Little River County Court House

       Little River County was established in 1867 by an act of the State Legislature of Arkansas, It was carved out of a part of Sevier County. Located in the southwest corner of the state, Little River County is bounded by Sevier, Hempstead, Howard and Miller Counties in Arkansas; Bowie County, Texas, and what is now known as McCurtain County, Oklahoma. A major part of the boundary lines are made by two rivers, Little River and Red River.

     The territory was first inhabited by the Caddo Indian Tribe, sometimes referred to as "Mound Builders," and then the Choctaw Indian Tribe, Treaties between the Indians and the U.S. Government in early 1800 subsequently moved the tribes out of the territory that was to become the State of Arkansas.

Settlements and communities had begun to develop in the area prior to the establishment of Little River County. Peytonville was one of the earliest communities in the region. Pioneers began settling in the area as early as 1839. The first town to be plotted was Laynesport in 1839. The land was donated for development by Benjamin Layne. By 1845 Willow Springs, later to be renamed Rocky Comfort, began to flourish, and by 1854 the community of Richmond had also begun to thrive.

      Upon the legal establishment of Little River County in 1867, the first courthouse and jail in the county was located on a farm owned by the first sheriff, W.M. Freeman, near what is now known as Alleene.

    In 1868 Powell Clayton, the newly elected governor of the State, declared martial law in several counties, including Little River, Being a Union general, he took to task those that had voted for Democratic Party candidates. Consequently, the militia seized the county records that existed and moved them to established headquarters in Rocky Comfort.

  A new courthouse was built by the citizens of Richmond in 1880. The property was deeded to the county with the condition that Richmond be the county seat. An election was held and the county seat was moved to the newly built structure. Two years later the courthouse burned. County offices were then housed in vacant buildings and the school. Fearing the removal of the county seat, the citizens of Richmond united and built another courthouse at no cost to the county.

For the next few years there was a power struggle between Rocky Comfort and Ashdown for the county seat. In 1902 another election was held, and the county seat was moved from Richmond to Foreman, formerly Rocky Comfort. Yet , another election was held in 1906, and Ashdown was declared the winner. Records were moved from Foreman to a vacant building known as the Mizell Building. The new courthouse was constructed in 1907 and remains today.

     Settlements and communities continued to develop within the county. Churches and schools were a part of almost every settlement. Several of the towns had their own newspaper publications. Those with post offices were: Alleene, Allen Ferry, Anderson Ferry, Arden, Arkinda, Ashdown, Bishop, Bivens, Cerro Gordo, Coleboro, Cook Landing, Critton Ridge, Foreman, Gano Island, Hawkins Trading post, Hudson, Jewell, Laynesport, Lippton, Long , Mills Ferry, Millwood, Millwood Landing, Minneola, Morris Ferry, White Cliffs, Wilton and Winthrop. Today, Ashdown is the "hub" of the county, some of the towns have remained stationary, some have decayed; some have disappeared completely.

   The construction of the railroads had a definite impact on the development of some of the towns. Little River County had its first railroad in 1889. Until the railroads came into existence, the rivers were used to transport goods in and out of the county. Ferries, steamboats and flatboats were utilized on both rivers. Passenger trains began operating in the county around 1903.

   After the railroad, one of the most important developments in transportation was the construction of Index Bridge over Red River in 1919. Originally built as a toll bridge for wagons, it was 1600' long. Major maintenance and repairs were made to the bridge in 1947 and 1950, then was totally replaced in 1980 with the present modern structure.

Electrical service and telephones were available to parts of the county by 1912. Natural gas came into the Ashdown area in 1930.

In 1958, under the administration of County Judge B.K. Walker and Ray Sikes, the Little River Memorial Hospital was constructed. The Little River Nursing Home was completed in 1963. 

For many years the principal source of income in the county was agriculture, Cotton farming was the leading crop; most of the early towns had their own cotton gins. Corn was the second largest crop with the saw mills and timber industry to become a very important factor. By mid 1950 manufacturing plants began to change the economy of the county. The development of Millwood Lake, with its vast source of water, was the major importance to the industrial growth of Little River County.