Arkansas County Resources
This entry was originally written by Wendy Bebout Elliott, Ph.D., FUGA for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Arkansas county vital, land, and probate records are held by the county clerk, with some counties having two courthouses. This is indicated by 'and' followed by a second address. Either one might have been used for recording purposes. Some county clerks also maintain court records, but most are at the office of the clerk of the circuit court. Addresses for county courthouses are given at www.accessarkansas.org/government_local.php. Most Arkansas counties do not provide online services; however, postings on this site include current telephone numbers for each county judge's office. Calls can be transferred to the county clerk and/or clerk of the circuit court's offices. A random check indicates most telephone listings are current, but some listings show 501 prefixes, which have now changed to 479.
Dates given are for the first known records in the category in that county; these dates do not imply that all records are extant from that date. For data concerning county record losses, creation dates, boundary changes, and additional information, see Russell Pierce Baker, Guide to the Microfilmed County Records at the Arkansas History Commission (Conway, Ark.: Professional Genealogists of Arkansas, 1989), and James Logan Morgan, A Survey of the County Records of Arkansas (Newport, Ark.: Arkansas Records Association, 1972). Both were used in compiling the chart that follows.
Although 1914 was the date of initial registration of births and deaths, compliance was extremely limited; therefore, only a small percentage of actual births and deaths were recorded during the first decades after the law was enacted. For that reason, beginning dates of births and deaths are not given in the chart. Parent counties are those defined here as those in session laws. Later boundary changes between counties also occurred, but these are not included. See the Baker and Morgan sources cited above for this information.
| Map | County | County Address | Date Formed | Parent County(ies) | Birth | Marriage | Death | Land | Probate | Court | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F6 | Arkansas | 101 Court Sq, De Witt 72042 | 1813 | original | 1839 | 1808 | 1809 | 1819 | ||||
| H5 | Ashley | 215 E Jefferson St, Hamburg 71646 | 1848 | Chicot/Union/Drew | 1848 | 1849 | 1849 | 1849 | ||||
| B4 | Baxter | 1 E 7th St, Mountain Home 72653 | 1873 | Fulton/Izard/Marion/Searcy | 1873 | 1876 | 1874 | 1874 | ||||
| B1 | Benton | 215 E Central Bentonville 72712 | 1836 | Washington | 1861 | 1837 | 1866 | 1837 | ||||
| B3 | Boone | 100 N Main St, Harrison 72601 | 1869 | Carroll/Marion | 1869 | 1869 | 1869 | 1869 | ||||
| G5 | Bradley | 101 E Cedar St, Warren 71671 | 1840 | Union | 1846 | 1841 | 1850 | 1841 | ||||
| G4 | Calhoun | Main Street/P.O. Box 566, Hampton 71744 | 1850 | Dallas/Ouachita/Union | 1851 | 1851 | 1880 | 1880 | ||||
