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Cross County

Cross County was formed November 15, 1862 and named for the Confederate Colonel David C. Cross.
The county seat is Wynne

From "The Annals of Arkansas", 1947:
Population 1940: 26,046
Named for Edward Cross. 
Cross is one of the east central counties.

It is bounded on the north by Poinsett County; on the east by Crittenden; on the south by St. Francis, and on the west by Jackson and Woodruff. Its area is 619 square miles. Crowley's Ridge runs north and south through the central part. East and west of the ridge are level lands where farmers raise large crops of cotton, corn, alfalfa and clover. Rice is grown in the St. Francis Valley in the eastern part and on the ridge are some fine orchards.

The county was created by the act of November 15, 1867, out of territory taken from Crittenden, Poinsett and St. Francis counties. The first county officers were: S. L. Austelle, judge; B. D. McClarran, clerk; J. N. Dobson, sheriff; Robert Meek, treasurer; M. Halk, surveyor; K. B. Pledger, coroner. The county seat was first located at Wittsburg, in the southeastern part near the St. Francis River.  In April, 1886,  it was removed to Vanndale, near the center, and some years later was established at Wynne, where it has since remained. Regarding the name of the county, all the early historical writers state that it was named for Edward Cross, who served as territorial judge, was one of the incorporators of the Cairo & Fulton Railroad Company, served in Congress from 1839 to 1845, and was then elected associate justice of the Supreme Court. J. M. Vann, in a communication published in the "Arkansas Democrat" of February 24, 1906 says, "This County was named for Col. David C. Cross, the first colonel of the Fifth Arkansas Infantry of the Confederate Army, residing at that time on the Poinsett side of the line between that and St Francis County, and who gave his residence to the county for a county seat." This statement, does not agree with the records, which show that the first county seat was at Wittsburg.

Probably the first white settler was Samuel Fillighan, who located on the stream now known as Cooper's Creek, not far from Wittsburg, as early as 1798. He was still living there as late as July 1820, when he purchased from William Russell part of Spanish Grant No. 498. The County is divided into the following townships: Berlford, Brushy, Lake, Coldwater, Ellis, Fair Oaks, Hickory Ridge, Mitchell, Searey, Smith, Tyronza and Wynne. Two divisions of the Missouri Pacific railway system cross each other at Wynn and the St Louis Southwestern runs for some distance just inside the western border.

Wynne and Parkin, the only incorporated municipalities in the county, are described in other chapters. Cherry Valley, Fair Oaks, Hickory Ridge, Smithdale and Vanndale are thriving villages.  ["The Annals of Arkansas", 1947, Dallas T Herndon, editor, Historical Record Association; Transcribed by Joe Rose]

Unincorporated Community
 Twist

Townships
Bedford * Brushy Lake * Coldwater * Ellis * Fair Oaks * Hickory Ridge
 Mitchell * Searcy * Smith * Twist * Tyronza * Wynne