Newton County, Arkansas

Newton County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 8,608. The is. Newton County is Arkansas's 46th county, formed on, and named for , an Arkansas. It is an alcohol prohibition or.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,132 (823 ). 2,131 km² (823 sq mi) of it is land and 1 km² (0 sq mi) of it (0.03%) is water.

Newton County lies almost entirely within the rugged range of the  where elevations exceed 2,500 feet. The, a popular destination for canoeing and recreation, runs through the county from west to east. , which traverses the county from north to south, has been rated as one of the most scenic drives in the region.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 8,608 people, 3,500 households, and 2,495 families residing in the county. The was 4/km² (10/sq mi), one of the most sparse among county populations in Arkansas. There were 4,316 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (5/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 99.29%, 0.00% or , 0.56% , 0.06% , 0.00% , 0.09% from , and 0.00% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 3,500 households out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 27.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 102.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $24,756, and the median income for a family was $30,134. Males had a median income of $22,406 versus $17,654 for females. The for the county was $13,788. About 15.70% of families and 20.40% of the population were below the, including 27.80% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

Native residents of Newton County were interviewed in 1970 for research being done by a doctoral student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. A Ph.D. degree was awarded to Bethany K. Dumas in May of 1971 after she completed "A Study of the Dialect of Newton County, Arkansas." Results are discussed in two of her published articles/chapters: “The Morphology of Newton County, Arkansas: An Exercise in Studying Ozark Dialect,” Mid–South Folklore 3 (1975), 115–125, and “Southern Mountain English” Chapter 5 of The Workings of Language, ed. R. S. Wheeler, Westport, CT, and London: Praeger, 1999, 67-79.