Monroe County, Arkansas

administration
Downtown Clarendon - in the background the Monroe County Courthouse , listed in the NRHP since 1976
US state :	Arkansas
Administrative headquarters :	Clarendon
Address of the administrative headquarters:	County Courthouse 123 Madison Street Clarendon, AR 72029-2704
Foundation :	November 2, 1829
Made up from:	Arkansas County Phillips County
Area code :	001 870
Demographics
Residents :	8149 (2010)
Population density :	5.2 inhabitants / km ²
geography
Total area :	1609 km²
Water surface :	38 km²
map

The Monroe County is a county in the US state of Arkansas . The county seat is Clarendon .

geography

The county is located in east-central Arkansas, about 30 km to the southeast from the Mississippi , which forms the border with Tennessee , and has an area of 1,609 square kilometers, of which 38 square kilometers are water. The following counties border Monroe County:

	Woodruff County	St. Francis County
Prairie County		Lee County
Arkansas County		Phillips County

history

J. Monroe

Monroe County was formed on November 2, 1829 from parts of Arkansas County and Phillips County. It was named James Monroe (1758-1831), the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825).

The first Europeans in the area were Antoine Tessier and Joseph de Plasse in 1799 , fishermen and hunters who lived at the mouth of the Cache River .

When the first settlers arrived here, they found a natural forest in most of the area. The unwooded areas were used for growing grain and beans. Beech, oak, ash and cypress dominated the trees. The huntable animals included turkeys, deer, geese, ducks and bears. Most of the new settlers came over the White River .

Demographic data

growth of population
Census	Residents	± in%
1830	461	-
1840	936	103%
1850	2049	118.9%
1860	5657	176.1%
1870	8336	47.4%
1880	9574	14.9%
1890	15,336	60.2%
1900	16,816	9.7%
1910	19,907	18.4%
1920	21,601	8.5%
1930	20,651	-4.4%
1940	21,133	2.3%
1950	19,540	-7.5%
1960	17,327	-11.3%
1970	15,657	-9.6%
1980	14.052	-10.3%
1990	11,333	-19.3%
2000	10,254	-9.5%
2010	8149	-20.5%
1830-1890 1900-1990 2000 2010

According to the 2010 census , Monroe County had 8,149 people in 3,739 households. The population density was 5.2 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The racial the population was composed of 56.3 percent white, 40.9 percent African American, 0.4 percent Native American, 0.4 percent Asian and other ethnic groups; 1.2 percent were descended from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 1.6 percent of the population.

Statistically, 2.25 people lived in each of the 3,739 households.

23.1 percent of the population were under 18 years old, 57.7 percent were between 18 and 64 and 19.2 percent were 65 years or older. 53.3 percent of the population was female.

The median income for a household was 26,054 USD . The per capita income was $ 16,445. 27.5 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.