Desha County, Arkansas
Desha County · Arkansas City is the seat · Dumas is larger — not the hall · this is not the State of Arkansas · Little Rock is the capital
Arkansas City is the hall. Dumas is larger. This is not the State. This is not Arkansas County.
Desha County, Arkansas, was erected 12 December 1838 from Arkansas County and Chicot and named for Captain Benjamin Desha. Arkansas City is the seat. It is a small Mississippi River town. It is not the capital of Arkansas. Little Rock is. Dumas is the large town. Dumas is not the county hall. McGehee, Watson, Mitchellville, Reed, and Tillar (part) are cities and towns in this county — they are not the hall. This is not Arkansas County. Arkansas County’s two seats are DeWitt and Stuttgart. This is not Arkansas City, Kansas. This is not the community of Desha in Independence County. AAC notes the seat has sat in four places as the Mississippi moved; Arkansas City is the hall now. Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center Memorial is NPS land — not this hall. Arkansas Post National Memorial is in Arkansas County — not this oval.
Places include Arkansas City, Dumas, McGehee, Watson, Mitchellville, Reed, and Tillar. 2020 census: 11,395. This page is Side One for the place. The Sheriff’s job — three-river remainder patrol and whatever live booking door the county posts — is taught at Office of the Sheriff — Desha County.
Nine Justices. Judge at 608 Robert S. Moore. They fund. They do not hire the Sheriff.
Desha is a County Judge plus a nine-member Quorum Court. The Judge lists at 608 Robert S. Moore Avenue, Arkansas City, AR 71630. They fund roads, whatever live detention door the county posts, and the Sheriff’s budget. They do not hire the Sheriff. The people do. Dumas City Council is a city body. McGehee City Council is a city body. The Arkansas General Assembly sits in Little Rock. None of those is this Quorum Court.
The historic courthouse lists at 608 Robert S. Moore Avenue (National Register). Sheriff / Circuit Clerk / Collector cluster at 604 President Street / Avenue. Confirm at arcounties.org/counties/desha before you drive. DeWitt is Arkansas County. Monticello is Drew. Lake Village is Chicot.
The Sheriff is four years, Article 7, § 46 / Amendment 95, on the gubernatorial table. Last regular Tuesday, 8 November 2022. Next regular Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Preferential primary Tuesday, 3 March 2026 (already sat). Take office 1 January 2027 (A.C.A. § 21-1-102). The Governor is 2026. That is a different desk in Little Rock. This county lists a separate Collector. Justices of the Peace are two years.
Three rivers and a Mississippi wall. This is not Bolivar County, Mississippi.
Southeast Arkansas. Flat Delta farmland. The Mississippi River is the eastern wall. The Arkansas and White meet this map. U.S. 65, U.S. 165, and U.S. 278 are the spines. Arkansas County is north — DeWitt and Stuttgart are that hall. Phillips is northeast. Bolivar County, Mississippi, is east. Chicot is south — Lake Village is that hall. Drew is southwest — Monticello is that hall. Lincoln is northwest — Star City is that hall; Cummins and Varner are ADC there. Staff who paste Dumas onto Moore Avenue as this hall, or treat DeWitt as this oval, or file Arkansas City as the capital, or file Kansas as this map, are on the wrong county.
How a Desha public finds Moore Avenue, President Street, and the live booking door
County Judge / County Clerk / historic courthouse: 608 Robert S. Moore Avenue, Arkansas City, AR 71630. Sheriff’s Office: 604 President Street, Arkansas City, AR 71630 — ASA office (870) 877-2580. Collector / Circuit Clerk also list 604 President. County 911 / Central Dispatch lists 605 Highway 65 North, Dumas — that is dispatch, not the Sheriff hall. Confirm live doors at arsheriffs.org before you drive. A student who only knows a Dumas photograph, or a DeWitt postcard, or a Kansas listing, has not found this campus.
ASA lists no county jail. Dumas PD does not jail this county. McGehee PD does not.
Crime in unincorporated Desha — Watson, the remainder around Dumas and McGehee, the levee roads — is this Sheriff. Crime in Dumas is often Dumas Police. Crime in McGehee is often McGehee Police. This Sheriff is not those badges. ASA lists No Jail: Uses Dumas/McGehee Jail. Confirm the live booking door. 149 East Waterman is Dumas PD holding — not this oval. 605 Highway 65 South is the ASP Dumas post — not this jailer. Cummins / Varner are ADC in Lincoln. Do not send a family looking for a county booking to DeWitt, to Kansas, or to Little Rock.
Civil process and court security at 608 Robert S. Moore are the Sheriff. Rights do not change at a Dumas parking lot. Remedy for Dumas Police is the City. Remedy for a Sheriff’s paper is the Sheriff. Relief when the Mississippi rises is this count first.
What the Delta actually watches from Arkansas City
Court calendars at 608 Robert S. Moore. A wreck on U.S. 65. High water on the three rivers. A night road outside Watson. Coordination with Dumas PD, McGehee PD, and ASP without becoming those departments. Coordination with Arkansas County’s Sheriff is mutual aid between two offices, not a merger, and not a reason to file DeWitt as this hall. A Dumas photograph does not steal the seat. Little Rock remains the capital. Arkansas City remains the hall.
Arkansas City snapshot (verify official sources)
- Seat: Arkansas City · Large town (not the hall): Dumas · Capital (not this seat): Little Rock
- Government: County Judge + nine Justices of the Peace · court 608 Robert S. Moore · Sheriff 604 President
- Sheriff: four years · 2026 · remainder patrol · ASA no county jail — confirm live Dumas / McGehee booking
- Neighbors: Arkansas · Phillips · Bolivar County MS · Chicot · Drew · Lincoln
- Not the State of Arkansas · Not Arkansas County · Not Arkansas City, Kansas · Not Dumas as this hall
What Arkansas City is not — not the State, not DeWitt, not Kansas
- Not Little Rock as this seat. Little Rock is the capital. Arkansas City is the seat.
- Not the State of Arkansas as this county. Not Arkansas County (DeWitt / Stuttgart).
- Not Dumas as this hall. Not McGehee as this hall.
- Not Arkansas City, Kansas. Not the community of Desha in Independence County.
- Not Dumas PD as this Sheriff. Not McGehee PD as this oval. Not ASP as this oval.
- Not Cummins. Not Varner. Not ADC as this jailer.
- Not a campaign flyer.