The following account of Searcy County, Arkansas is quoted from a book with the incredibly long title of  The Province and the States – A History of the Province of Louisiana Under France and Spain, and of the Territories and States of the United States Formed Therefrom, Volume VII, published in 1904.

Searcy county, formerly included in Marion county, came into existence November 5, 1835, and its name was soon changed to Marion county. The present Searcy county was created out of Marion county December 30, 1838. It is bounded, north by Boone and Marion counties, east by Stone, Baxter and Van Buren counties, south by Pope and Van Buren counties, west by Newton county. It was named in honor of Richard Searcy, who came from Tennessee to Lawrence county in 1817 and was prominent in Arkansas affairs as long as he lived.

Searcy county’s population in 1840 was 936; in 1850, 1,979; in 1860, 5,271; in 1870, 5,614; in 1880, 7,278; in 1890, 9,664; in 1900, 11,988. This county is well supplied with public schools and churches. There is also one high school, the Marshall academy, at Marshall, the county seat. Marshall, the largest town in the county, has several churches, high schools, mills, two newspapers, and a diversity of mercantile and mining interests. St. Joe, Leslie, Blanco, Snowball, Witt’s Springs and Tomahawk are other principal points in the county.

William Wood was judge of Searcy county, 1836-38; Joseph Rea, 1838-40; J. Campbell, 1840-42; J. D. Robertson, 1842-44; C. P. Thomas, 1844-48; P. B. Ruff, 1848-50; J. K. Lenna, 1850-52; A. J. Melton, 1852-56; J. S. Wilson, 1856-62; W. H. Jones, 1862-64; J. J. Barnes, 1864-66; Josiah Lane, 1866-72; F. A. Robertson, 1874-76, 1878-80; Jesse Cypert, 1876-78, 1880-84; J. A. McIntire, 1884-86; W. N. Cummings, 1886-90; J. A. Rombo, 1890-92; N. S. Bratton, 1892-94; G. W. Drewery, 1894-98; W. H. Sutterfield, 1898-1902; J. A. Moore, 1902-04.

William Kavanaugh was clerk, 1836-38; William Ruttes, 1838-40; T. H. Boyce, 1840-42; J. M. Hensley, 1842-44; C. J. Bolton, 1844; Alex. Hill, 1844-48, 1852-64; C. A. McCain, 1848-52; J. S. Stevenson, 1864-66; W. M. Hayes, 1866-68; C. A. P. Horn, 1868-74; S. E. Hatchett, 1874-76; J. W. Morris, 1876-78; J. N. Hamilton, 1878-80; J. W. Hensley, 1880-84; M. Dampf, 1884-86; V. C. Bratton, 1886-90; M. A. Sanders, 1890-94; J. R. Aday, 1894-98; J. M. McCall, 1898-1900; W. F. Reeves, 1900-02; J. W. Smith, 1902-04. This official is clerk of the circuit court and ex-officio clerk of the county and probate courts and recorder.

E. M. Hale was sheriff, 1836-38; Joe Brown, 1838-42; Josiah Lane, 1842-44; J. C. Jamerson, 1844-46; Hiram Evans, 1846-47; C. A. McCain, 1847-48; William Thornhill, 1848-50; R. N. Melton, 1850-52; Alex. Gray, 1852-54; P. A. Tyler, 1854-58; W. S. Lindsey, 1858-60; T. M. Alexander, 1860-62; S. L. Redwine, 1862-64; J. W. S. Leslie, 1864-66; L. D. Jameson, 1866-72; B. P. Hensley, 1872-74; C. F. Williams, 1874-76; J. N. Hamilton, 1876-78; A. R. Allen, 1878-80; N. J. McBride, 1880-84; B. F. Snow, 1884-86; C. P. Lawrence, 1886-90; A. H. Luna, 1890-92 (superseded by M. J. Bride); W. P. Hodges, 1892-94; V. C. Bratton, 1894-96; J. N. Bromley, 1896-98, 1902-04; J. A. Melton, 1898-1900; R. A. Watts, 1900-02.

V. Robertson was treasurer, 1838-42; J. D. Shaw, 1842-44, 1858-60; Robert Cagle, 1844-46; William Baker, 1846-50; Joseph Rea, 1850-54; L. Burns, 1854-58; E. Long, 1860-64; W. S. Boyd, 1864-66; F. Thompson, 1866-68; G. Ross, 1868-72; J. W. Hensley, 1872-74; J. W. Morris, 1874-76, 1890-92; T. Thompson, 1876-88; John W. Morris, 1888-90; Matthew Sooter, 1892-94; C. A. Horn, 1894-98; N. M. Bratton, 1898-1900; J. T. Gray, 1900-04.

The Republican, established 1890, is published at Marshall by Albert Garrison. The Mountain Wave, established 1892, is published at Marshall by William A. Wenrick.

Sources

Godspeed, Weston Arthur, ed.  The Province and the States, Volume VII, page 145-7. Madison, WI, USA: The Western Historical Association, 1904. Retrieved from Google Books on 20 October 2011.