Greene County, Arkansas, lies in the northeastern part of the State. It is bounded on the north by Clay County; on the east by the St. Francis River, which separates it from Dunklin Co., Missouri; on the south by Craighead Co.; and on the west by Lawrence and Randolph Counties. The county was named after Nathaniel Greene, an American general in the Revolutionary War. Crowley’s Ridge extends in a southwesterly direction through Greene County, with a width varying from five to ten miles and slopes gently on either side to the level of the bottom lands.
There are three incorporated towns in the county, namely: Paragould, Marmaduke, and Delaplaine. In addition, there are a number of villages and settlements, including Bard, Bethel, Bertig, Brighton, Beech Grove, Gainsville, Halliday, Fontaine, Hooker, Lafe, Light, Lorado, Stanford, Stonewall, and Walcott.
The oldest Assessment Book in the County Court House is a tax assessment book for 1866. This was evidently kept in private possession, or it would not have survived the fires that destroyed three court houses after that date.
The first court on Crowley’s Ridge convened in 1833 under the shade of twin oaks and near a spring on the Crowley plantation. Benjamin Crowley entertained the visitors in his home. He and Reverend Isaac Brookfield led in a movement to form a new county, which was to be taken from the eastern end of Lawrence County and was to be named after Nathaniel Greene.
Other Communities which contain, in general , one or two stores , a cotton gin, and a school are Beech Grove, Light, Stanford, Bard, and Fontaine. Additional settlements are Finch, Hooker, Stonewall, White Oak, Bethel, Brighton, Lorado, and Halliday.
- 1874 Diary of Judge James Edward Reddick
- 1902 Chancery Court Newspaper Article
- 1930 – 137 Citizens aged 75 years or more
- County Officials 1800’s to 1900’s
- Greene County Community Histories
- Greene County Poor Farm
The Greene County Poor Farm, established in 1891 for the care of the impoverished, faced significant deterioration and neglect over the years. Initially well-intentioned, it became synonymous with poor living conditions, leading to public outcry and media scrutiny in the early 1900s. - Greene County Recollections
In 1946, Lucian G. Crowley penned insightful letters to Walter McLeod, exploring their shared ancestry and the history of Greene County, Arkansas. The correspondence discusses family connections, including the Crowley lineage and notable events like the Oliphant Train Robbery. - Northeast Arkansas Biographies and Historical Memoirs
- Old Banks 1800’s to 1900’s
- The Shooting of Nancy Newberry in 1875
This article recounts the story of Nancy Newberry, a widowed farmer in Greene County, who was targeted and shot by a laborer named Conroy for her hidden earnings from corn sales during a drought. After his capture, Conroy penned this reflective ode while incarcerated, lamenting his actions and the consequences he faced. - Some of Greene County’s Oldest Native Citizens
- Timeline of Paragould and Greene County Arkansas
- The Vowell–Lovejoy Killing and Its Aftermath
Timber Industry
For forty years after the coming of the railroads to Greene County, the principal industry of the county dealt with the timber business. Individuals, intent upon clearing crop land, cut the trees and hauled them to the sawmills, securing good prices for the timber. In some cases, commercial interests bought land at a relatively low cost, stripped it of valuable timber, and left it to be sold for taxes.
In 1889, there were thirty-four steam power sawmills, six stave factories, one shingle mill, and two planing mills within the county. One of these, the J. M. Reed Lumber Company, had capacity for cutting 100,000 feet of lumber per day. Most of the sawmills had cotton gins and some grist mills attached.
Some of the mill owners: John W. Hooker owned a lumbering mill, situated on the Iron Mountain Railroad eight miles below Knobel. This mill had a capacity of 10,000 feet per day, utilizing in large measure the timber from Mr. Hooker’s 540-acre farm.
Henry Wrape, manufacturer of tight barrel staves at Paragould, employed about fifty men and turned out about five million barrel staves per year.
W. C. Hasty also employed about fifty men (picture on our Picture Gallery Page) in a lumber mill.
L. G. Dillman owned several sawmills turning out lumber for building material.
John F. Brinkman & Son, manufacturers of tight barrel staves, opened their plant in 1888.
C. P. Huckabay, the leading mill man, is now the owner of 1,000 acres of land with seventy-five acres under cultivation. Being the owner of two large sawmills, one located at Marmaduke and the other in the vicinity, he is now building a tram road three and a half miles into the woods, which will be connected with the road of Mr. Rosengrant.
These notes were found in History of Greene County Arkansas, author Vivian Hansbrough.
Agriculture
In the early days of Greene County, the livelihood of practically every individual depended upon some type of farming for at least a portion of the year.
The two most cultivated crops in the entire history of the county have been cotton and corn. Cotton was the sole cash crop of almost every family until the coming of the railroads. Corn has maintained an important place in the life of the county. It was used in the early days mainly for food—bread and hominy, a major item in the daily life—and as feed for horses, mules, chickens, and occasionally pigs.
In 1900, roller mills at Lafe, Marmaduke, and Paragould received wheat that was grown and threshed over much of the county.
With the coming of the railroads, a quick method of transportation to St. Louis markets was furnished. The growing of cattle and hogs began to occupy a prominent place in agriculture.
Since 1920, farmers have turned much attention—on nearly every farm there is now grown cotton, corn, hay, sorghum, soybeans, truck gardens, dairy or beef cattle, hogs, and poultry.