Greene County, Arkansas

Greene County, Arkansas
Courthouse in Paragould
Location in the U.S. state of Arkansas
Arkansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	November 5, 1833
Named for	Nathanael Greene
Seat	Paragould
Largest city	Paragould
Area
• Total	580 sq mi (1,502 km2)
• Land	578 sq mi (1,497 km2)
• Water	1.9 sq mi (5 km2), 0.3%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	44,196
• Density	73/sq mi (28/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	county.arkansas.gov/greene/

Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,090. The county seat is Paragould, which sits atop Crowley's Ridge.

Greene County comprises the Paragould, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Jonesboro–Paragould, AR Combined Statistical Area.

The first settler in the area was Benjamin Crowley, who arrived from Kentucky in 1821 and made his home about 12 miles west of Paragould.

Greene County was formed on 5 November 1833 out of portions of Lawrence County and originally contained parts of present Clay and Craighead counties. The county was named for Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. The first county seat was in Benjamin Crowley's home. By 1836, when Arkansas became a state, the county seat was located in a settlement called "Paris" (not to be confused with present-day Paris, Arkansas).

In 1848 a national highway was made through the area, and the county seat was moved to Gainesville, which had a reputation as rather lawless. The seat remained there until 1883, when it was transferred to the new town of Paragould. The peoples in Gainesville opposed the move, and shots reportedly were fired, since tempers were high. The courthouse was built in 1888 and survives in downtown Paragould.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 580 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 578 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) (0.3%) is water.