Independence County, Arkansas

County in Arkansas, United States

County in Arkansas

Independence County

County

Historic Charles R. Handford House in Batesville.

Flag

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas

Arkansas's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 35°43′23″N 91°31′14″W﻿ / ﻿35.723055555556°N 91.520555555556°W﻿ / 35.723055555556; -91.520555555556
Country|  United States
State|  Arkansas
Founded| October 20, 1820
Named after| United States Declaration of Independence
Seat| Batesville
Largest city| Batesville
Area

• Total

| 772 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land| 764 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Water| 7.6 sq mi (20 km2)  1.0%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 37,938

• Estimate

(2023)

| 38,320
• Density| 49/sq mi (19/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 1st
Website| www.independencecounty.com

Independence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,938.[1] The county seat is Batesville.[2] Independence County is Arkansas's ninth county, formed on October 20, 1820, from a portion of Lawrence County and named in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence.[3] It is an alcohol prohibition or dry county.

The Batesville, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Independence County.

## Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 772 square miles (2,000 km2), of which 764 square miles (1,980 km2) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km2) (1.0%) is water.[4]

### List of highways

[edit]

* U.S. Highway 167
* Arkansas Highway 14
* Arkansas Highway 25
* Arkansas Highway 37
* Arkansas Highway 69
* Arkansas Highway 69 Business
* Arkansas Highway 87
* Arkansas Highway 106
* Arkansas Highway 122
* Arkansas Highway 157
* Arkansas Highway 230
* Arkansas Highway 233
* Arkansas Highway 333
* Arkansas Highway 367
* Arkansas Highway 394

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Sharp County (north)
* Lawrence County (northeast)
* Jackson County (east)
* White County (south)
* Cleburne County (southwest)
* Stone County (west)
* Izard County (northwest)

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1830| 2,031| | —
1840| 3,669| | 80.6%
1850| 7,767| | 111.7%
1860| 14,307| | 84.2%
1870| 14,566| | 1.8%
1880| 18,086| | 24.2%
1890| 21,961| | 21.4%
1900| 22,557| | 2.7%
1910| 24,776| | 9.8%
1920| 23,976| | −3.2%
1930| 24,225| | 1.0%
1940| 25,643| | 5.9%
1950| 23,488| | −8.4%
1960| 20,048| | −14.6%
1970| 22,723| | 13.3%
1980| 30,147| | 32.7%
1990| 31,192| | 3.5%
2000| 34,233| | 9.7%
2010| 36,647| | 7.1%
2020| 37,938| | 3.5%
2023 (est.)| 38,320| [5]| 1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8]
1990–2000[9] 2010[10]
Age pyramid Independence County[11]

### 2020 census

[edit]

Independence County racial composition[12] Race  | Number  | Percentage

|
|

White (non-Hispanic)  | 31,511  | 83.06%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)  | 830  | 2.19%
Native American | 133  | 0.35%
Asian | 340  | 0.9%
Pacific Islander | 30  | 0.08%
Other/Mixed | 1,836  | 4.84%
Hispanic or Latino | 3,258  | 8.59%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 37,938 people, 14,322 households, and 9,929 families residing in the county.

### 2000 census

[edit]

As of the 2000 census,[13] there were 34,233 people, 13,467 households, and 9,669 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile (17 people/km2). There were 14,841 housing units at an average density of 19 units per square mile (7.3 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.91% White, 2.04% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 1.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 13,467 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,920, and the median income for a family was $38,444. Males had a median income of $27,284 versus $20,086 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,163. About 9.90% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.10% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

## Government and politics

[edit]

### Government

[edit]

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas 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 Independence County Quorum Court has eleven 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.[14][15]

Independence County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials[16][17][18] Position  | Officeholder  | Party

|
|

County Judge | Kevin Jeffery  | Republican
County Clerk | Tracey Nast Mitchell  | Republican
Circuit Clerk | Greg Wallis  | Republican
Sheriff | Shawn Stephens  | Republican
Treasurer | Bob Treadway  | Republican
Collector | Paul Albert  | Republican
Assessor | Diane Tucker  | Republican
Coroner | Randell Crabtree  | Republican

The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 11 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:[19][20]

* District 1: Timothy Stewart (R) of Batesville.
* District 2: Johnny McMullin (R) of Locust Grove.
* District 3: Brent Henderson (R) of Pleasant Plains.
* District 4: Charles Bradley Covington (R) of Batesville.
* District 5: Bill Lindsey (R) of Newark.
* District 6: Tammy Pearce (R) of Batesville.
* District 7: Jason W. Jones (R) of Batesville.
* District 8: Kenny Hurley (R) of Cushman.
* District 9: Johnathan Abbott (R) of Batesville.
* District 10: Charles Jordan (R) of Batesville.
* District 11: Dennis Stephens (R) of Batesville.

