Miller County, Arkansas facts for kids

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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 in the southwest corner of Arkansas. In 2020, about 42,600 people lived there. The main city and government center is Texarkana.

Miller County is part of the larger Texarkana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes parts of TX and Arkansas.

The county was first created on April 1, 1820. It was named after James Miller, who was the first governor of the Arkansas Territory. Miller County was the first county formed when Arkansas became a territory. It was later dissolved in 1838.

During a time called the Reconstruction era, Miller County was created again on December 22, 1874. This time, it was formed from a part of Lafayette County, which is a neighboring county.

History of Miller County

Early Beginnings and Changes

When Miller County was first made in 1820, it was much bigger. It included not only the area it covers today but also parts of what are now several counties in Texas. In 1831, the county's main town was in Clarksville, Texas.

When Arkansas became a state in 1836, Texas also declared itself an independent country. This led to a disagreement about the border between them. People in Miller County were represented in both the Arkansas government and the Texas government.

Arkansas tried to stop this by making it illegal for Miller County residents to hold office in Texas. But these efforts didn't work. In 1845, Texas joined the United States, and the border between Texas and Arkansas was finally decided. Because a large part of Miller County became part of Texas, the county was officially closed. The remaining land went back to Lafayette County.

The Miller County we know today was re-created in 1874. It was formed from parts of Lafayette County that were west and south of the Red River.

Geography of Miller County

Miller County is in the southwest part of Arkansas. It's known for its Piney Woods, which are forests full of pine trees. These forests were once important for the logging industry. Today, many areas have been cleared to grow crops like rice, soybeans, corn, and vegetables.

The county is also part of the Ark-La-Tex region. This is where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. The Ark-La-Tex is an important economic area with cities like Shreveport, Louisiana, Tyler, Texas, Longview, Texas, and Texarkana.

The Red River forms the northern and eastern border of Miller County. However, the river has changed its path over time. The old path of the Red River still marks the county line for other nearby counties. Miller County covers about 637 square miles. Most of this (624 square miles) is land, and about 13.5 square miles (2.1%) is water.

Location and Neighbors

Miller County is about 143 miles southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. It's also about 73 miles north of Shreveport, Louisiana, and 204 miles east of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas.

Miller County shares its borders with several other places:

To the north: Little River County
To the northeast: Hempstead County
To the east: Lafayette County
To the southeast: Bossier Parish (Louisiana)
To the south: Caddo Parish (Louisiana)
To the west: Cass County and Bowie County (Texas)

Waterways and Rivers

Miller County is part of the Red River watershed. This means all the water in the county eventually flows into the Red River. Besides the Red River, other important waterways include the Sulphur River, McKinney Bayou, and Bois D'Arc Creek. All of these flow into the Red River.

Swamps and bayous along the Sulphur River drain much of the western part of Miller County. There's a levee in the eastern part of the county. This levee separates the McKinney Bayou area from the Red River floodplain. Areas within the levee can sometimes flood from the Red River. For example, the town of Garland City had to be evacuated in 2015 due to flooding.

Protected Natural Areas

Miller County has two special protected areas:

The Sandhills Natural Area: This area is owned by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. It protects 274 acres of untouched sandhill plants and rolling hills. It's home to at least 40 rare plant species, more than any other natural area managed by the ANHC.
The Sulphur River Wildlife Management Areas (WMA): This area is managed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. It protects 16,520 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, cypress trees, oxbow lakes, and bayous along the Red River Valley. It was created in the 1950s and is open for activities like birding, camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking. A special 500-acre part of the WMA is kept as the Henry Moore Waterfowl Rest Area for birds.

People of Miller County

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	356	—
1880	9,919	—
1890	14,714	48.3%
1900	17,558	19.3%
1910	19,555	11.4%
1920	24,021	22.8%
1930	30,586	27.3%
1940	31,874	4.2%
1950	32,614	2.3%
1960	31,686	−2.8%
1970	33,385	5.4%
1980	37,766	13.1%
1990	38,467	1.9%
2000	40,443	5.1%
2010	43,462	7.5%
2020	42,600	−2.0%
2023 (est.)	42,415	−2.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010

Population in 2020

In 2020, the census showed that 42,600 people lived in Miller County. There were 16,426 households and 11,108 families.

