Crittenden County, Arkansas Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Crittenden County
U.S. county
Crittenden County Courthouse in Marion
Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Founded	October 22, 1825
Named for	Robert Crittenden
Seat	Marion
Largest city	West Memphis
Area
• Total	636 sq mi (1,650 km²)
• Land	610 sq mi (1,600 km²)
• Water	27 sq mi (70 km²) 4.2%%
Population (2020)
• Total	48,163
• Density	75.73/sq mi (29.239/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Cotton workers on the road, carrying all they possess in the world during the Great Depression. Crittenden County, Arkansas, 1936.

Crittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,163. The county seat is Marion, and the largest city is West Memphis.

Crittenden County is part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the county's media comes from Memphis, although some Little Rock TV (Arkansas Educational Television Network, KATV) is imported by Comcast Cable. It lies within Arkansas's 1st congressional district.

History

Located in the Arkansas Delta, Crittenden County is Arkansas's 12th county, formed October 22, 1825, and named for Robert Crittenden, the first Secretary of the Arkansas Territory.

The legislature selected the (now extant) community of Greenock as the first county seat, and court was first held there in the home of William Lloyd in June 1826. Greenock served as the county seat for almost a decade before it the seat was moved to Marion.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 636 square miles (1,650 km²), of which 610 square miles (1,600 km²) is land and 27 square miles (70 km²) (4.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	1,272	—
1840	1,561	22.7%
1850	2,648	69.6%
1860	4,920	85.8%
1870	3,831	−22.1%
1880	9,415	145.8%
1890	13,940	48.1%
1900	14,529	4.2%
1910	22,447	54.5%
1920	29,309	30.6%
1930	39,717	35.5%
1940	42,473	6.9%
1950	47,184	11.1%
1960	47,564	0.8%
1970	48,106	1.1%
1980	49,499	2.9%
1990	49,939	0.9%
2000	50,866	1.9%
2010	50,902	0.1%
2020	48,163	−5.4%
2023 (est.)	47,139	−7.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010

Age pyramid Crittenden County

2020 census

Crittenden County Racial Composition
Race	Num.	Perc.
White	18,948	39.34%
Black or African American	25,804	53.58%
Native American	115	0.24%
Asian	322	0.67%
Pacific Islander	17	0.04%
Other/Mixed	1,529	3.17%
Hispanic or Latino	1,428	2.96%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 48,163 people, 19,074 households, and 11,964 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 50,902 people living in the county. 51.2% were Black or African American, 46.1% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 2.0% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

Education

Elementary and secondary education

Public school districts include:

Earle School District, which operates Earle High School
Marion School District, which operates Marion High School
West Memphis School District, which operates Academies of West Memphis

Former school districts:

Hughes School District, which operated Hughes High School
Turrell School District

The Old Earle High School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Postsecondary education

Crittenden County is served by Arkansas State University Mid-South in West Memphis. The college offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in conjunction with Arkansas State University, The University of Arkansas, The University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas Tech University and Franklin University.

Healthcare

Crittenden County was served by 152 Bed Crittenden Regional Hospital in West Memphis until late August 2014. The hospital operated a number of outpatient clinics in Marion and West Memphis and a Pediatric Dental Clinic in cooperation with the UT Dental School. Crittenden Regional Hospital has closed the ER and permanently closed on September 7, 2014.

West Memphis & Crittenden County are now served by Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden, an 11-bed, 65,000-square-foot acute care facility. The facility was opened December 13, 2018. Url=https://www.ahd.com/free_profile/040156/Baptist_Memorial_Hospital_-_Crittenden/West_Memphis/Arkansas/#:~:text=This%2011%20Bed%20facility%20opened%20on%20December%2013%2C%202018. The Arkansas Department of Health operates a clinic in West Memphis.

A number of private clinics also operate in Marion and West Memphis.

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 40
Interstate 55
U.S. Highway 61
U.S. Highway 63
U.S. Highway 64
U.S. Highway 70
U.S. Route 78
U.S. Highway 79
Highway 38
Highway 42
Highway 50
Highway 77
Highway 118
Highway 131
Highway 147
Highway 149
Highway 184
Highway 191
Highway 218
Highway 816

Airports

Crittenden County is served by the West Memphis Municipal Airport (KAWM), a General Aviation facility with a Control Tower and Instrument Landing capabilities. General DeWitt Spain Airport is a civil aviation airport just north of downtown Memphis.

The Memphis International Airport is nearby and provides commercial aviation through numerous carriers and is the international cargo hub for FedEx.

Rail

Union Pacific operates a 600 Acre intermodal facility west of Marion, Arkansas. BNSF Railway also operates a yard in Marion.

Limited Passenger Rail is available on Amtrak at Memphis Central Station in nearby Memphis. The City of New Orleans runs twice daily on a north–south route from Chicago to New Orleans.

Water

Crittenden County and West Memphis jointly operate a port on the Mississippi River. The International Port of Memphis lies just across the Mississippi River via Interstate 55. The International Port of Memphis is the 4th largest inland port in the United States.

Communities

Cities

Earle
Marion (county seat)
Turrell
West Memphis

Towns

Townships

Townships in Crittenden County, Arkansas as of 2010

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, the United 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 Crittenden County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.

Black Oak
Bob Ward (Anthonyville, Edmondson, small part of Jennette)
Fogleman (Gilmore, Turrell)
Jackson (Crawfordsville, part of Marion, part of West Memphis small part of Jennette)
Jasper (Sunset, most of Marion, part of West Memphis, small part of Clarkedale)
Lucas (Horseshoe Lake)
Mississippi (most of West Memphis, part of Marion)
Mound City (part of Marion, part of West Memphis, small part of Clarkedale)
Proctor (part of West Memphis)
Tyronza (Earle, most of Jennette)
Wappanocca (Jericho, most of Clarkedale)

Crittenden County, Arkansas facts for kids

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