The first settler in the area was Benjamin Crowley, who arrived fromKentucky 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 ofLawrence County and originally contained parts of presentClay andCraighead counties. The county was named forRevolutionary War heroNathanael 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-dayParis, 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, andCraighead counties hadsundown town policies forbidding African Americans from living in the area.[3]
According to theU.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]
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 45,736. The median age was 38.4 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.3 males age 18 and over.[11][12]
54.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 45.1% lived in rural areas.[13]
There were 17,673 households in the county, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.7% were married-couple households, 17.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[11]
There were 19,159 housing units, of which 7.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.6% were owner-occupied and 34.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%.[11]
As of the2010 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.
As of the2000 census,[14] there were 37,331 people, 14,750 households, and 10,708 families living in the county. Thepopulation 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 orAfrican American, 0.42%Native American, 0.17%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.47% fromother races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population wereHispanic orLatino 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% weremarried 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. Theper capita income for the county was $16,403. About 9.90% of families and 13.30% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by theConstitution of Arkansas and theArkansas 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 Greene County Quorum Court has eleven members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief executive 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.[15][16]
Greene County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials[17][18][19]
The composition of the Quorum Court after the 2024 elections is 11 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:[19][20][21]
District 1: Sherma Clark Dicus (R)
District 2: Robert Glasco (R)
District 3: Bill McCartney (R)
District 4: Jonathan Davis (R)
District 5: Michele Boling (R)
District 6: Phillip Keeling (R)
District 7: Allen Davis (R)
District 8: Dean Wooldridge (R)
District 9: Marc Reeves (R)
District 10: Ronnie Roberts (R)
District 11: Kirk Brinkley (R)
Additionally, the townships of Greene County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by theConstitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.[22] The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:[20][21]
Bula: Kevin Gillmore (R)
Campground: Billy Joe Foster (R)
Crowley's Ridge: Patrick Lenderman (R)
Dalton: David Howell (R)
Rush Island: Jeremy Perry (D)
Over the past few election cycles, Greene County has swung hard towards the GOP. The last Democrat to carry this county wasAl 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[23]
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, theUnited 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/orcensus-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.[24][25]
It consists of the boundary of the original Paragould School District, plus the Oak Grove School district,[27] which merged with the former Paragould district on July 1, 1985,[28] and the Stanford School District.[27] The new merged district was originally called the Northeast Arkansas School District;[28] by 1997 the name of the new district became the Paragould School District.[27]
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived fromthe original on May 31, 2011. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^Neville, A. W. (March 2, 1945)."Backward Glances".The Paris News. Paris, Texas. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.On the survey fromBird's Point, Mo., toJonesboro, 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.
^abcHome. 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."
