December 15, 1818

The Missouri territorial legislature created three counties from Arkansas County—Hempstead, Clark, and Pulaski. Hempstead County, located in the southwest corner of the state, was organized in 1819 when Congress established Arkansas Territory. The county was named for Edward Hempstead, the first delegate to Congress from Missouri Territory. It has been the home of four Arkansas governors: Augustus Hill Garland, Daniel Webster Jones, William Jefferson Clinton (later a U.S. president), and Michael Dale Huckabee.