Miller County racial composition
Race	Number	Percentage
White (not Hispanic)	27,593	64.77%
Black or African American (not Hispanic)	10,922	25.64%
Native American	246	0.58%
Asian	205	0.48%
Pacific Islander	4	0.01%
Other/Mixed	2,047	4.81%
Hispanic or Latino	1,583	3.72%

Population in 2010

Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Miller County (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%)

In 2010, there were 43,462 people living in Miller County. The average number of people per square mile was about 68.

About 24.3% of the people were under 18 years old. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were about 97 males.

The average income for a household in the county was $40,307. For families, it was $47,960. About 18.1% of the population lived below the poverty line. This included 29.1% of those under 18.

Education in Miller County

Most adults in Miller County (about 85.5% in 2016) have a high school degree or higher. This is similar to the average for Arkansas and the whole country. However, fewer people in Miller County (14.5%) have a bachelor's degree or higher compared to the state and national averages.

Public Schools

Public school district boundaries in Miller County as of July 2016

Several public school districts serve different parts of Miller County:

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

The Texarkana Arkansas School District (TASD) is the largest. The Fouke District serves the southern half of the county, and the Genoa District covers a small area around Genoa. Students from these districts can graduate from Arkansas High School, Fouke High School, or Genoa Central High School. All these high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) classes and are approved by the Arkansas Department of Education.

TASD also has the Washington Academy Charter School, which is a special public charter school. Students can also attend the Texarkana Area Vocational Center for job training. Arkansas High School works with the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH) Texarkana Campus, allowing students to earn college credits early.

Students in the northeast part of Miller County, near Garland, go to schools in the Lafayette County School District.

Colleges and Universities

Miller County has one college: the Texarkana campus of the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope. This is a public community college.

Nearby, in Texarkana, Texas, you can find:

Texas A&M University–Texarkana: A public four-year university.
Texarkana College: Another community college.

Other colleges in the region include Cossatot Community College in De Queen, Arkansas, and Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. There are also several colleges near Shreveport, Louisiana.

Libraries

The Texarkana Public Library is located at 600 West 3rd Street. It offers books, e-books, movies, and services for research, youth, business, and family history.
The Ann & Dewey Fowler Community Library is in Fouke, at 305 N Snell Street. It's in a beautifully restored Victorian house.

Communities in Miller County

Cities

Texarkana (This is the county seat, where the main government offices are.)

Towns

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially cities or towns.

The Kiblah School served the Kiblah area from 1927 until 1949

Artex
Beck
Black Diamond
Boggy
Boyd
Brightstar
Capps City
Clear Lake Junction
Clipper
Doddridge
Dooley
Fairland
Ferguson Crossroads
Fort Lynn
Genoa
Gertrude
Hammons
Hervey
Homan
Index
Jonesville
Kiblah
Lakewood Estates
Mandeville
Mayton
McKinney
Mount Pleasant
Paup
Pleasant Hill
Ravanna
Rocky Mound
Rondo
Smithville
Sylverino

Historical Communities

These are communities that no longer exist.

Boggy
Era
Roverts
Spring Bank
Wona

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. Townships are smaller areas within a county, often used for administrative purposes.

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

Transportation and Services

Main Roads

Miller County has several important highways that help people travel through the area.

Interstate 30
Interstate 49
U.S. Highway 59
U.S. Highway 67
U.S. Highway 71
U.S. Highway 82
Highway 108
Highway 134
Highway 160
Highway 196
Highway 237
Highway 245
Highway 296
Highway 549

Water Services

The Arkansas Department of Health makes sure that public water systems are safe. Miller County has six main community water systems:

Texarkana Water Utilities (TWU)
Fouke Waterworks
Miller County Public Water Authority (PWA)
Garland Waterworks
Eastern Cass Water Supply Corporation
Shady Acres Mobile Home Park

Texarkana Water Utilities (TWU) provides drinking water to both sides of Texarkana (Arkansas and Texas). It gets its water from Lake Millwood in Arkansas and Lake Wright Patman in Texas. The Miller County PWA buys its water from TWU. The other water systems are smaller and get their water from underground sources.