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Sebastian County — Fort Smith, AR

Sebastian County sits in western Arkansas along the Oklahoma border, anchored by Fort Smith, its largest city. It is the most populous county in the western part of the state — about 128,000 residents as of the 2020 census — and the economic and governmental center of the River Valley region. Its most distinctive feature: it has two county seats.

Two county seats

Sebastian County was created in 1851, and its early years were consumed by a fight over where the county seat belonged. A countywide election moved the seat to Fort Smith in 1852; another election moved it back to Greenwood in 1854. In 1860 the Arkansas General Assembly settled the dispute with a compromise that split the county into two judicial districts — the Fort Smith District and the Greenwood District — each with its own courthouse and county seat.

That structure survives today. Fort Smith and Greenwood each house courts and county offices, with the Fort Smith district covering the city and the Greenwood district covering the remainder of the county.

Geography and communities

The county covers roughly 540 square miles, from the Arkansas and Poteau river bottoms in the north to rolling hills and timberland in the south. Fort Smith dominates the northern district; Greenwood anchors the south, with Barling, Lavaca, Hackett, Huntington, Mansfield, and smaller communities in between. Barling adjoins the Fort Chaffee lands, including the Chaffee Crossing redevelopment district.

Economy

The county’s economy is diversified across manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, retail, food processing, and government — see major employers in Fort Smith. Interstate 40 passes just north of the county line, the I-540 spur serves Fort Smith, and the under-construction I-49 corridor will run through the county’s eastern edge. The Fort Smith Directory covers local service providers across the county’s communities.

FAQ

Why does Sebastian County have two county seats? An 1860 legislative compromise ended a decade of elections that ping-ponged the seat between Fort Smith and Greenwood, by splitting the county into two judicial districts with a seat for each.

What is the population of Sebastian County? About 128,000 at the 2020 census — the most populous county in western Arkansas.

What cities are in Sebastian County? Fort Smith and Greenwood (the two seats), plus Barling, Lavaca, Hackett, Huntington, Mansfield, Bonanza, and Midland, along with unincorporated communities.