What happened to these Arkansas counties and why do they no longer exist?

Kyler Swaim
·2 min read
2

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Counties have come and gone in Arkansas’ history and five of them are no longer with us.

Here are the five counties that no longer exist and what happened to them:

Clayton County (1873-75)

Clayton County was established as the state’s 67th county in 1873, named after state senator John M. Clayton, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Citizens in the county didn’t like the county was named Clayton.

“County citizens were displeased that the namesake of Clayton County was the brother of Powell Clayton, the first Republican Reconstruction governor, who had declared martial law in the area (then part of Greene County), due to violence targeted toward freedmen and Southern Unionists, and who did not allow the county to participate in the fall elections of 1868,” CALS said.

A bill by attorney E. Foster Brown was submitted successfully in the 1875 General Assembly, which shortened the county name to Clay County in honor of Secretary of State Henry Clay.

Did your county exist when Arkansas became a state?

Dorsey County (1873-85)

Dorsey County became the 71st county in Arkansas in 1873 named after congressman Stephen Dorsey. The name stood for 12 years but was changed after Dorsey had a falling out with Arkansans and petitioned for a name change.

According to the Association of Arkansas Counties, it was named Cleveland County in 1885, after the 22nd and 24th U.S. president, Grover Cleveland.

Lovely County (1827-28)

Only around for a year, Lovely County included all or part of present-day Benton, Washington, and Crawford counties in Arkansas along with parts of present-day Delaware, Mayes, Cherokee, Adair, Wagoner, Muskogee and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma.

As part of the Arkansas Territory, Lovely County was named after Major William Lewis Lovely, an Indian agent to the Arkansas Cherokee.

After being established in 1827, the county quickly met its demise in 1828 after a change in the western boundary of the Arkansas Territory was made.

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Miller County (1820-28)

Miller County was first established in 1820 and named after the first governor of the Arkansas Territory, James Miller. It included portions of present-day Miller County and 11 Texas counties, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

However, the county was abolished in 1838, two years after Texas declared its independence from Mexico. CALS says the county was problematic because Mexico claimed much of eastern Texas then.

The county was reestablished in 1874 with Texarkana as the city seat.

Sarber County (1871-75)

Sarber County became the 64th county in 1871, named after Senator John Sarber.

However, some Arkansans believed Sarber was a “Yankee carpetbagger.”

“Sarber County Democrats vehemently opposed the county being named after Sarber,” the Encyclopedia of Arkansas said.

The county was renamed Logan County in 1875, honoring Indian agent James Logan.

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