| B2 | Carroll | 210 W Church St, Berryville 72616 and 44 S Main St, Eureka Springs 72632 | 1833 | Izard | 1870 | 1870 | 1870 | 1870 | ||||
| H6 | Chicot | 108 N Main St, Lake Village 71653 | 1823 | Arkansas | 1840 | 1823 | 1839 | 1824 | ||||
| F3 | Clark | 401 Clay St, Arkadelphia 71923 | 1818 | Arkansas | 1821 | 1819 | 1840 | 1838 | ||||
| B7 | Clay | 151 S 2nd Ave, Piggott 72454 and 800 W 2nd St, Corning 72422 | 1873 | Randolph/Greene | 1893 | 1893 | 1893 | 1893 | ||||
| C5 | Cleburne | 301 W Main St, Heber Springs 72543 | 1883 | White/ Van Buren/ Independence | 1883 | 1883 | 1883 | 1883 | ||||
| G5 | Cleveland | 20 Magnolia St/ P.O. Box 348, Rison 71665 | 1873 ( as Dorsey; renamed, 1885) | Bradley/Dallas/Jefferson/Lincoln | 1880 | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | ||||
| Created as Dorsey County; name changed to Cleveland in 1888 | ||||||||||||
| H3 | Columbia | 1 Court Sq, Magnolia 71753 | 1852 | Layfayette/Hempstead/Ouachita/Union | 1853 | 1853 | 1853 | 1860 | ||||
| D4 | Conway | 117 S Moose St, Morrilton 72110 | 1825 | Pulaski | 1858 | 1825 | 1837 | 1842 | ||||
| C7 | Craighead | 511 S Main St, Jonesboro 72401 and 107 Cobean St, Lake City 72437 | 1859 | Mississippi/Greene/Poinsett | 1878 | 1900 | 1878 | 1878 | ||||
| C1 | Crawford | 300 Main St, van Buren 72956 | 1820 | Pulaski | 1877 | 1877 | 1877 | 1877 | ||||
| D8 | Crittenden | 100 Court Sq, Marion 72364 | 1825 | Phillips | 1837 | 1826 | 1839 | 1826 | ||||
| D7 | Cross | 705 E Union St, Wynne 72396 | 1862 | Crittenden/Poinsett/St. Francis | 1863 | 1863 | 1865 | 1863 | 1865 | |||
| F4 | Dallas | 202 3rd St West, Fordyce 71742 | 1845 | Clark/Bradley | 1855 | 1845 | 1845 | 1845 | ||||
| G6 | Desha | Robert S. Moore St/P.O. Box 188, Arkansas City 71630 | 1838 | Arkansas | 1865 | 1839 | 1852 | 1840 | ||||
| *During courthouse renovation, records will be held at 604 President St, Arkansas City, AR 71630 | ||||||||||||
| Dorsey | 1873 ( renamed Cleveland, 1885) | |||||||||||
| G5 | Drew | 210 S Main, Monticello 71655 | 1846 | Arkansas/Bradley | 1847 | 1847 | 1847 | 1847 | ||||
| D4 | Faulkner | 801 Locust St, Conway 72034 | 1873 | Pulaski/Conway | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | ||||
| C2 | Franklin | 211 W Commercial St, Ozark 72949 and 606 E Main St Charleston 72933 | 1837 | Crawford | 1850 | 1837 | 1838 | 1852 | ||||
| B5 | Fulton | 123 S Main, Salem 72576 | 1842 | Izard | 1887 | 1870 | 1870 | 1870 | ||||
| E3 | Garland | 501 Ouachita Ave, Hot Springs 71901 | 1873 | Montgomery/ Hot Spring/ Saline | 1874 | 1873 | 1877 | 1874 | ||||
| F4 | Grant | 101 W Center, Sheridan 72150 | 1869 | Jefferson/Hot Spring/ Saline | 1877 | 1877 | 1877 | 1877 | ||||
| B7 | Greene | 320 W Court St, Paragould 72451 | 1833 | Lawrence | 1876 | 1858 | 1876 | 1871 | ||||
| G2 | Hempstead | 400 S Washington St, Hope 71802 | 1818 | Arkansas | 1823 | 1900 | 1826 | 1819 | ||||
| F3 | Hot Spring | 210 Locust St Malvern 72104 | 1829 | Clark | 1825 | 1831 | 1834 | 1843 | ||||
