CALHOUN COUNTY, AR HISTORY AND LOOKUP
County History Books
*None Listed
Calhoun County, Arkansas: A Genealogical Overview
Located in the timberlands of southern Arkansas, Calhoun county has a history deeply rooted in the antebellum cotton economy and the vast lumber industry that followed. Its mid-19th century formation from two older counties is a key starting point for genealogical researchers tracing families in this rural region.
I. County Formation and Evolution
For genealogists, Calhoun county’s formation means that any records for ancestors living in the area before 1850 must be sought in the records of its parent counties.
- 1850: County Formed: Calhoun county was established on December 6, 1850, by an act of the Arkansas General Assembly.
- Parent Counties: It was created from portions of Dallas and Ouachita counties.
- Name Origin: The county was named in honor of John C. Calhoun, a prominent American statesman from South Carolina who served as U.S. Vice President, Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and a U.S. Senator.
- County Seat History: The county seat was established in Hampton, and it has remained there throughout the county’s history.
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: The land that would become Calhoun county was historically part of the territory of the Caddo and Quapaw Native American tribes.
- Antebellum Settlement and Economy: American settlers began arriving from other southern states like Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama in the 1840s. They established an economy based on the cotton plantation system, which was dependent on the labor of enslaved African Americans. The Ouachita River served as an early transportation route for shipping cotton to market.
- Post-Civil War Economy: After the Civil War, the county’s economy underwent a significant shift. With the depletion of the soil from cotton farming and the end of slavery, the vast pine forests became the primary economic resource. The arrival of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (the “Cotton Belt Route”) in the late 19th century fueled a boom in the timber industry that defined the county for decades.
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Calhoun county, Arkansas.
- Courthouse:
- Calhoun County Clerk’s Office: Located at 300 South Main Street, Hampton, AR 71744. In Arkansas, the County Clerk maintains land records (deeds) and marriage licenses. The same office also functions as the Probate Clerk, holding wills, estate files, and guardianship records from the county’s formation. For records prior to 1850, researchers must consult the records of the parent counties: Dallas and Ouachita.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: Statewide registration in Arkansas began in February 1914. Records are held by the Arkansas Department of Health. Records prior to 1914 are generally not available.
- Marriage Records: Marriage records from 1851 to the present are held by the Calhoun County Clerk’s Office. Statewide registration began in 1917, but the county is the primary repository for its own records.
- Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Calhoun County Library: Located at 200 South Main Street, Hampton, AR 71744. The library has resources for local history and genealogical research, including census records on microfilm, local newspapers, and area histories.
- Bordering Jurisdictions:
- Bradley county
- Cleveland county
- Dallas county
- Ouachita county
- Union county