The first Americans that are believed to have settled in White County were John and Nancy Magness. They started in Tennessee and came to White County around 1815 and set up a farm in what is nowLetona. White County was established by act of theArkansas territorial legislature on October 23, 1835, by combining parts ofIndependence,Jackson, andPulaski counties.[3]
On May 17, 1862, White County was the site of the Little Red Skirmish between Union Major General Samuel J Curtis and a force of about 100 loosely-organized Confederates, followed by thebattle at Whitney Lane in June.[4] also known as The Skirmish at Searcy Landing.[5]
In 1876, a religious cult called the Cobbites existed for a short period south of Searcy. Named after the group's leader, Reverend Cobb, bizarre behavior by members of the cult led to attention from local citizens, but after the murder of a man from Searcy, a mob attacked the group. Several Cobbites were killed and others arrested. Little is known about Reverend Cobb, not even his full name, other than that he came from Tennessee to White County in 1876. To his followers, he claimed to be God or Jesus Christ. He apparently believed he could perform the works of God, and he used a sycamore pole to command thesun to rise each morning and did the same each evening to command it to set.[6]
During the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Defense constructed several Titan II missile silos in the county in the early 1960s. An accident at one site in 1965 killed fifty-three workers when a welder hit a hydraulic line with their welding rod, causing a fire that removed the oxygen and suffocated most of the workers in the facility.[7]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,042 square miles (2,700 km2), of which 1,035 square miles (2,680 km2) is land and 7.1 square miles (18 km2) (0.7%) is water.[8] It is the second-largest county by area in Arkansas.
As of the2000 United States Census,[18] there were 67,165 people, 25,148 households, and 18,408 families residing in the county. The population density was 65 inhabitants per square mile (25/km2). There were 27,613 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (10/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.52%White, 3.56%Black orAfrican American, 0.43%Native American, 0.32%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.82% fromother races, and 1.31% from two or more races. 1.88% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 25,148 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 12.80% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,203, and the median income for a family was $38,782. Males had a median income of $29,884 versus $20,323 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,890. About 10.40% of families and 14.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.10% of those under age 18 and 14.30% 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 White County Quorum Court has thirteen 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.[19][20] The 45th White County Judge was Michael Lincoln of Searcy, who served from January 2007 until his retirement in 2025.The current Judge is Lisa Brown, who succeeded Lincoln in January 2025. In 1988, White County elected virtually an entire slate of Republicans to county offices. Though such Republican sweeps had frequently occurred in northern and northwestern Arkansas, White County was the first in the Little Rock area to turn to Republicans as the party steadily made inroads toward atwo-party system.[21]
The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 13Republicans.[33][34] Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:
District 1: Doug Kennedy (R) of Beebe.
District 2: Bobby Burns (R) of Beebe.
District 3: Chris Boaz (R) of El Paso.
District 4: Allen King (R) of Pangburn.
District 5: Jimmy L. House (R) of Judsonia.
District 6: Shane Sellers (R) of Judsonia.
District 7: David H. Freppon (R); of Bald Knob.
District 8: Charles "Chuck" Lang (R) of Georgetown.
District 9: Mike Cleveland (R) of Searcy.
District 10: Keith Carlisle (R) of Searcy.
District 11: Nathan Lincoln (R) of Searcy.
District 12: Joel "JP" Pritchett (R) of Searcy.
District 13: Kenneth Liles (R) of Searcy.
Additionally, the townships of White 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.[35]
The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:[36][37]
Big Creek: Jesse Pate (R)
Cadron: Dusty Betts (R)
Cypert: Brent Davis (R)
Dogwood: Paul Barnett (R)
Gray: Kim Pearson (R)
Gum Springs: Kevin McCoy (R)
Harrison: Greg Meharg (R)
Liberty: Phillip Simpson (R)
Union: Chris Ward (R)
United States presidential election results for White County, Arkansas[38]
One of the state's largest banks, First Security Bank, was established in Searcy in 1932 as Security Bank. First Security now has over $8 billion in assets and 78 locations in Arkansas.
