Washington

Formed October 17, 1828 (16^th county)

Washington County (245,866), Fayetteville (94,308)                

A Modern style office building now houses the Washington County Courthouse.  It was built in 1989 after the county outgrew the 1904 structure.  It is located near the intersection of Dickson Street and College Avenue.  College Avenue is United States Highway 71 in this part of the city.  The architect is unknown for this original bank building.  Fayetteville has always been the county seat.  Washington County is named for President George Washington.  Fayetteville, Tennessee is the source for the seat’s name.  Parts of Crawford County and the Native American Territory (Oklahoma) combined on October 17, 1828 to form Washington County as the 16^th county. 

Washington County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, treasurer, and coroner (executive).  It has 15 Quorum Court members (legislative.)  Seven Circuit Court Judges serve Washington and Madison counties and Four District Court Judges, an Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Washington County (judicial.)  The county is located in the northwest on the border with Oklahoma.  Fort Smith, Arkansas is South of the county.  The center of the county is 11.1 miles South of Fayetteville nearer Greenland.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Benton, Madison, and Crawford counties and Oklahoma.  A flat-headed champagne cork pointing east best describes the county’s shape.  The city of Fayetteville is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Fayetteville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 38.4% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced FAE-ET-VIL.  

The area of the county is 951.7 square miles.  It is 4 of 75 in size.  It ranks 3 out of 75 in population in the state.  It has a density of 258.3 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 75 in the state.  Washington County has 83.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 62 enters from Benton County on the north, turns west at Fayetteville, and exits into Oklahoma on the west.  United States Highway 71 comes joined with United States Highway 62 from Benton County, splits at Fayetteville, and goes southward into Crawford County.  United States Highway 412 crosses the far north part of the county from Madison County, east, into Benton County, northwest.  The county is in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Springdale