Editing Nevada County, Arkansas

{{short description|County in Arkansas, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Nevada County
 | state                = Arkansas
 | type                 = [[Arkansas counties|County]]
 | ex image             = Prescott, AR 006.jpg
 | ex image size        = 
 | ex image cap         = Nevada County Courthouse in Prescott
 | seal                 = 
 | founded year         = 1871
 | founded date         = March 20
 | seat wl              = Prescott
 | largest city wl      = Prescott
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 621
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 618
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 2.8
 | area percentage      = 0.5%
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 8310
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2023
 | population_est       = 8120 {{loss}}
 | pop_est_footnotes = <ref>
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/nevadacountyarkansas/PST045223?hl=en-US</ref>
 | density_sq_mi        = auto
 | web                  = http://nevadacounty.arkansas.gov/
 | district             = 4th
 | time zone            = Central
 | named for            = state of [[Nevada]]
}}

'''Nevada County''' ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|v|eɪ|.|d|ə}} {{respell|nə|VAY|də}}) is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the southwestern part of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Arkansas]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 Census]], the population was 8,310, less than half of its peak in 1920.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Nevada County, Arkansas|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Nevada_County,_Arkansas?g=0500000US05099|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 20, 2023}}</ref> The [[county seat]] is [[Prescott, Arkansas|Prescott]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref>  Nevada County is Arkansas's 63rd county, formed during the [[Reconstruction era]] on March 20, 1871, from portions of Hempstead, Ouachita and Columbia counties. It was named after the state of [[Nevada]] because of the perceived similarity between their physical shapes; the Arkansas county's shape, inverted, roughly follows the same outline as the state's boundary. It is an alcohol prohibition or [[dry county]].

==History==
This area was historically occupied by members of the [[Caddo|Caddoan Confederacy]], whose territory extended into present-day Texas and Louisiana. They settled along the waterways, using them for transportation and fishing. Colonial French and later European-American settlers also took over lands along the waterways, which formed their basic transportation routes well into the 19th century. After the Congress repealed Prohibition in the early 20th century, Nevada County voted to retain it and the county is still "dry."{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|621|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|618|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|2.8|sqmi}} (0.5%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_05.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 27, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> The county is bounded on the north by the [[Little Missouri River (Arkansas)|Little Missouri River]], a branch of the [[Ouachita River]], and drained by several tributaries of that stream and of [[Red River of the South|Red River]].<ref>{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Nevada (county)|display=Nevada. I. A S. W. county of Arkansas}}</ref> Nevada County is alternately considered as part of the greater regions of [[South Arkansas]] or Southwest Arkansas.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

===Major highways===
{{div col}}
*[[Image:I-30 (AR).svg|20px]] [[Interstate 30]]
*[[Image:US 67.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 67]]
*[[Image:US 278.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Highway 278]]
*[[Image:US 371.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Highway 371]]
*[[Image:Arkansas 19.svg|20px]] [[Highway 19 (Arkansas)|Highway 19]]
*[[Image:Arkansas 24.svg|20px]] [[Highway 24 (Arkansas)|Highway 24]]
*[[Image:Arkansas 32.svg|20px]] [[Highway 32 (Arkansas)|Highway 32]]
*[[Image:Arkansas 51.svg|20px]] [[Highway 51 (Arkansas)|Highway 51]]
*[[Image:Arkansas 53.svg|20px]] [[Highway 53 (Arkansas)|Highway 53]]
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
*[[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] (northeast)
*[[Ouachita County, Arkansas|Ouachita County]] (east)
*[[Columbia County, Arkansas|Columbia County]] (south)
*[[Lafayette County, Arkansas|Lafayette County]] (southwest)
*[[Hempstead County, Arkansas|Hempstead County]] (west)
*[[Pike County, Arkansas|Pike County]] (northwest)

==Demographics==
The population declined by more than half from 1920 to 1970, due to mechanization of agriculture and the decline of the lumber industry causing loss of jobs. In addition, blacks left in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] to midwestern and western industrial cities, where they found better work and less social oppression.

