Desha County

Arkansas City (Desha County)
Arkansas City is a small town with a population of fewer than 400 people, as of the 2010 Census. Located in so...
Arkansas City Executions of 1902
Lawrence Dunlap and David Jobe, both Black men, were hanged at Arkansas City (Desha County) on February 28, 19...
Oliver Keith Baker (1959–)
Oliver Keith Baker is a Yale University physicist who has conducted groundbreaking research in particle physic...
Big Island
aka: Montgomery Island
Big Island in Desha County was once the largest island in the conti...
Evangeline Katherine Brown (1909–2001)
Evangeline Katherine Johnson Brown was a longtime educator and activist in the Arkansas Delta who served as a ...
Conway-Crittenden Duel
aka: Crittenden-Conway Duel
In 1827, Henry Wharton Conway and Robert Crittenden, both important...
Wallace Henry Coulter (1913–1998)
Wallace Henry Coulter was an engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who was co-founder and chairman of Coulter C...
Dante House
The Dante House, built in 1965, is a one-story Mid-Century Modern house designed by the noted Arkansas archite...
Gail Davis (1925–1997)
aka: Betty Jeanne Grayson
Gail Davis was an Arkansas-born actress who starred as the legendar...
Desha County
Hardwood forests, alluvial soil, and flooding rivers marked the Native American territory that became Desha Co...
Desha County Courthouse
The Desha County Courthouse in Arkansas City (Desha County) is a two-and-a-half-story brick structure built in...
Desha County Historical Society
The Desha County Historical Society (DCHS) was founded in January 1969 at the county courthouse in Arkansas Ci...
Dickinson-Moore House
Constructed circa 1915, the Dickinson-Moore House in Arkansas City (Desha County) has experienced the ebb and...
Dumas (Desha County)
Dumas of Desha County is in the Arkansas Delta, west of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. Dumas has long be...
Dumas Race Riot of 1920
In January 1920, federal troops were called out to quell a feared “race war” near Dumas (Desha County). Th...
Judson Landers Erwin Jr. (1909–1968)
Judson Landers (J. L.) Erwin Jr. served as the county judge of Desha County from 1947 to his death in 1968. He...
Sam Fleming (Lynching of)
On May 6, 1907, an African-American man named Sam Fleming—who was reportedly from Pine Bluff (Jefferson Coun...
Jim Hines (1946–2023)
Jim Hines, born in Dumas (Desha County), was an Olympic track and field star who won gold medals at the 1968 O...
Hubert and Ionia Furr House
The Hubert and Ionia Furr House is located at 702 Desoto Avenue in Arkansas City (Desha County). Built in 1910...
Joseph Boone Hunter (1886–1987)
Joseph Boone Hunter was Director of Human Services at the World War II–era Japanese American Relocation Cent...
Henry Jackson (Lynching of)
On October 4, 1877, an African-American man named Henry Jackson was shot by a masked mob near Watson (Desha Co...
Anthony “Andy” Johnson (Execution of)
Anthony “Andy” Johnson, an African American man described as a “desperado,” was hanged at Dumas (Desha...
John H. Johnson (1918–2005)
John H. Johnson rose above abject poverty and racial discrimination to build a publishing empire that helped f...
Kelso (Desha County)
Kelso (Desha County) is a historic community fourteen miles northeast of McGehee (Desha County). The community...
Laconia Circle Levee
The Laconia Circle Levee is situated in the southeast corner of Mississippi Township in Desha County. The leve...
Abe Livingston (Lynching of)
Although apparently only one Arkansas newspaper covered it, in late August 1884 an African-American man named ...
Charles Malpass (Lynching of)
On September 27, 1911, a white man named Charles Malpass Sr. was lynched in Desha County following a shootout ...
McArthur (Desha County)
McArthur (Desha County) is a historic community five miles north of McGehee (Desha County) on Arkansas Highway...
McGehee (Desha County)
McGehee (Desha County) is a small town located in southeast Arkansas. It had its beginnings as a hub of transp...
McGehee Lynching of 1894
On September 22, 1894, Luke Washington, Richard Washington, and Henry C. Robinson were lynched in McGehee (D...
McGehee National Guard Armory
The McGehee National Guard Armory was built in 1954 and reflects standardized plans that featured open floor p...
Miami [Steamboat]
The Miami was a steamboat destroyed by fire on the Arkansas River in 1866 with a loss of as many as 200 passen...