View source for Crawford County, Arkansas

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Prior to 1819 there was no place called [[Arkansas]].  In the below narrative, when I say "Arkansas" for any time before 1819, I mean that area which was in 1819 created as the Arkansas Territory.

Prior to 1800, Arkansas was owned by Spain. From 1800 to 1803, Arkansas was owned by France.  In 1803, by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase Louisiana Purchase], Arkansas and much more, was bought by the United States.

In 1804, the part of Arkansas that would become Crawford County was called [[New Madrid]], in the Louisiana District of Indiana Territory.  In 1805 the Louisiana District of Indiana Territory became the Louisiana Territory.  In 1812, part of the Louisiana Territory was renamed the [[Missouri]] Territory.  In 1813, Arkansas County was created in the Missouri Territory.  In 1815, Arkansas County was divided into two parts, the upper part called Lawrence County and the lower retaining the name Arkansas County.  The dividing line was the Arkansas River.  So what is today Crawford County straddled both Lawrence and Arkansas, half in each.

In 1817 the Cherokee Reservation, also called the Cherokee Tract was established.  It covered part of what is today the Northern part of Franklin County.  In 1818, the southern part of what is today Franklin County, was part of Pulaski County.  In 1819 Arkansas Territory was created out of part of Missouri Territory.  In 1820 Crawford County, including the area which is present-day Franklin County, was created.

The first mention of *anything* in Northwest Arkansas, in the ''Arkansas Gazette'' is [http://www.arkansasties.com/Gazette/1821/August1821.htm here] where they state : "Benjamin Murphey is elected to the Legislative Council from the County of Pulaski and James Billingsley to the same branch of the General Assembly, from Crawford County.  Thomas H. Tindall is elected to the House of Representatives to represent the counties of Pulaski and Crawford."

In 1828 the Cherokee Tract was abolished, the Cherokee being given lands further west in what is today Oklahoma.  At this point, everything that is today Franklin County, was within Crawford County.

Franklin County, Arkansas was formed December 1837 by an act of the State Legislature, out of the Eastern half of Crawford County.  The boundaries of Franklin County have changed only very slightly from the 1837 boundaries.

==Resources==
*There was a fire in the Crawford County Courthouse in the 1860s or 70s causing an almost complete destruction of records created by the county government.  However some records exist because state or federal copies were made, or because these other jurisdictions were the primary creator.
*''Arkansas Newspaper Abstracts 1819-1845'', by James Logan Morgan, c1981. Reprinted by Arkansas Research of Conway, 1992. Four volumes combined of 98, 73, 73, and 78 pages, includes volume indexes.
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/CrawfordARK/1821CrawfordTax.htm 1821 Crawford County, Arkansas Tax List]
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/LovelyARK/LovelyCo_Emigrants.htm 1828 Lovely County, Arkansas emigrants]
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/CrawfordARK/1828CrawfordTax.htm 1828 Crawford County, Arkansas Tax List]
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/CrawfordARK/1829Crawford.htm 1829 Sheriff's Census of Crawford County, Arkansas (one page)]
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/CrawfordARK/1830Crawford.html 1830 Census Crawford County, Arkansas]
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjhonson/FranklinARK/Township1830-40.html Township Changes for Franklin County, Arkansas from 1830 to 1840]

==Sources==
*[http://www.myarkansasgenealogy.com/ar_maps/ar_cf.htm County Formation Map for Arkansas] at the MyArkansasGenealogy website