{{US Census population
|1880= 12959
|1890= 14832
|1900= 16609
|1910= 19344
|1920= 21934
|1930= 20407
|1940= 19869
|1950= 14781
|1960= 10700
|1970= 10111
|1980= 11097
|1990= 10101
|2000= 9955
|2010= 8997
|2020= 8310
|estyear=2023
|estimate=8120
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 30, 2024}}</ref><ref>
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/nevadacountyarkansas/PST045223?hl=en-US</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref><br />1790–1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ar190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref><br />1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/05/05099.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 23, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607033417/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/05/05099.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>
}}

[[Image:USA Nevada County, Arkansas age pyramid.svg|thumb|left|150px|Age pyramid Nevada County<ref>Based on [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] data</ref>]]

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Nevada County racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US05099&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 10, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|5,145
|61.91%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|2,433
|29.28%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|37
|0.45%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|41
|0.49%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|300
|3.61%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|354
|4.26%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 8,310 people, 3,397 households, and 2,263 families residing in the county.

===2000 census===
As of the [[2000 United States Census]],<ref name="GR8">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> there were 9,955 people, 3,893 households, and 2,721 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|16|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people}}. There were 4,751 housing units at an average density of {{convert|8|/mi2|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the county was 66.90% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 31.18% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.38% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.06% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.85% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.62% from two or more races. 1.52% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 3,893 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,962, and the median income for a family was $33,095. Males had a median income of $27,888 versus $17,920 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $14,184. About 18.30% of families and 22.80% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 28.00% of those under age 18 and 27.10% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==

=== Government ===
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]] and the [[Arkansas Code]]. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called ''justices of the peace'' and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Nevada County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the ''county judge'', who serves as the [[chief operating officer]] of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quorum Courts |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/quorum-courts-6348/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of County Judge |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/office-of-county-judge-5720/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |language=en-US}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Nevada County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Nevada County – Welcome to Prescott, Arkansas |url=https://www.pnpartnership.org/nevada-county/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nevada {{!}} Association of Arkansas Counties |url=https://www.arcounties.org/counties/nevada/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.arcounties.org}}</ref><ref>https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf</ref>
!Position
!Officeholder
!Party
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|County Judge
|Mike Otwell
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|County Clerk
|Tammie Ann Rose
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Circuit Clerk
|Rita Reyenga
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#92C5DE;
|Sheriff/Collector
|Danny Martin
|Democratic
|-
|Treasurer
|C. Lorelei Hale
|(Unknown)
|-style="background-color:#999999;
|Assessor
|Pam Box
|Independent
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Coroner
|David Gummeson
|Republican
|}
The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Nevada County, Arkansas, elections, 2024 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_County,_Arkansas,_elections,_2024 |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>

* District 1: Dennis Pruitt (D) of Prescott
* District 2: Willie Wilson (D) of Prescott
* District 3: Patricia Grimes (D) of Prescott
* District 4: James Roy Cornelius (R) of Prescott
* District 5: Eric Jackson (D) of Prescott
* District 6: Herbert Coleman (D) of Rosston
* District 7: Regina Irizarry (R) of Buckner
* District 8: Todd Butler (R) of Emmet
* District 9: Tommy Poole (R) of Prescott

Additionally, the townships of Nevada County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]]. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Constable? |url=https://www.uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/ced-blog/posts/2022/may/what-is-a-constable.aspx |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=What is a Constable? |language=en}}</ref> The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:<ref name=":1" />

* Alabama: Nelson Irizarry (D)
* Albany: Micah Stockton (R)
* Emmet: Ryan McBrayer (R)

=== Politics ===
Historically, the county was a stronghold of the [[Greenback Party]], controlling county offices from 1880 to 1884, and later a stronghold for the [[Populist Party (United States)|Populist Party]] in the 1890s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hild |first=Matthew |title=Arkansas's Gilded Age: The Rise, Decline, and Legacy of Populism and Working-Class Protes |publisher=[[University of Missouri Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=9780826221667 |location=Columbia, Missouri |page=17 |lccn=2018021863 |oclc=1030391765 |ref={{harvid|"Gilded"|2018}}}}</ref>

Prior to 2000, Nevada County was considered an "ancestral" Democratic-voting county, with exceptions for the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]] [[George Wallace]] campaign and the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]] and [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]] landslides of [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Ronald Reagan]], respectively.

