Miller County, Arkansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miller County
County
Miller County Courthouse in Texarkana
Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Founded	April 1, 1820; recreated December 22, 1874, following abolishment in 1838
Named for	James Miller
Seat	Texarkana
Largest city	Texarkana
Area
• Total	637.48 sq mi (1,651.1 km2)
• Land	623.98 sq mi (1,616.1 km2)
• Water	13.5 sq mi (35 km2)  2.1%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	42,600
• Density	66.83/sq mi (25.802/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Miller County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,600. The county seat is Texarkana.

Miller County is part of the Texarkana, TX-AR, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

When first formed, Miller County was Arkansas's sixth county, established on April 1, 1820, and named for James Miller, the first governor of the Arkansas Territory. Additionally, Miller County was the first of the state's counties to be formed upon the creation of the Arkansas Territory. The first five — Arkansas, Lawrence, Clark, Hempstead and Pulaski — were formed during Arkansas's days as part of the Missouri Territory. This county was abolished in 1838.

During the Reconstruction era, it was organized again on December 22, 1874, from a portion of neighboring Lafayette County.

History

When created in 1820, Miller County included most of the current Miller County, as well as several present-day Texas counties. In 1831 the county seat was located what is the current day Clarksville, Texas.

When Arkansas achieved statehood the same year as Texas declared itself an independent republic in 1836, a dispute arose over their common border, with the area in Miller County having representation in both the Arkansas legislature and the Texas congress. In 1837 and 1838, Texas organized Red River and Fannin counties, respectively, in the area. Arkansas attempted to counter by making it a misdemeanor for Miller County residents to hold office in Texas, and then by establishing a county court in Fannin. The attempts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1845 Texas agreed to annexation by the United States, settling the boundary between Texas and Arkansas. As much of Miller County was lost to Texas, the county was dissolved, with the remaining territory returning to Lafayette County.

The modern Miller County was re-created in 1874 from the parts of Lafayette County lying west and south of the Red River.

Geography

Miller County is located in the southwest corner of Arkansas in the Piney Woods, a temperate coniferous forest. The forests of pine trees initially formed a logging and silviculture industry, though many fields have been cleared from the forest to grow rice, soybeans, corn, and vegetables. The county is also within the Ark-La-Tex region, sharing a tripoint with Texas and Louisiana. The Ark-La-Tex is an economic region anchored by Shreveport, Louisiana, Tyler, Texas, Longview, Texas, and Texarkana. The Red River serves as the northern and eastern boundary of the county, though the watercourse has shifted since the county's reestablishment in 1874. The original Red River continues to serve as the county line between Little River, Hempstead, and Lafayette counties in Arkansas. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Miller County has a total area of 637.48 square miles (1,651.1 km²), of which 623.98 square miles (1,616.1 km²) is land and 13.50 square miles (35.0 km²) (2.1%) is water.

The county is located approximately 143 miles (230 km) southwest of Little Rock, 73 miles (117 km) north of Shreveport, Louisiana, and 204 miles (328 km) east of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) in Texas. Miller County is surrounded by three Arkansas counties: Little River County to the north, Hempstead County to the northeast, Lafayette County to the east; two Louisiana parishes: Bossier Parish to the southeast and Caddo Parish, to the south; and two Texas counties to the west: Cass and Bowie.

Ecology

Miller County is within the South Central Plains Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Within the region, the county contains parts of four different Level IV ecoregions. Throughout the South Central Plains, forests are mostly swamp - southern floodplain forest, unlike the oak–hickory–pine forest of higher, better drained forests in adjacent eco-regions.

Along the north and eastern county boundary, the Red River Bottomlands follows the Red River. This eco-region contains floodplains, low terraces, oxbow lakes, meander scars, backswamps, natural levees, and the meandering Red River. Natural vegetation is southern floodplain forest unlike the oak–hickory– pine forest of higher, better drained compared to adjacent forests. However, the region has widely been cleared and drained for agriculture. The Red River is almost continuously turbid; suspended sediment concentrations are usually much higher than in the Saline River or Ouachita River due to land cover, land use, and upstream lithology differences.

South of Texarkana, the Floodplains and Low Terraces eco-region follows the Sulphur River. It contains frequently flooded forested wetlands, natural levees, swales, oxbow lakes, and meander scars. Longitudinal channel gradients are low and are less than in the Ouachita Mountains. North of the low terraces, a small strip of Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces ecoregion contains level, poorly-drained, periodically wet soils underlain by Pleistocene unconsolidated terrace deposits. Loblolly pine and oaks are common and are adapted to the prevailing hydroxeric regime; pastureland and hayland are less extensive. A vertical sequence of terraces occurs. The lowest terrace is nearly flat, clayey, and has extensive hardwood wetlands. Higher terraces become progressively older and more dissected; they are dominated by pine flatwoods, pine savanna, or prairie; flatwood wetlands are less extensive than on the lowest terrace. The mid-level terrace is veneered with windblown silt deposits (loess). Streams tend to be mildly acidic and stained by organic matter. They have more suspended solids, greater turbidity, and higher hardness values than the Tertiary Uplands.

Hydrology

Miller County is within the Red River watershed. The historic channel of the Red River defines the northern and eastern boundary of Miller County. The Sulphur River, McKinney Bayou, and Bois D'Arc Creek are also important water courses in the county; all tributary to the Red River. Swamps and bayous along the Sulphur River drain much of the western part of Miller County. A levee in the eastern part of Miller County delineates the border between the McKinney Bayou watershed, with everything east of the levee within the Red River floodplain. Areas within the levee are frequently subject to inundation by the Red, including a town evacuation of Garland City in 2015.

