With no roads and unreliable rivers, much of Arkansas, including present-day Nevada County, was slow to fill up with settlers. The Nevada County Depot and Museum features three men. Stephen Vaughan came up the Little Missouri early, perhaps as early as 1812. Meriwether Lewis Randolph purchased many tracts of land in Arkansas. Gad Bradly was a free black.
Nevada County was formed on March 20, 1871, mostly from land in one of Arkansas' original five counties, Hempstead. By 1871, the land used to form Nevada County was in Hempstead, Columbia, and Clark counties.
Large Indian villages were at several location when the settlers came were mostly friendly with no millitant confrontations. When the settler population grew, the Indians moved on.
Governor McRae was from Prescott. The Museum has an entire showcase full of memoribilia from the Governor including his masonic bible, a side saddle, spinning wheel, and more, along with numerous books and documents pertaining to the Governor's career.
The museum has several artifacts from the Civil War. A biography features Captain William J. Blake, C.S.A. General Frederick Steele, the commanding general in Little Rock, was not eager to take up his role in the Red River Campaign.
The last strategic move by Federal troops west of the Mississippi River on April 10 - 13, 1864 ended in the defeat of the Federal Red River campaign. The troops turned and headed back to Little Rock, rather than continue the advance on the Red River ports. The same happened to the north prong of the attack at Mansfield, Louisiana. The Depot Museum displays many artifacts from the Civil War.
Greeson's Hard Work Built Dam, an article written by John Miller and published the Nevada County Picayune on July 5, 1995 is a summary of Greeson's efforts to build Narrow's Dam at Murfreesboro and the lake resulting from his efforts.
Written for Harland McKelvy by Lawyer Thompkins about 1928, this article covers the creation by the Arkansas Legislature, first court, first settlement, first commissioners, and some early officials.
Beginning with Cairo and Fulton constructed beginning in 1872, railroads have long dominated Nevada County. The local lines, Prescott and Northwestern (founded in 1891 and still operated), and the Reader Railroad constructed in the 1920s to accomodate the oil fields at Waterloo and the timber industry. Today, the Union-Pacific line runs through the north part of the county.
Organized in the latter part of the 1800's, has operated under various names and ownerships, but is still operating as part of the Potlatch Corporation.
Nevada County has been home to industries such as furniture factories, stave mills, pickle factories, vegetable packing sheds, a cotton oil mill, and 13 cotton gins.
One of the early consolidated all-black school districts in the State of Arkansas, severed the southern part of Nevada County while the Upchurch school served the northern part of the county.
