Hempstead County, Arkansas

Hempstead County
County
Clockwise from top: Hempstead County Courthouse in Hope, Bill Clinton Birthplace, Politicians at the Hope Watermelon Festival, the former Hempstead County Courthouse)
Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°44′07″N93°40′06″W / 33.7353°N 93.66844°W / 33.7353; -93.66844
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Founded	December 15, 1818
Named for	Edward Hempstead
Seat	Hope
Largest city	Hope
Area
• Total	741 sq mi (1,920 km2)
• Land	728 sq mi (1,890 km2)
• Water	14 sq mi (40 km2)  1.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	20,065
• Density	27/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	hempsteadcountyar.com

Hempstead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,065, ^[1] down from 22,609 at the 2010 census. ^[2] The county seat is Hope. ^[3] 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. ^[4] It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.

The 42nd United States President, Bill Clinton, who served from 1993 to 2001, was born in the county seat of Hope on August 19, 1946. ^[5] As of 2024, Clinton is the first and only President to have been born in Arkansas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 741 square miles (1,920 km²), of which 728 square miles (1,890 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (1.8%) is water. ^[6] 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 population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
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%
2020	20,065		−11.3%
2023 (est.)	19,343	[7]	−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790–1960 [9] 1900–1990 [10] 1990–2000 [11] 2010–2020 [2] [1]

Age pyramid Hempstead County

2020 census

Hempstead County racial composition ^[13]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	10,558	52.62%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	5,644	28.13%
Native American	81	0.4%
Asian	88	0.44%
Pacific Islander	5	0.02%
Other/Mixed	736	3.67%
Hispanic or Latino	2,953	14.72%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,065 people, 8,094 households, and 5,711 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, ^[14] there were 23,587 people, 8,959 households, and 6,378 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 inhabitants per square mile (12/km²). There were 10,178 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4/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.

Government

Starting in 2008, voters of Hempstead County have shifted to the political right in US presidential elections. That said, the city of Hope is still very Democratic as of the 2020 election. ^[15]

United States presidential election results for Hempstead County, Arkansas ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,193	68.86%	1,776	29.17%	120	1.97%
2020	4,470	65.27%	2,138	31.22%	240	3.50%
2016	4,401	62.43%	2,377	33.72%	271	3.84%
2012	4,284	61.90%	2,468	35.66%	169	2.44%
2008	4,273	58.14%	2,869	39.04%	207	2.82%
2004	3,580	48.04%	3,817	51.22%	55	0.74%
2000	3,257	44.68%	3,937	54.01%	95	1.30%
1996	2,021	26.76%	4,983	65.99%	547	7.24%
1992	2,387	26.75%	5,476	61.38%	1,059	11.87%
1988	3,938	50.49%	3,841	49.25%	20	0.26%
1984	4,904	59.31%	3,327	40.24%	37	0.45%
1980	3,852	44.65%	4,671	54.14%	105	1.22%
1976	2,859	34.63%	5,397	65.37%	0	0.00%
1972	4,963	70.80%	2,047	29.20%	0	0.00%
1968	1,783	24.62%	2,322	32.07%	3,136	43.31%
1964	2,493	42.32%	3,355	56.95%	43	0.73%
1960	1,948	40.93%	2,596	54.55%	215	4.52%
1956	2,227	44.57%	2,694	53.91%	76	1.52%
1952	2,115	43.28%	2,771	56.70%	1	0.02%
1948	386	12.58%	1,683	54.84%	1,000	32.58%
1944	624	22.37%	2,157	77.34%	8	0.29%
1940	415	12.85%	2,814	87.15%	0	0.00%
1936	190	7.24%	2,431	92.68%	2	0.08%
1932	317	10.03%	2,840	89.90%	2	0.06%
1928	886	30.25%	2,038	69.58%	5	0.17%
1924	715	30.37%	1,459	61.98%	180	7.65%
1920	1,754	43.65%	2,239	55.72%	25	0.62%
1916	1,238	37.05%	2,103	62.95%	0	0.00%
1912	836	31.63%	1,247	47.18%	560	21.19%
1908	1,346	41.68%	1,779	55.09%	104	3.22%
1904	1,477	49.41%	1,410	47.17%	102	3.41%
1900	1,330	49.11%	1,352	49.93%	26	0.96%
1896	1,203	39.26%	1,832	59.79%	29	0.95%

Communities

The 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse in Washington is now a visitors center for Historic Washington State Park.

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

Cities

• Blevins
• Hope (county seat)
• Washington

Towns

• Fulton
• McNab
• McCaskill
• Oakhaven
• Ozan
• Patmos
• Perrytown

Unincorporated communities

• Clow
• DeAnn

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 Hempstead County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township. ^{[17] [18]}

• 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
• Spring Hill
• Wallaceburg (Blevins)
• Water Creek

See also

• Arkadelphia Marl
• List of lakes of Hempstead County, Arkansas
• Marlbrook Marl
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hempstead County, Arkansas

References

1. "QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  154.
5. "William J. Clinton". The White House. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
10. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
11. "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.
12. Based on 2000 census data
13. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
14. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
15. Park, Alice; Smart, Charlie; Taylor, Rumsey; Watkins, Miles (February 2, 2021). "An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2020 Election". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 15, 2021.
16. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections" . Retrieved November 18, 2016.
17. 2011 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): Hempstead County, AR (PDF) (Map). U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
18. "Arkansas: 2010 Census Block Maps - County Subdivision". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 28, 2014.

External links

• Official website

33°44′07″N93°40′06″W / 33.7353°N 93.66844°W / 33.7353; -93.66844