AAC
• Lonoke County, established April 16, 1873, out of Prai- rie and Pulaski counties and named by a railroad sur- veyor who used a massive red oak tree as a landmark.
• Cleveland County, created April 17, 1873, from Brad- ley, Dallas, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties. It was origi- nally named Dorsey County after U.S. Senator Stephen Dorsey, but the name was changed to honor President Grover Cleveland in 1885.
• Howard County, established April 17, 1873, out of Hempstead, Pike, Polk, and Sevier counties and named after James H. Howard, a state senator.
• Lee County, created on April 17, 1873, from Crittenden, Monroe, Phillips, St. Francis and named for Confeder- ate General Robert E. Lee.
• Stone County, established April 21, 1873, out of parts of Izard, Independence, Searcy, and Van Buren counties and named for the rugged, rocky terrain of the area.
Near the end of Reconstruction, on Oct. 13, 1874, a fifth and final (i.e., current) constitution was adopted. Tis itera- tion of the consti- tution was written with the goal of more adequately protecting the people of the state from the govern- ment itself by sig- nificantly limiting its powers. Indeed, many Arkansans were distrustful of the government after having been forced through a litany of changes to the political paradigm over its relatively short his- tory as a state. Tus, the 1874 constitution reflected a general suspicion of government and authority and incorporated more changes than any of the previous constitutions ever had. As we see remnants of that today, county governments became extremely powerful, functioning as quasi-independent ad- ministrative units of the state with jurisdiction over roads and bridges, the local judiciary, and taxation, as well as spending. Additionally, the number of constitutionally mandated county offices grew fivefold (from two to 10), and the powers of the governor were greatly reduced at the time. As a general con- cept, it is more than fair to say that a great deal of authority was transferred from state to local government. With respect to county formation, the 1874 constitution provided quite a bit more guidance than previous iterations
T COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2020
FEATURE
he 1874 constitution reflected a general suspicion of gov- ernment and authority and incorporated more changes
than any of the previous constitutions ever had. As we see rem- nants of that today, county governments became extremely pow- erful, functioning as quasi-independent administrative units of the state with jurisdiction over roads and bridges, the local judi- ciary, and taxation, as well as spending.
had. Accordingly, no county then established could be re- duced to an area of less than 600 square miles, nor to less than 5,000 inhabitants, nor could any new county be established with an area of less than 600 square miles and population of less than 5,000 inhabitants (though this provision did not ap- ply to Lafayette, Pope, and Johnson counties). In addition, this constitution provided that no part of a county could be taken off to form a new county, or a part thereof, without the consent of a majority of the voters living in the part proposed to be taken off. Subsequent legal decisions have clarified, how- ever, that such majority consent is not required for the General Assembly merely to move or change already extant boundary lines. Te 1874 constitution also required that county seats be established or changed only with the consent of a majority of the qualified voters of the county to be affected, though newly formed counties were allowed to temporarily locate the county seat during the formation process. Tese provisions remain unchanged to this day, as may be seen upon reading Article XIII of the Arkansas Consti- tution. Arkansas’ final two coun- ties, including the re-establishment of Miller County, were created under this final iteration of the state’s con- stitution. Indeed, Miller County was recreated by the Ar- kansas General As- sembly from a por- tion of Lafayette County on Dec. 22, 1874, and Cleburne County was established on Feb. 20, 1883,
from Independence, Van Buren, and White counties and was named after General Patrick Cleburne, who served in the Confederate army. In the years since the formation of Arkansas’ 75 counties, many — if not all — have undergone changes to their bound- aries. Given the relatively low amount of guidance on county formation and alteration given by the Arkansas Constitution, it should come as no surprise that the legislature has passed additional guidance on this topic. Arkansas Code Annotated § 14-14-101 et seq. provides the law in this area. Much of the first section of this subchapter is merely a codification of Ar- ticle XIII of the state constitution. It also makes clear that “the
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