CLEVELAND COUNTY, ARKANSAS

'Cleveland County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its population was 8,571 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is at Rison.

Contents

History

Geography

Major Highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Cities and towns

Famous residents

County officials for 2007-2009

References

History

The Arkansas legislature established 'Dorsey County' as Arkansas's 71st county on April 17, 1873, naming it for Stephen W. Dorsey, the U.S. Senator from Arkansas. When he was indicted for defrauding the Post Office, they renamed it on March 5, 1885 for Grover Cleveland, the newly elected President of the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,551 km² (599 mi²). 1,548 km² (598 mi²) of it is land and 3 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.18%) is water.

Major Highways

★ U.S. Highway 63

★ U.S. Highway 79

★ U.S. Highway 167

★ Highway 8

★ Highway 11

★ Highway 15 (now US 63)

★ Highway 35

★ Highway 97

Adjacent counties

★ Grant County & Jefferson County (north)

★ Lincoln County (east)

★ Drew County (southeast)

★ Bradley County (south)

★ Calhoun County (southwest)

★ Dallas County (west)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 8,571 people, 3,273 households, and 2,513 families residing in the county. The population density was 6/km² (14/mi²). There were 3,834 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.79% White, 13.22% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 1.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,273 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.20% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% 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 3.00.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,405, and the median income for a family was $38,164. Males had a median income of $31,282 versus $21,172 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,362. About 11.40% of families and 15.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.50% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

★ Kingsland

★ Rison

★ New Edinburg

Famous residents

★ Monroe Schwarzlose, a turkey farmer and political maverick who polled 31 percent of the vote against Governor Bill Clinton in the 1980 Democratic primary. He won in Cleveland County.

★ Youell Swinney, the only major suspect in the Texarkana Phantom slayings, hailed from Cleveland County. He was the son of a Baptist minister.

★ Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland.

★ Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was born near Kingsland.

★ Eric Grider-Songwriter/Singer raised near Rowell, resides in Nashville, TN.

County officials for 2007-2009

★ County Judge: Gary Spears

★ County Sheriff: Joe Paul King

★ County Clerk: Sharron Grey

★ County Treasurer: B. Tollison

★ County Tax Collector: M. Jacks

★ County Tax Assessor: R. Morgan
All six county officials are Democrats.
Gary Spears beat Bobby Hyatt in a run-off election. Current County Judge Vernon Dollar did not make the run-off. Gary Spears garnered the endorsement of another county judge candidate, Raymond Redmond, when Redmond withdrew from the Judge's race.
Treasurer Tollison beat Ray Redmond, Jr. in the Primary election. Redmond was one of the youngest county-wide candidates on the ballot in the United States during the 2006 primary election. He was 22 years old and a Democrat.
Collector Jacks beat Findley in the Primary Election by an overwhelming majority.
All other candidates were unopposed.

References

1. Based on 2000 census data