Additionally, the townships of Independence County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the Constitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.[21] The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:[22]

* Barren: Barry E. Wilkes (R)
* Big Bottom-Wycough-Logan: Jeffrey Tate (R)
* Cushman-Union: Gary Franks (R)
* Dota: Ronald Laslo (R)
* Greenbrier: Aaron Moody (R)
* Hill: Joe Shaw (R)
* Liberty: Billy E. Meeks (R)
* McHue: Anthony Mesa (R)
* Moorefield: Michael Mundy (R)
* Rosie: Chad Webb (R)
* Ruddell: Brenda Bittle (R)
* Salado: David H. Payne (R)
* Washington: Stephen Davis (R)

### Politics

[edit]

United States presidential election results for Independence County, Arkansas[23][24] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No.  | % | No.  | % | No.  | %
2024 | 11,023  | 78.67% | 2,689  | 19.19%  | 299  | 2.13%
2020 | 11,250  | 77.52% | 2,806  | 19.34%  | 456  | 3.14%
2016 | 9,936  | 72.98% | 2,881  | 21.16%  | 797  | 5.85%
2012 | 8,728  | 70.40% | 3,281  | 26.47%  | 388  | 3.13%
2008 | 8,255  | 67.12% | 3,688  | 29.99%  | 356  | 2.89%
2004 | 7,430  | 57.11% | 5,443  | 41.83%  | 138  | 1.06%
2000 | 6,145  | 53.00% | 5,146  | 44.39%  | 303  | 2.61%
1996 | 4,021  | 34.58%  | 6,240  | 53.66% | 1,367  | 11.76%
1992 | 4,232  | 32.96%  | 7,083  | 55.16% | 1,525  | 11.88%
1988 | 6,637  | 59.22% | 4,523  | 40.36%  | 48  | 0.43%
1984 | 7,428  | 62.36% | 4,415  | 37.07%  | 68  | 0.57%
1980 | 5,076  | 45.63%  | 5,683  | 51.08% | 366  | 3.29%
1976 | 2,878  | 28.79%  | 7,116  | 71.17% | 4  | 0.04%
1972 | 5,076  | 65.74% | 2,630  | 34.06%  | 15  | 0.19%
1968 | 2,782  | 35.48% | 2,289  | 29.19%  | 2,770  | 35.33%
1964 | 2,470  | 35.49%  | 4,455  | 64.01% | 35  | 0.50%
1960 | 2,639  | 49.90% | 2,487  | 47.02%  | 163  | 3.08%
1956 | 2,333  | 49.82% | 2,316  | 49.46%  | 34  | 0.73%
1952 | 2,499  | 49.95% | 2,485  | 49.67%  | 19  | 0.38%
1948 | 855  | 24.15%  | 2,340  | 66.08% | 346  | 9.77%
1944 | 1,192  | 40.00%  | 1,779  | 59.70% | 9  | 0.30%
1940 | 928  | 28.82%  | 2,276  | 70.68% | 16  | 0.50%
1936 | 685  | 24.53%  | 2,101  | 75.25% | 6  | 0.21%
1932 | 371  | 13.20%  | 2,427  | 86.34% | 13  | 0.46%
1928 | 1,150  | 43.10%  | 1,511  | 56.63% | 7  | 0.26%
1924 | 534  | 26.15%  | 1,313  | 64.30% | 195  | 9.55%
1920 | 1,077  | 39.74%  | 1,546  | 57.05% | 87  | 3.21%
1916 | 762  | 27.72%  | 1,987  | 72.28% | 0  | 0.00%
1912 | 412  | 18.73%  | 1,225  | 55.68% | 563  | 25.59%
1908 | 948  | 35.72%  | 1,529  | 57.61% | 177  | 6.67%
1904 | 736  | 39.85%  | 1,052  | 56.96% | 59  | 3.19%
1900 | 782  | 32.72%  | 1,526  | 63.85% | 82  | 3.43%
1896 | 567  | 21.19%  | 2,089  | 78.06% | 20  | 0.75%
1892 | 868  | 28.89%  | 1,792  | 59.63% | 345  | 11.48%
1888 | 324  | 9.62%  | 1,789  | 53.10% | 1,256  | 37.28%
1884 | 686  | 26.35%  | 1,917  | 73.65% | 0  | 0.00%
1880 | 495  | 24.92%  | 1,463  | 73.67% | 28  | 1.41%
1876 | 436  | 25.03%  | 1,306  | 74.97% | 0  | 0.00%
1872 | 810  | 56.21% | 631  | 43.79%  | 0  | 0.00%
1868 | 566  | 45.53%  | 677  | 54.47% | 0  | 0.00%
1860 | 0  | 0.00%  | 281  | 14.82%  | 1,615  | 85.18%
1856 | 0  | 0.00%  | 860  | 58.42% | 612  | 41.58%
1852 | 452  | 42.48%  | 612  | 57.52% | 0  | 0.00%
1848 | 422  | 50.84% | 408  | 49.16%  | 0  | 0.00%
1844 | 278  | 45.35%  | 335  | 54.65% | 0  | 0.00%
1840 | 370  | 65.14% | 198  | 34.86%  | 0  | 0.00%
1836 | 113  | 45.75%  | 134  | 54.25% | 0  | 0.00%

