Desha County, Arkansas
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 26 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1974; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near McGehee, Arkansas City, Dumas.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Arkansas is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Desha titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP19 of 26 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
26 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas City Commercial District | Arkansas | 1999 |
| Arkansas City High School | Arkansas City | 1984 |
| Dante House | Dumas | 2020 |
| Desha County Courthouse | Arkansas City | 1976 |
| Dickinson-Moore House | Arkansas | 2011 |
| Dumas Commercial Historic District | Dumas | 2007 |
| Furr, Hubert & Ionia, House | Arkansas City | 2011 |
| Kemp Cotton Gin Historic District | Rohwer | 2005 |
| Lewis, Jay, House | McGehee | 2005 |
| McGehee City Jail | McGehee | 2011 |
| McGehee National Guard Armory | McGehee | 2006 |
| McGehee Post Office | McGehee | 2010 |
| McKennon-Shea House | Dumas | 1993 |
| Merchants & Farmers Bank | Dumas | 1982 |
| Missouri Pacific Railway Van Noy Eating House | McGehee | 2011 |
| Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot-McGehee | McGehee | 1992 |
| Mound Cemetery | Arkansas City | 2008 |
| Parnell-Sharpe House | McGehee | 1989 |
| Pickens, R.A., II, House | Pickens | 2019 |
| Pindall, Xenophon Overton, Law Office | Arkansas City | 1999 |
| Rohwer Relocation Center Memorial Cemetery NHL | Rohwer | 1992 |
| Rohwer Relocation Center Site | Rohwer | 1974 |
| Temple Meir Chayim | McGehee | 1999 |
| Thane House | Arkansas City | 1982 |
| Trippe Holly Grove Cemetery | McGehee | 1999 |
| Watts, Dr. J. D., House | Dumas | 1994 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBDesha was formed in 1839 (1839-03-04) from Arkansas.
DESHA created from ARKANSAS. Act passed 12 Dec 1838; took effect 4 Mar 1839.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusDesha County population from 1840 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,598 | 6,459 | 8,973 | 11,511 | 20,297 | 27,160 | 25,155 | 20,770 | 19,760 | 15,341 | 11,395 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| ARPO | Park unit | 22.9 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS39 cemeteries and 10 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 39 of 39 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Banks Cemetery |
| Barnett Cemetery |
| Bates Cemetery |
| Beasley Cemetery |
| Bogue Cemetery |
| Bogue Pilgrim Cemetery |
| Bowie Cemetery |
| Curtis Hall Cemetery |
| Gentry Cemetery |
| Gum Grove Cemetery |
| Henrico Cemetery |
| Holly Grove Cemetery |
| Hopkins Cemetery |
| Irby Cemetery |
| Jefferson Cemetery |
| Jerusalem Cemetery |
| Jones Cemetery |
| Kelso Cemetery |
| Leach Cemetery |
| Luke Cemetery |
| McArthur Cemetery |
| McCool Cemetery |
| Memorial Cemetery |
| Morgan Cemetery |
| Mound Cemetery |
| New Hope Cemetery |
| Newton Cemetery |
| Palestine Cemetery |
| Porter Cemetery |
| Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery |
| Rolling Water Cemetery |
| Saint Paul Cemetery |
| Scott Cemetery |
| Seven Star Cemetery |
| Thompsons Cemetery |
| Turner Cemetery (historical) |
| Walnut Lake Cemetery |
| Warrington Cemetery |
| White Parker Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 10 of 10
| Name |
|---|
| Bogota |
| Choctaw Village |
| Henrico |
| Hopedale |
| Kurdo |
| Lacy |
| Littles |
| Medford |
| Parma |
| Zellner |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Post | 12,566 | 19.8 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Desha County, Arkansas
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.