| F2 | Howard | 421 N Main St, Nashville 71852 | 1873 | Pike/Hempstead/Polk/Sevier | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | ||||
| C6 | Independence | 192 E Main St, Batesville 72501 | 1820 | Arkansas/Lawrence | 1826 | 1820 | 1839 | 1821 | ||||
| B5 | Izard | Main and Lunen St, Melbourne 72556 | 1825 | Independence/Fulton | 1889 | 1889 | 1889 | 1889 | ||||
| C6 | Jackson | 208 Main St Newport 72112 | 1829 | Independence | 1843 | 1845 | 1845 | 1845 | ||||
| F5 | Jefferson | 101 W Barraque St, Pine Bluff 71601 | 1829 | Arkansas/ Pulaski | 1830 | 1830 | 1829 | 1837 | ||||
| C3 | Johnson | 215 W Main/ P.O. Box 57 Clarksville 72830 | 1833 | Pope | 1855 | 1836 | 1844 | 1841 | ||||
| H2 | Layfayette | 2 Courthouse Sq, Lewisville 71845 | 1827 | Hempstead | 1828 | 1828 | 1828 | 1828 | ||||
| B6 | Lawrence | 315 W Main Walnut Ridge 72476 | 1815 | New Madrid, Mo. | 1821 | 1815 | 1817 | 1816 | ||||
| E7 | Lee | 15 E Chesnut St, Marianna 72360 | 1873 | Phillips/Monroe/Crittenden/Saint Francis | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | ||||
| F5 | Lincoln | 300 S Drew St, Star City 71667 | 1871 | Arkansas/Bradley/Desha/Drew/ Jefferson | 1871 | 1871 | 1871 | 1871 | ||||
| G1 | Little River | 351 N 2nd St, Ashdown 71822 | 1867 | Hempstead/Sevier | 1880 | 1867 | 1880 | 1868 | ||||
| D2 | Logan | 25 W Walnut St, Paris 72855 and 366 N Broadway Booneville 72927 | 1875 | Franklin/Scott/Yell/Johnson | 1877 | 1878 | 1873 | 1877 | ||||
| Created as Sarber County in 1871; name changed to Logan in 1875 | ||||||||||||
| E5 | Lonoke | 3rd and Center St, Lonoke 72086 | 1873 | Pulaski/Prairie | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | ||||
| Lovely | 1827 ( abolished, 1828) | Crawford/Lovely Purchase | ||||||||||
| B2 | Madison | 1 Main St, Huntsville 72740 | 1836 | Washington/Carroll | 1896 | 1843 | 1901 | 1866 | ||||
| B4 | Marion | Hwy. 62 Yellville 72687 | 1835 | Izard | 1887 | 1887 | 1887 | 1887 | ||||
| Formerly Searcy County; changed name to Marion County, 1836 | ||||||||||||
| Miller (old) | 1820 (abolished, 1838; see also Texas) | Hempstead | ||||||||||
| In 1828 a boundary change left old Miller County entirely in Texas. In 1838, it was abolished to create a Red River County, Texas. Extant records at Arkansas History Commission include probate (1830-35); and tax records (1832, 1837) . | ||||||||||||
| H2 | Miller (present) | 400 Laurel St, Texakrana 71854 | 1874 | Lafayette | 1875 | 1874 | 1874 | 1874 | ||||
| C8 | Mississippi | 200 W. Walnut Blytheville 72315 and Osceola 72370 | 1833 | Crittenden | 1850 | 1865 | 1865 | 1865 | ||||
| E6 | Monroe | 123 Madison St, Clarendon 72029 | 1829 | Crittenden | 1850 | 1829 | 1839 | 1830 | ||||
| E2 | Montgomery | 105 Hwy 270 East, Mount Ida 71957 | 1842 | Hot Spring | 1845 | 1845 | 1845 | 1845 | ||||
| G3 | Nevada | 215 E. 2nd St. South, Prescott 71857 | 1871 | Hempstead/Columbia/Ouachita | 1871 | 1871 | 1871 | 1871 | ||||
| New Madrid | (now in Missouri) | |||||||||||
