Crittenden County, Arkansas

Crittenden County Education, Geography, and History

Crittenden County is a county located in the state of Arkansas. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 50,902. The county seat is Marion, and the largest city is West Memphis. Crittenden County is Arkansas's twelfth county, formed October 22, 1825. Crittenden county is named for Robert Crittenden, the first Secretary of the Arkansas Territory.

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.

Etymology - Origin of Crittenden County Name

Crittenden county is named for Robert Crittenden, the first secretary and an acting governor of the Arkansas Territory. Robert Crittenden (1 January 1797 - 18 December 1834) was Governor of Arkansas Territory and co-founder of Rose Law Firm. Robert Crittenden was born near Versailles, Kentucky.

Crittenden served as Secretary of Arkansas Territory from 1819 to 1829. He served as Governor of Arkansas while James Miller was delayed for an extended period en route to Arkansas. Crittenden called the first legislature into session and took responsibility for organizing the new territory. Crittenden was never officially appointed Governor of the territory but amassed considerable political power. Crittenden was a primary leader in preparing the territory for statehood.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Crittenden County History

Crittenden county was created on October 22, 1825, and was the 12th county to be created in Arkansas Territory and was named for Robert Crittenden.  Marion is the county seat. The Mississippi River, two interstates, and three major railroads provide transportation options with Memphis just across the river. The largest manmade attraction in the county is the Southland Greyhound dog-racing park.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the 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.

The county is a rich, delta farmland with the Mississippi River forming the eastern boundary. The Mississippi River changed its course, in the past, a natural lake was formed and it is now called Horseshoe Lake that features boating and water skiing. Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge has 1,800 acres of freshwater impoundment that takes in a cypress-willow swamp teeming with wildlife.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Mississippi County; Tipton County, Tenn.
• East: Shelby County, Tenn.
• Southeast: DeSoto County, Miss.
• South: Tunica County, Miss.
• Southwest: Lee County; St. Francis County
• West: Cross County
• Northwest: Poinsett County

Education

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