It is part of the Arkansas Delta, lowlands along the river that have been historically important as an area for large-scale cotton cultivation.

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto came to this area with his expedition in 1542, settling for a time in the village or territory known as Guachoya.

Enslaved African Americans formed the labor force, comprising a majority of the population in the antebellum years.

Major large cotton plantations included Sunnyside (owned in the 20th century by LeRoy Percy, planter and US Senator from Greenville, Mississippi); Florence, Patria, Pastoria, Luna, and Lakeport.

[3] On February 14, 1864, 13 Black Union soldiers of the 1st Mississippi Volunteer Infantry (African Descent) were ambushed and killed at the Tecumseh plantation near Ross's Landing by Confederate guerillas of the 9th Missouri Cavalry.

Earlier in the century, boll weevils threatened the cotton crop, and many African Americans left in the Great Migration for opportunity in northern and midwestern industrial cities.

[5] Arkansas 144 As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 10,208 people, 4,068 households, and 2,636 families residing in the county.

[16] In modern times, the margins have shrunk in this county due to depopulation and the state's intense swing rightward.

Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries.

However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions").

Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications.