Franklin County, Arkansas
Franklin County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
Arkansas. It is part of the
Fort Smith, Arkansas-
Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of
2000, the population is 17,771. The county has two
county seats,
Charleston and
Ozark. Franklin County was formed on
December 19,
1837 and named for
Benjamin Franklin, American statesman. To the North of the Arkansas River, which bisects Franklin county, the county is wet and alcohol is sold in liqour stores and bars. To the south of the Arkansas River the county is dry.
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According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,605
km² (620
mi²). 1,579 km² (610 mi²) of it is land and 26 km² (10 mi²) of it (1.63%) is water.
Major Highways
*
Interstate 40*
U.S. Highway 64*
Arkansas State Highway 22*
Arkansas State Highway 23*
Arkansas State Highway 41*
Arkansas State Highway 60*
Arkansas State Highway 96Adjacent counties
*
Madison County (north)
*
Johnson County (east)
*
Logan County (southeast)
*
Sebastian County (southwest)
*
Crawford County (west)
As of the
census2 of 2000, there were 17,771 people, 6,882 households, and 4,961 families residing in the county. The
population density was 11/km² (29/mi²). There were 7,673 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/mi²). 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 the
poverty line, including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.
Franklin County was carved out of Crawford County in Dec 1837. At that time, Franklin was significantly larger than it is at present, it encompassed part of Logan County which was formed later, in 1871.
At first there was a single courthouse at Ozark, but later, after complaints about how difficult it was to cross the river at times, two courthouses were created, with the second one at Charleston, sometime in the 1890s.
