Welcome to Historic Arkansas City!

Fully Restored Desha County Courthouse – click to enlarge

Welcome to Arkansas City,  the county seat of Desha County Arkansas.  A town rich in history and natural resources, small in population but large in potential for development and growth!

Arkansas City is the county seat of Desha County, located in the Mississippi River Delta which is the area where Europeans first crossed the Mississippi in 1541.

Arkansas City used to be a city with a population of about 15,000 and a prosperous commerce. But most of the city was ruined by the great flood in 1927. The lumber mills, homes and businesses were destroyed. The flood also moved the channel, that was the used for the ferryboat connection between Memphis and Vicksburg, one mile to the east, which was devastating for Arkansas City.

Though the town has never come back to the same size that it had before the flood , thanks to the hard work of the citizens, Arkansas City today has seven buildings listed on the National Register of Historical Places.