/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^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	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%

Communities

Cities

Marmaduke
Paragould (county seat)

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "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 and publications. The townships of Greene County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township. ^[15]^[16]

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

Education

School districts include:^[17]

Greene County Technical School District
Marmaduke School District
Paragould School District
- It consists of the boundary of the original Paragould School District, plus the Oak Grove School district,^[18] which merged with the former Paragould district on July 1, 1985,^[19] and the Stanford School District.^[18] The new merged district was originally called the Northeast Arkansas School District;^[19] by 1997 the name of the new district became the Paragould School District.^[18]
Rector School District
- The Greenway School District and the former Rector District merged into the Clay County Central School District on July 1, 1984.^[19] The name of the merged district later became the Rector School District.

Former districts:

Delaplaine School District - Consolidated into Greene County Technical in 2004.^[19]

References

^ "Census - Geography Profile: Greene County, Arkansas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Neville, A. W. (March 2, 1945). "Backward Glances". The Paris News. Paris, Texas. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. On the survey from Bird's Point, Mo., to Jonesboro, Ark., I had a Negro cook. As Negroes were not allowed to live in Clay, Greene and Craighead Counties, Ark., my cook was a curiosity to the children. The women used to bring the children to camp to see him.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
^ Based on 2000 census data
^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved November 18, 2016.
^ 2011 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): Greene County, AR (PDF) (Map). U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
^ "Arkansas: 2010 Census Block Maps - County Subdivision". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Greene County, AR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022. - Text list
^ ^a ^b ^c Home. Paragould School District. February 11, 1997. Retrieved on October 14, 2017. "Paragould School District is a consolidated district comprising the former districts of Oak Grove, Stanford, and Paragould."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on October 13, 2017.