Phillips

Formed May 1, 1820 (6^th county)

Phillips County (16,576), Helena-West Helena (9,590)                

The red brick and concrete appearance to the courthouse, built in 1914, gives it a schoolhouse look.  The courthouse was renovated in 1984.  There was another courthouse in Helena built in 1869.  Helena has always been the county seat.  Helena and West Helena consolidated into a single entity in 2006.  The county was created on May 1, 1820 from Arkansas and Lawrence counties as the 6^th county.  The building sits at Cherry Street and Perry Street.  United States Highway Business 49 is four blocks west of the site. The designer of this Classical Revival courthouse is Frank W. Gibb.  The county seat’s namesake is Saint Helena.  The county gets its name from American activist William Phillips. 

Phillips County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, treasurer, and coroner (executive).  It has 9 Quorum Court members (legislative.)  Five Circuit Court Judges serve Phillips, Cross, Lee, Monroe, Saint Francis and Woodruff counties and Two District Court Judges, an Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Phillips County (judicial.)  The county is situated on the Mississippi River in eastern Arkansas on the border with Mississippi.  The White River forms the southwest border.  Memphis, Tennessee is north and east and Pine Bluff, Arkansas is south and west.  The center of the county is 20.6 miles West-Southwest of Helena-West Helena nearer Lake View.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lee County, Mississippi, and Desha, Arkansas, and Monroe counties.  The county looks like a backward C with a wavy eastern side.  Helena and West Helena consolidated in 2006 into a single city.  It is in the northeast corner on the Mississippi River.  Helena-West Helena is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 57.9% of the county population.  The county is pronounced FIL-LIPS.  The county seat is pronounced HEL-E-NA WEST HEL-E-NA.  

The area of the county is 727.3 square miles.  It is 29 of 75 in size.  It ranks 46 out of 75 in population in the state.  It has a density of 22.8 persons per square mile making it 44 out of 75 in the state.  Phillips County has 69.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 49 comes from the east, Mississippi, and goes northwest into Monroe County.  The county is in the Helena-West Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area.