Franklin County, Arkansas
Franklin County · Ozark, Arkansas, is the northern seat and the Sheriff hall · Charleston is the southern courthouse · Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas
Ozark, Arkansas is the northern hall and the Sheriff house. Charleston is the southern courthouse. Not Ozark, Alabama.
Franklin County, Arkansas, was erected 19 December 1837 from Crawford and named for Benjamin Franklin. Two county seats: Ozark north of the Arkansas River and Charleston south of it — because the river was hard to cross. Ozark, Arkansas, is the Sheriff hall. Charleston is the southern courthouse, not the Sheriff house. Altus, Wiederkehr Village, Denning, Branch, and Caulksville (part) are places in this county — they are not the hall. This is not Franklin County, Alabama. Alabama’s Franklin seat is Russellville. This is not Ozark, Alabama (Dale County). This is not Ozark, Missouri. This is not Crawford County (Van Buren). Little Rock is the capital. AAC notes Altus as Arkansas wine country; a cellar is not this hall.
Places include Ozark, Charleston, Altus, Wiederkehr Village, Denning, and Branch. 2020 census: 17,097. This page is Side One for the place. The Sheriff’s job — two-seat remainder patrol and the jail at 248 Airport Road this badge still holds — is taught at Office of the Sheriff — Franklin County.
Nine Justices. Judge at 211 West Commercial. They fund. They do not hire the Sheriff.
Franklin is a County Judge plus a nine-member Quorum Court. The Judge lists at 211 West Commercial Street, Ozark, AR 72949. They fund roads, the detention house, and the Sheriff’s budget. They do not hire the Sheriff. The people do. Ozark City Council is a city body. Charleston City Council is a city body. The Arkansas General Assembly sits in Little Rock. None of those is this Quorum Court.
Northern District courthouse: 211 West Commercial Street, Ozark (National Register). Southern District courthouse: 607 East Main Street, Charleston (National Register). County Clerk and Circuit Clerk list both phones. Confirm at franklincountyar.gov and arcounties.org/counties/franklin. Van Buren is Crawford. Clarksville is Johnson. Paris is Logan. Russellville, Alabama, is a different state.
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 with Ozark and Charleston doors. Justices of the Peace are two years.
Arkansas River through the middle. This is not Franklin County, Alabama. This is not Crawford.
Western Arkansas. Forested north, farm and ridge south. The Arkansas River bisects the county. Interstate 40 runs the Ozark valley. U.S. 64 is the older spine. Madison is north. Johnson is east — Clarksville is that hall. Logan is southeast — Booneville and Paris are those seats. Sebastian is southwest. Crawford is west — Van Buren is that hall. Staff who paste Russellville onto Commercial Street, or treat Ozark, Alabama, as this map, or file Charleston as the Sheriff house, or file Ozark as the capital, are on the wrong county.
How a Franklin public finds Airport Road, Commercial Street, and East Main in Charleston
County Judge / northern courthouse / County Clerk: 211 West Commercial Street, Ozark, AR 72949. Southern courthouse: 607 East Main Street, Charleston, AR 72933. Sheriff’s Office and jail: 248 Airport Road, Ozark, AR 72949 — (479) 667-4127. Confirm live doors at franklincountyar.gov and arsheriffs.org before you drive. Older listings still print 101 West Main, Ozark. Confirm which door is live. A student who only knows an Alabama photograph, or a Charleston postcard as this jail, has not found this campus.
248 Airport Road still jails. Ozark PD does not. Charleston PD does not.
Crime in unincorporated Franklin — both sides of the river, Altus remainder, Branch country — is this Sheriff. Crime in Ozark is often Ozark Police. Crime in Charleston is often Charleston Police. This Sheriff is not those badges. ASA lists the Franklin County Detention Center at 248 Airport Road on the Sheriff campus. That house is this badge’s shop — ASA 106 beds. It is not a Charleston city lockup as this oval. It is not ADC. Do not send a family looking for a county booking to Russellville, to Ozark, Alabama, or to Charleston as this jailer.
Civil process and court security at both courthouses are the Sheriff. Rights do not change at the river. Remedy for Ozark Police is the City. Remedy for a Sheriff’s paper is the Sheriff. Relief when the Arkansas River rises is this count first.
What the two-seat Ozarks actually watch from Ozark, Arkansas
Court calendars at 211 West Commercial — and at 607 East Main when the southern docket sits. A wreck on I-40. High water on the Arkansas River. A night road outside Altus. Coordination with Ozark PD, Charleston PD, and ASP without becoming those departments. Coordination with Crawford’s Sheriff is mutual aid between two offices, not a merger, and not a reason to file Van Buren as this hall. An Alabama photograph does not steal the seat. Little Rock remains the capital. Ozark, Arkansas, remains the Sheriff hall.
Ozark, Arkansas snapshot (verify official sources)
- Northern seat / Sheriff hall: Ozark, Arkansas · Southern courthouse (not this jail): Charleston · Capital (not this seat): Little Rock
- Government: County Judge + nine Justices of the Peace · north court 211 West Commercial · south court 607 East Main
- Sheriff: four years · 2026 · remainder patrol and jail this Sheriff still holds · jail 248 Airport Road · ASA 106
- Neighbors: Madison · Johnson · Logan · Sebastian · Crawford
- Not Franklin County, Alabama / Russellville · Not Ozark, Alabama (Dale) · Not Van Buren as this hall
What Ozark, Arkansas is not — not Russellville, not Dale County, not Van Buren
- Not Little Rock as this seat. Little Rock is the capital. Ozark, Arkansas, is the northern seat.
- Not Franklin County, Alabama. Not Russellville. Not Ozark, Alabama. Not Dale County.
- Not Charleston as the Sheriff house. Charleston is the southern courthouse.
- Not Crawford County. Not Van Buren as this hall.
- Not Ozark PD as this Sheriff. Not Charleston PD as this oval. Not ASP as this oval.
- Not a campaign flyer.