A Short History of Desha County
January 1839 saw the formation of a new county along the Mississippi River in Southeast Arkansas. It was named “in honor of the late Colonel Ben Desha” (pronounced “De-Shay”). The 1840 U.S. Census reported a population of 2794, 1598 of whom were slaves.
From 1861 on, through a series of boundary changes, Desha County lost most of its western uplands to neighboring counties, but gained in 1879 a large slice of northern Chicot County. This acquisition includes what are now the towns and communities of McArthur, Arkansas City, Masonville, Halley, Trippe Junction, part of Tillar, Reed and McGehee. Desha County now consists of approximately 805 square miles of rich delta land with bountiful fish and game.
Belleville, later Red Fork, was Desha’s first permanent county seat. In 1843, the seat was moved to Napolean, then to Watson in 1874, and finally to Arkansas City in 1881 where it remains today.
Surrounding Counties
This county is adoptable. If interested, contact the ARGenWeb State Coordinator.
These pages are maintained in memory of Louis Reitzammer who started this project in 1996 and retired in 2005 at the young age of 91!
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