{{PresHead|place=Nevada County, Arkansas|source=<ref name="DL">{{cite web|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|access-date=November 18, 2016}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|2,002|849|56|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|2,133|1,076|149|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,000|1,157|89|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|1,996|1,314|74|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,062|1,474|99|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|1,752|1,694|31|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|1,796|1,867|75|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|976|2,279|395|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|1,217|2,242|489|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|1,714|1,732|13|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,352|1,783|17|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,697|2,631|112|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,163|3,101|5|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,513|1,179|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|840|1,308|1,773|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,406|2,190|29|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|937|1,605|209|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|1,039|1,871|33|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,037|1,972|5|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|202|1,140|430|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|415|1,353|3|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|224|1,399|7|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|204|1,252|5|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|197|2,358|9|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|946|1,242|4|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|386|719|186|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,292|1,220|39|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|657|1,376|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|322|607|361|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|784|890|290|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|556|585|383|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|744|732|93|Arkansas}}
{{PresFoot|1896|Democratic|469|1,669|11|Arkansas}}

==Communities==

===Cities===
*[[Emmet, Arkansas|Emmet]]
*[[Prescott, Arkansas|Prescott]] (county seat)

===Towns===
*[[Bluff City, Arkansas|Bluff City]]
*[[Bodcaw, Arkansas|Bodcaw]]
*[[Cale, Arkansas|Cale]]
*[[Rosston, Arkansas|Rosston]]
*[[Willisville, Arkansas|Willisville]]
*[[Falcon, Arkansas|Falcon]]

===Census-designated place===
*[[Reader, Arkansas|Reader]]

===Townships===
[[File:Nevada County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large.jpg|thumb|Townships in Nevada County, Arkansas as of 2010]]

{{Arkansas Townships About|County = Nevada}}
<ref>{{Cite map
 |publisher   = U. S. Census Bureau
 |title       = 2011 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): Nevada County, AR
 |url         = http://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/bas11/st05_ar/cou/c05099_nevada/BAS11C20509900000_000.pdf
 |access-date  = August 16, 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121019144910/http://www2.census.gov/geo/pvs/bas/bas11/st05_ar/cou/c05099_nevada/BAS11C20509900000_000.pdf
 |archive-date = October 19, 2012
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/block/2010/cousub/dc10blk_st05_cousub.html#N | title = Arkansas: 2010 Census Block Maps - County Subdivision | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | access-date = May 29, 2014}}</ref>

{{div col}}
* Alabama
* Albany
* Boughton
* Caney ([[Cale, Arkansas|Cale]], [[Rosston, Arkansas|Rosston]])
* Emmet ([[Emmet, Arkansas|Emmet]])
* Georgia
* [[Jackson Township, Nevada County, Arkansas|Jackson]]
* [[Leake Township, Nevada County, Arkansas|Leake]]
* Missouri ([[Prescott, Arkansas|Prescott]])
* Parker ([[Bodcaw, Arkansas|Bodcaw]])
* Redland
* Taylor ([[Willisville, Arkansas|Willisville]])
* Union ([[Bluff City, Arkansas|Bluff City]], [[Reader, Arkansas|Reader]])
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[Camp Bragg (Arkansas)]]
* [[List of lakes in Nevada County, Arkansas]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Nevada County, Arkansas]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Geographic location
| Centre    = Nevada County, Arkansas
| North     =
| Northeast = [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]]
| East      = [[Ouachita County, Arkansas|Ouachita County]]
| Southeast =
| South     = [[Columbia County, Arkansas|Columbia County]]
| Southwest = [[Lafayette County, Arkansas|Lafayette County]]
| West      = [[Hempstead County, Arkansas|Hempstead County]]
| Northwest = [[Pike County, Arkansas|Pike County]]
}}

{{Nevada County, Arkansas}}
{{Arkansas}}

{{coord|33|39|40|N|93|18|03|W|region:US-AR_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Nevada County, Arkansas| ]]
[[Category:Hope micropolitan area]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1871]]