Boone County

History

Boone County was formed from the eastern portion of Carroll County. Contrary to popular belief, it was not named for frontiersman Daniel Boone. It was originally called Boon, since the residents believed it would be a "boon" to all who settled there. The county's first newspaper, begun in 1870, was the Boon County Advocate. However, when Governor Powell Clayton signed the act, creating the county 1869 it was titled An Act to Organize and Establish the County of Boone and for Other Purposes. So for whatever reason an "'e'" was added.

White supremacy

In 1905 and 1909, race riots were conducted to drive African-Americans out of the area. Boone County was marketed as an all-white sundown county into the 1920s. Boone County serves as the national headquarters of the white supremacy organization Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, led by Zinc resident Thomas Robb, who pastors a nearby Christian church. In 2017, Boone County Judge Robert Hathaway signed proclamations recognizing June as Confederate Heritage and History Month, and issued a similar proclamation for April 2019.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 602 square miles (1,560 km2), of which 590 sq mi (1,500 km2) is land and 12 sq mi (31 km2) (1.9%) is water. The county is located in the northwest portion of the state, and borders Missouri to the north.

The county lies entirely within the Ozark Mountains. Rolling hills of the Springfield and Salem Plateaus characterize the majority of the topography, with the more rugged Boston Mountains lying just to the south. Isolated peaks of the Boston Mountain range are found in the south, including Boat Mountain, Pilot's Knob, and Gaither Mountain. Portions of Bull Shoals Lake and Table Rock Lake lie in the northeast and northwest corners, respectively.

Hydrology

Boone County is predominantly located within the Bull Shoals Lake watershed, with a small segment west of US 65 within the Beaver Lake/Table Rock Lake watershed and a small area in the southwestern corner of the county serving as the headwaters of the Buffalo National River watershed. Crooked Creek drains much of Boone County to Bull Shoals Lake, with Long Creek and Osage Creek ultimately draining to Table Rock Lake.

Adjacent counties

Taney County, Missouri (north)

Marion County (east)

Searcy County (southeast)

Newton County (south)

Carroll County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 37,373. The median age was 43.0 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 91.3% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 6.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population.

37.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 62.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 15,455 households in the county, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.5% were married-couple households, 17.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 17,368 housing units, of which 11.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.6% were owner-occupied and 28.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 33,948 people, 13,851 households, and 9,861 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 inhabitants per square mile (22/km2). There were 15,426 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.60% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 13,851 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,988, and the median income for a family was $34,974. Males had a median income of $27,114 versus $19,229 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,175. About 10.70% of families and 14.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.00% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public school districts

School districts include:

Alpena

Bergman

Harrison

Lead Hill

Omaha

Valley Springs

Higher education

North Arkansas College

Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Boone County Quorum Court has eleven members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief operating officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.

The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 11 Republicans. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:

District 1: Matt Odom (R) of Harrison

District 2: Glenn Redding (R) of Harrison

District 3: Heath Kirkpatrick (R) of Harrison

District 4: Bryan Snavely (R) of Harrison

District 5: Kyle Evatt (R) of Harrison

District 6: Sam Tinsley (R) of Harrison

District 7: Rodney Sullins (R) of Everton

District 8: Shane M. Jones (R) of Harrison

District 9: Ralph H. Guynn (R) of Harrison

District 10: Bill Melbourne (R) of Omaha

District 11: David Thompson (R) of Lead Hill

Additionally, the townships of Boone County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the Constitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult. The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:

Communities

Cities

Diamond City

Harrison (county seat)

Census-designated place

Batavia

Unincorporated communities

Bear Creek Springs

Capps

Hopewell

Little Arkansaw

Self

Historic communities

Elixir was a town in the vicinity of many springs. It was nearby present day Bergman. Heavy rains flooded the town in 1883, which was a major factor in its decline by 1892. In the 1880s, both Lead Hill and Elixir were expecting a railroad but none materialized. This also helped the town's decline. Although the town is gone, the township of Elixir remains and currently contains Bergman.

Keener was a town around one mile south of present-day Bergman. Keener was strong in the 1880s and had a population of about 1,000 people. But, Keener began to decline fast by 1892.

Townships

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of Boone County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township.

Former townships include Bear Creek, Crooked Creek, Elmwood, Harrison, Washington, and Young.

Chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease has been found in Boone County as well as Benton, Carroll, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Sebastian, Scott, and Washington counties.