Lonoke County, Arkansas

Lonoke County
Lonoke County
County
	County of Lonoke
	Lonoke County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
	Arkansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 34°46′41″N 91°52′18″W / 34.77806°N 91.87167°W
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Formed	April 16, 1874 (150 years ago)
Named for	"Lone oak"
Seat	Lonoke
Largest city	Cabot
Area
• Total	803 sq mi (2,080 km2)
• Land	771 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Water	32 sq mi (80 km2) 4.0%
Population (2020)
• Total	74,015
• Density	92/sq mi (36/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	72007, 72023, 72024, 72037, 72046, 72072, 72076, 72083, 72086, 72142, 72160, 72176
Congressional district	1st

Lonoke County is a county located in the Central Arkansas region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,015, making it the 10th-most populous of Arkansas's 75 counties.^[1] The county seat is Lonoke and largest city is Cabot.^[2] Included in the Central Arkansas metropolitan area, with Little Rock as the principal city, it is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.

Etymology

Lonoke County was named for the "lone oak" located in the county at the time of its formation, by simply spelling it phonetically, at the suggestion of the chief engineer of the Cairo & Fulton Railroad.^[3]

History

Formed on April 16, 1873,^[3] from Pulaski and Prairie counties, Lonoke County's varied geography can be roughly broken into thirds horizontally. The top third has rolling hills at the edge of the Ozarks, including the Cabot area. The middle third, including the Lonoke area, contains portions of the Grand Prairie, a flat native grassland today known for rice farming, an important part of the culture, economy and history of Lonoke County. The southern third, including the Scott area, is home to the alluvial soils of the Arkansas Delta. Historically, a military road and a railroad brought settlers to the area, and cotton cultivation was very profitable. In 1904, a demonstration that rice could grow well on the same land coupled with sinking cotton prices drove the area into rice cultivation. During World Wars I and II, Lonoke County was home to Eberts Field, a U.S. Army airfield. Today the land is used in aquaculture.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 803 square miles (2,080 km²), of which 771 square miles (2,000 km²) is land and 32 square miles (83 km²) (4.0%) is water.^[4]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

White County (north)
Prairie County (east)
Arkansas County (southeast)
Jefferson County (south)
Pulaski County (west)
Faulkner County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	12,146		—
1890	19,263		58.6%
1900	22,544		17.0%
1910	27,983		24.1%
1920	33,400		19.4%
1930	33,759		1.1%
1940	29,802		−11.7%
1950	27,278		−8.5%
1960	24,551		−10.0%
1970	26,249		6.9%
1980	34,518		31.5%
1990	39,268		13.8%
2000	52,828		34.5%
2010	68,356		29.4%
2020	74,015		8.3%
2023 (est.)	75,944	^[5]	2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790–1960^[7] 1900–1990^[8] 1990–2000^[9] 2010^[10]

2020 census

Lonoke County racial composition^[12]
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	60,596	81.87%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	4,349	5.88%
Native American	314	0.42%
Asian	716	0.97%
Pacific Islander	49	0.07%
Other/Mixed	4,381	5.92%
Hispanic or Latino	3,610	4.88%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 74,015 people, 26,052 households, and 18,824 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,^[13] there were 52,828 people, 19,262 households, and 15,024 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 inhabitants per square mile (27/km²). There were 20,749 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.03% White, 6.44% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. 1.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 19,262 households, out of which 40.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.30% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.00% were non-families. 19.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.70% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,314, and the median income for a family was $46,173. Males had a median income of $32,451 versus $22,897 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,397. About 8.10% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 13.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

Lonoke County is home to Camp Nelson Confederate Cemetery, Plantation Agriculture Museum, and Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park.

Politics

Over the past few election cycles, Lonoke County has trended heavily towards the Republican party. The last Democrat (as of 2020) to carry the county was Bill Clinton in 1996.

United States presidential election results for Lonoke County, Arkansas^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	22,884	74.63%	6,686	21.81%	1,092	3.56%
2016	19,958	73.65%	5,664	20.90%	1,478	5.45%
2012	17,880	74.15%	5,625	23.33%	609	2.53%
2008	17,242	72.63%	5,968	25.14%	531	2.24%
2004	14,398	65.36%	7,454	33.84%	178	0.81%
2000	10,606	59.11%	6,851	38.18%	486	2.71%
1996	6,414	39.95%	8,049	50.13%	1,593	9.92%
1992	6,253	39.52%	7,963	50.32%	1,608	10.16%
1988	7,215	59.68%	4,786	39.59%	89	0.74%
1984	8,425	64.11%	4,636	35.28%	81	0.62%
1980	5,619	48.50%	5,605	48.38%	361	3.12%
1976	2,522	24.49%	7,761	75.36%	16	0.16%
1972	5,298	67.62%	2,504	31.96%	33	0.42%
1968	1,677	21.80%	2,014	26.18%	4,002	52.02%
1964	3,636	48.63%	3,818	51.06%	23	0.31%
1960	1,560	29.17%	2,991	55.93%	797	14.90%
1956	1,932	36.21%	3,234	60.61%	170	3.19%
1952	1,570	30.82%	3,517	69.04%	7	0.14%
1948	383	12.81%	2,065	69.04%	543	18.15%
1944	697	25.23%	2,064	74.70%	2	0.07%
1940	323	14.52%	1,899	85.35%	3	0.13%
1936	310	10.17%	2,735	89.76%	2	0.07%
1932	175	5.58%	2,951	94.04%	12	0.38%
1928	676	26.66%	1,857	73.23%	3	0.12%
1924	321	23.87%	962	71.52%	62	4.61%
1920	697	28.09%	1,711	68.96%	73	2.94%
1916	515	19.11%	2,180	80.89%	0	0.00%
1912	254	13.52%	1,129	60.09%	496	26.40%
1908	592	28.78%	1,385	67.33%	80	3.89%
1904	775	39.22%	1,178	59.62%	23	1.16%
1900	679	33.15%	1,337	65.28%	32	1.56%
1896	437	15.82%	2,300	83.27%	25	0.91%

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated place

Scott

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 Lonoke 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]