The first Wal-Mart distribution center away from the corporate headquarters inBentonville was established in Searcy.
A small portion of northern White County, including the community of Roosevelt, is in theMidland School District, located in neighboring Independence County. A small portion of western White County, including Hammondsville, is in theMount Vernon-Enola School District, located in neighboring Faulkner County.[47]
Albion — north-central White County, between Four Mile Hill or "Boothill" and Pangburn, and north of Letona, along Arkansas Highway 16 and surrounding county roads
Antioch — western White County, north of Beebe, along Arkansas Highways 31 and 267 and surrounding county roads
Andrews
Bare Stone
Barrentine Corner
Bee Rock
Belcher
Center Hill — central White County, approximately 8 miles west of Searcy, situated along Arkansas Highway 36 and 305 and surrounding county roads
Clay
Conant
Crosby
Dewey
Dogwood
Doniphan
El Paso — southwestern White County, situated along Arkansas Highway 5 and U.S. Highway 64 West
Enright
Essex
Floyd — western White County, approximately 8 miles southeast of Romance, along Arkansas Highways 31 and 305 and surrounding county roads
Four Mile Hill or "Boot Hill" — central White County, northwest of Searcy and southeast of Albion, along Arkansas Highway 16 and surrounding county roads
Gravel Hill — western White County, northwest of Floyd and south of Joy, situated between Arkansas Highways 31 and 36 along Gravel Hill Road and surrounding county roads
Hammondsville – western White County, between Romance and El Paso, primarily situated along Hammons Chapel Road (connecting Highway 5 and El Paso Road)
Happy — 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Griffithville and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) southeast of Searcy along Arkansas Highway 385
Harmony — central White County, southwest of Center Hill, situated along Arkansas Highway 305 and surrounding county roads
Hart
Hickory Flat
Holly Springs
Joy — central White County, between Rose Bud and Center Hill, situated along Arkansas Highway 36 and surrounding county roads
Keeler Corner
Liberty Valley — eastern White County, between Bald Knob and the White River, along U.S. Highway 64 East and surrounding county roads
Opal — southwestern White County, between El Paso and Beebe, along U.S. Highway 64 West and Opal Road and surrounding county roads
Pickens — north-central White County, between Sidon and Letona, along Arkansas Highway 310 (Pickens Chapel Road) and Pickens Road and surrounding county roads
Plainview — northeastern White County, north of Judsonia, along Arkansas Highways 157 and 385 and surrounding county roads
Pryor
Providence — northeastern White County, north of Judsonia and northwest of Bald Knob, along Arkansas Highways 157 and 258 and surrounding county roads; site of White County Central Schools
Rio Vista
Romance — western White County, between Rose Bud and El Paso, along Arkansas Highways 5 and 31 and surrounding county roads
Showalter's Corner
Sidon — north-central White County, west of Pickens and north of Joy, along Arkansas Highway 310 and surrounding county roads
Smyrna
Steprock
Sunnydale
Twentythree — northeastern White County, 5 mile north of Bald Knob, along U.S. Highway 167 and surrounding county roads
Velvet Ridge — northeastern White County, 8 mile north of Bald Knob, along U.S. Highway 167 and surrounding county roads
Vinity Corner — south-central White County, south of Garner and southeast of McRae, along West Vinity Road, North Vinity Road, and other county roads southeast of Arkansas Highway 367
Walker — southeastern White County, south of Higginson and west of Griffithville, along Arkansas Highway 11 (Walker Road) and surrounding county roads
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 White County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/orcensus-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.[48][49]
^Osro Cobb,Osro Cobb of Arkansas: Memoirs of Historical Significance, Carol Griffee, ed. (Little Rock, Arkansas: Rose Publishing Company, 1989), p. 114