Over the past few election cycles Independence County has trended heavily towards the GOP. The last Democrat (as of 2024) to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1996.

## Communities

[edit]

### Cities

[edit]

* Batesville (county seat)
* Cave City
* Cushman
* Newark
* Southside

### Towns

[edit]

* Magness
* Moorefield
* Oil Trough
* Pleasant Plains
* Sulphur Rock

### Census-designated places

[edit]

* Bethesda
* Desha
* Floral
* Salado

### Other unincorporated communities

[edit]

* Antioch (Independence County)
* Cedar Grove
* Charlotte
* Cord
* Dota
* Gainsboro
* Jamestown
* Limedale
* Locust Grove
* McHue
* Pfeiffer
* Rosie
* Sandtown
* Thida
* Walnut Grove

### Townships

[edit]

Townships in Independence 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 Independence County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township. [25][26]

* Ashley
* Barren (contains part of Cave City)
* Big Bottom-Wycough-Logan Township (contains Newark)
* Black River-Marshell
* Cushman-Union (contains Cushman)
* Departee
* Dota
* Fairview (contains Pleasant Plains)
* Gainsboro
* Greenbrier
* Hill
* Huff
* Jefferson
* Liberty
* McHue (contains part of Batesville)
* Magness (contains Magness)
* Moorefield (contains Moorefield, part of Batesville)
* Oil Trough (contains Oil Trough)
* Relief
* Rosie
* Ruddell (contains most of Batesville)
* Salado
* Washington
* White River (contains Sulphur Rock)

Source:[27]

## See also

[edit]

* List of lakes in Independence County, Arkansas
* James Sturch, state representative for Independence County
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Independence County, Arkansas

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Independence County, Arkansas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 165.
4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
5. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
8. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
10. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
11. ^ Based on 2000 census data
12. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
13. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
14. ^ "Quorum Courts". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
15. ^ "Office of County Judge". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
16. ^ "County Government | Independence County". www.independencecounty.com. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
17. ^ "Independence | Association of Arkansas Counties". www.arcounties.org. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
18. ^ https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf [bare URL PDF]
19. ^ "Independence County, Arkansas, elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
20. ^ "Quorum Court | Independence County". www.independencecounty.com. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
21. ^ "What is a Constable?". What is a Constable?. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
22. ^ "Independence County, Arkansas, elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
23. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved November 18, 2016.
24. ^ "Our Campaigns". Retrieved June 22, 2025.
25. ^ 2011 Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): Independence County, AR (PDF) (Map). U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
26. ^ "Arkansas: 2010 Census Block Maps - County Subdivision". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
27. ^ "Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, CPH-1-5, Arkansas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. September 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2014. 2010 Census of Population and Housing

* v
* t
* e

Places adjacent to Independence County, Arkansas

| Izard County | Sharp County | Lawrence County

|
|

|  |
Stone County |

Independence County, Arkansas

| Jackson County
|  |
Cleburne County | White County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Independence County, Arkansas, United States

County seat: Batesville

Cities|

* Batesville
* Cave City‡
* Cushman
* Newark
* Southside

Map of Arkansas highlighting Independence County

Towns|

* Magness
* Moorefield
* Oil Trough
* Pleasant Plains
* Sulphur Rock

CDPs|

* Bethesda
* Desha
* Floral
* Salado

Other unincorporated
communities|

* Bryant
* Charlotte
* Cord
* Limedale
* Locust Grove
* Pfeiffer
* Pleasant Hill
* Rosie
* Thida

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* Arkansas portal
* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Arkansas

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