Editing Poinsett County, Arkansas (section)

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}

{{multiple image |align=left |direction= vertical |width=200 |image1= Judd Hill or Old Tulot Plantation Judd Hill AR 005.jpg |image2= Weiner AR 009.jpg |footer= Cotton gins, such as the [[Judd Hill Cotton Gin]], and rice dryers, such as the [[Hubbard Rice Dryer]], have been historically vital to the economy of Poinsett County. Both properties are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].}}

Poinsett County was formed on February 28, 1838, and named for [[Joel Roberts Poinsett]], [[United States Secretary of War|U.S. Secretary of War]]. County business was initially conducted in the county judge's home until first court was held in [[Bolivar, Arkansas|Bolivar]], upon completion of a courthouse in 1839. In 1859, the county seat was moved to the more centrally located town of [[Harrisburg, Arkansas|Harrisburg]], where it still remains. Poinsett County acquired its current boundaries in the years following this change, as portions were assigned to newly organized counties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poinsett County Sheriff AR |url=https://www.poinsettcountysheriff.org/ |access-date=February 1, 2023 |website=www.poinsettcountysheriff.org}}</ref>

The northern portion became [[Craighead County, Arkansas|Craighead County]], and the south portion became [[Cross County, Arkansas|Cross County]]. Sunken lands were added to eastern Poinsett County during this time, including [[Lepanto, Arkansas|Lepanto]] and [[Marked Tree, Arkansas|Marked Tree]].

The [[American Civil War|Civil War]] devastated the county financially. It did not recover until the railroads were constructed into the area, giving farmers a new avenue to market their crops, and the timber industry developed. The [[Texas and St. Louis Railway]] completed track through [[Weiner, Arkansas|Weiner]] and the [[St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway|St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railway]] ran through the center of the county in 1882. The [[Kansas City, Ft. Scott, and Gulf Railroad]] opened service in east Poinsett County the following year. Shipping timber had become feasible and was undertaken throughout northeast Arkansas following the completion of railroads. Farmers used the railroads to ship their cotton and farm animals to new markets. Many small railroad towns boomed during this period. Despite this uplift, the county's population mostly consisted of poor sharecroppers and tenant farmers, with an elite class of white landowners.

Poinsett County was the hardest hit county <!-- in the state or region? -->by the [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]], which flooded thousands of fields and destroyed homes countywide. The Southern Tenant Farmers Union was founded in 1935 in [[Tyronza, Arkansas|Tyronza]] during the [[Great Depression]]. The organization was an interracial union to improve the pay and working conditions of poor sharecroppers. It met violent resistance from white planters, with union leaders and members attacked and some killed throughout its areas of organizing in Arkansas and Mississippi. The Southern Tenant Farmers Union Museum in Tyronza is operated by [[Arkansas State University]].

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