| B3 | Newton | 100 E. Court St, Jasper 72641 | 1842 | Carroll | 1866 | 1866 | 1880 | 1880 | ||||
| G3 | Ouachita | 145 Jefferson St SW, Camden 71711 | 1842 | Union | 1842 | 1869 | 1876 | 1875 | ||||
| D4 | Perry | Main Street/P.O. Box 358, Perryville 72126 | 1840 | Conway | 1882 | 1882 | 1882 | 1882 | ||||
| E7 | Phillips | 600 Cherry St, Helena 72342 | 1820 | Arkansas | 1831 | 1820 | 1850 | 1820 | ||||
| F2 | Pike | 225 S Washington, Murfreesboro 71958 | 1833 | Clark/Hempstead | 1895 | 1895 | 1895 | 1895 | ||||
| C7 | Poinsett | 401 Market St, Harrisburg 72432 | 1838 | Greene/St. Francis | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | 1871 | ||||
| E1 | Polk | 507 Church St, Mena 71953 | 1844 | Sevier | 1881 | 1885 | 1900 | 1885 | ||||
| C3 | Pope | 100 W. Main St, Russellville 72801 | 1829 | Crawford | 1830 | 1965 | 1828 | 1844 | 1857 | |||
| E6 | Prairie | 200 Court Sq./P.O. Box 1101, Des Arc 72040 and 1 Magnolia St (So. District) De Valls Bluff 72041 | 1846 | Pulaski | 1854 | 1854 | 1854 | 1854 | ||||
| E4 | Pulaski | 201 S. Broadway, Little Rock 72201 | 1818 | Arkansas | 1839 | 1819 | 1820 | 1839 | ||||
| B6 | Randolph | 107 W Broadway, Pocahontas 72455 | 1835 | Lawrence | 1837 | 1836 | 1837 | 1836 | ||||
| D7 | St. Francis | 313 S. Izard St, Forrest City 72335 | 1827 | Philips | 1875 | 1860 | 1910 | 1872 | ||||
| E4 | Saline | 200 N Main St, Benton 72015 | 1835 | Pulaski | 1836 | 1871 | 1836 | 1836 | ||||
| Sarber | (see Logan) | |||||||||||
| E1 | Scott | 100 W First St, Waldron 72958 | 1833 | Crawford/Pope | 1833 | 1882 | 1882 | 1882 | ||||
| B4 | Searcy | U.S. Hwy. 65, Marshall 72650 | 1838 | Marion | 1881 | 1866 | 1881 | 1881 | ||||
| D1 | Sebastian | 35 S Sixth, Fort Smith 72901 and 312 E. Center (So District) Greenwood 72936 | 1851 | Scott/Polk/Crawford | 1865 | 1861 | 1865 | 1851 | ||||
| F1 | Savier | 115 N Third, De Queen 71832 | 1828 | Hempstead/Miller (old) | 1829 | 1830 | 1829 | 1830 | ||||
| B6 | Sharp | U.S. Hwy 167 North, Ash Flat 72513 | 1868 | Lawrence | 1880 | 1880 | 1880 | 1880 | ||||
| C5 | Stone | Main Street/P.O. Box 1437, Mountain View 72560 | 1873 | Izard/Independence/ Searcy/ Van Buren | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | 1873 | ||||
| H4 | Union | 101 N Washington, El Dorado 71730 | 1829 | Hempstead/Clark | 1847 | 1830 | 1839 | 1830 | ||||
| C4 | Van Buren | 106 E Main St/ P.O. Box 180, Clinton 72031 | 1833 | Independence/Conway/Izard | 1859 | 1855 | 1859 | 1859 | ||||
| B1 | Washington | 280 N College Ave, Fayetteville 72701 | 1828 | Crawford/Lovely | 1845 | 1834 | 1830 | 1835 | ||||
| Whashita | (alternate spelling of Ouachita) | |||||||||||
| D5 | White | 300 N Spruce, Searcy 72143 | 1835 | Pulaski/Jackson/Independence | 1836 | 1837 | 1848 | 1836 | ||||
| D6 | Woodruff | 500 N Third St, Augusta 72006 | 1862 | Jackson/St. Francis | 1865 | 1851 | 1865 | 1865 | ||||
| D3 | Yell | Main Street, Danville 72833 and Dardanelle 72834 | 1840 | Pope/Scott | 1865 | 1849 | 1858 | 1865 | ||||
