- Franklin County, Arkansas
Infobox U.S. County
county = Franklin County
state = Arkansas
map size = 225
founded =December 19 ,1837
seat = Ozark (northern district);
Charleston (southern district)| area_total_sq_mi =620
area_land_sq_mi =610
area_water_sq_mi =10
area percentage = 1.63%
census yr = 2000
pop = 17771
density_km2 =11
web =
|Franklin County is a
county located in theU.S. state ofArkansas . It is part of the Fort Smith,Arkansas -Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2000, the population was 17,771. The county has twocounty seat s, Charleston and Ozark.GR|6 Franklin County was formed onDecember 19 ,1837 and named forBenjamin Franklin , American statesman. To the north of theArkansas River , which bisects Franklin County, the county is wet and alcohol is sold in liquor stores, bars and localvineyard s. To the south of the Arkansas River, the county is dry.History
Franklin County was carved out of Crawford County in December 1837. At that time, Franklin was significantly larger than it is at present, encompassing part of present-day Logan County which was formed in 1871.
Initially, the county had a single courthouse at Ozark. Later, after complaints about how difficult it was to cross the river at times, a second courthouse was established at Charleston, sometime in the 1890s.
The reality television show,
The Simple Life , starringNicole Richie andParis Hilton was filmed in Altus in 2003.Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 620square mile s (1,605km² ), of which, 610 square miles (1,579 km²) of it is land and 10 square miles (26 km²) of it (1.63%) is water.Major highways
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*Adjacent counties
*Madison County (north)
*Johnson County (east)
*Logan County (southeast)
*Sebastian County (southwest)
*Crawford County (west)National
protected area *
Ozark National Forest (part)Demographics
As of the
census GR|2 of 2000, there were 17,771 people, 6,882 households, and 4,961 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 7,673 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.17% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. 1.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 6,882 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,848, and the median income for a family was $36,189. Males had a median income of $27,907 versus $18,822 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $14,616. About 10.60% of families and 15.20% of the population were below thepoverty line , including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.Cities and towns
References
Further reading
*Shropshire, Lola. "Franklin County, Arkansas: Images of America", Arcadia Publishing, 128 pages, Aug 2000 ISBN 0-7385-0882-9
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