Protected areas

Miller County contains two protected areas: the Sandhills Natural Area owned by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC), and the Sulphur River Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC). The Sandhills Natural Area preserves 274 acres (111 ha) of undisturbed sandhill vegetation along rolling hills and sandy soils. It is a home to at least 40 rare species of plants, the most of any ANHC Natural Area. The Sulphur River WMA preserves 16,520 acres (6,690 ha) of bottomland hardwood forest, cypress breaks, oxbow lakes, and bayous along the Red River Valley. Established in the 1950s, the area is open to birding, camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking. Within the WMA, 500 acres (200 ha) is maintained as the Henry Moore Waterfowl Rest Area.

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 42,600 people, 16,426 households, and 11,108 families residing in the county.

2010 Census

Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Miller County treating Hispanics as a Separate Category (2010)      White Non-Hispanic (70.6%)     Black Non-Hispanic (24.4%)     Native American Non-Hispanic (0.6%)     Asian Non-Hispanic (0.5%)     Pacific Islander Non-Hispanic (0.0%)     Other Non-Hispanic (0.1%)     Two or more races Non-Hispanic (1.4%)     Hispanic Any Race (2.4%)

As of the 2010 census, there were 43,462 people, 17,219 households, and 11,685 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile (26 people/km²). There were 19,281 housing units at an average density of 30 units per square mile (12 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.6% White, 24.5% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 2.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,685 households, out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,307, and the median income for a family was $47,960. Males had a median income of $41,556 versus $30,417 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,654. About 14.1% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Human resources

Education

Educational attainment in Miller County is typical for a rural Arkansas county, with a 2016 study finding 85.5% of Miller County residents over age 25 held a high school degree or higher, in line with Arkansas and national averages of 85.2% and 87.0%, respectively. Miller County's proportion of population holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.5%, significantly below the state average of 21.5% and national average of 30.3%.

Primary and secondary education

Public school district boundaries in Miller County as of July 2016

Public school districts serving sections of Miller County:

• Fouke School District
• Genoa Central School District
• Lafayette County School District
• Texarkana Arkansas School District (TASD)

Three of those districts are based in Miller County; TASD is the largest school district in Miller County, with the Fouke District serving approximately the southern half of the county, and the Genoa District serving a small area around Genoa between the two larger districts. Successful completion of the curriculum of these schools leads to graduation from Arkansas High School, Fouke High School, or Genoa Central High School respectively. All three high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses and are accredited by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). TASD also offers graduation from the Washington Academy Charter School, an alternative public charter school, and Texarkana Area Vocational Center. Arkansas HS offers concurrent credit agreements with nearby University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH) Texarkana Campus, and is the only school in the county accredited by AdvancED.

Students in the northeast part of Miller County around Garland outside the three Miller County-based districts are within the Lafayette County School District.

Higher education

Miller County contains one institution of higher education, the Texarkana campus of University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, a public community college based in Hope, Arkansas. Texarkana, Texas contains Texas A&M University–Texarkana, a public four-year university with a high percentage of students from Arkansas, and Texarkana College, a community college. Other higher education institutions in the region include Cossatot Community College in De Queen, Arkansas, Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, and several institutions in the vicinity of Shreveport, Louisiana.

Libraries

The Texarkana Public Library is located at 600 West 3rd Street. TPL offers books, e-books, media, reference, youth, business and genealogy services. In Fouke, the Ann & Dewey Fowler Community Library is located at 305 N Snell Street in a restored Victorian house.

Public safety

The Texarkana Department of district court is held at the Bi-State Justice Building at 100 State Line Avenue

The Miller County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Miller County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years.

The county is under the jurisdiction of the 37th District Court, a state district court. State district courts in Arkansas are courts of original jurisdiction for criminal, civil (up to $25,000), small claims, and traffic matters. State district courts are presided over by a full-time District Judge elected to a four-year term by a districtwide election. The judge presides over both the Texarkana Department at 100 North State Line Avenue in Texarkana and the Miller County Department at the Miller County Correctional Facility at 2300 East Street.

Superseding district court jurisdiction is the 8th Judicial Circuit Court South, which covers Miller and Lafayette counties. The 8th Circuit South contains three circuit judges, elected to six-year terms circuitwide. Circuit court is held at the Miller County Courthouse at 400 Laurel Street in Texarkana.

Communities

City

• Texarkana (county seat)

Towns

• Fouke
• Garland

Unincorporated communities

The Kiblah School served the Kiblah area from 1927 until 1949

Historical communities

Townships

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

• Beech (Fouke)
• Cleveland
• Cut Off
• Days Creek
• Garland (Texarkana)
• Homan
• Red River (Garland)
• Sulphur

Infrastructure

Major highways

Utilities

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is responsible for the regulation and oversight of public water systems throughout the state. Miller County contains six community water systems: Texarkana Water Utilities (TWU), Fouke Waterworks, Miller County Public Water Authority (PWA), Garland Waterworks, Eastern Cass Water Supply Corporation, and Shady Acres Mobile Home Park. TWU, a joint department between the two Texarkana municipalities, provides drinking water and fire flows on both sides of the state line, including several partner cities in Texas. Its source waters are Lake Millwood in Arkansas and Lake Wright Patman in Texas. Miller County PWA purchases water from TWU, and has the same executive director as of February 2018. The remaining systems have retail populations served under 1,000, and are groundwater systems.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Miller (Arkansas) para niños