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Arkansas County
Little River County, Arkansas
Millwood Lake and the Little River bottomlands - from Millwood Lake (the 29,500-acre Army Corps reservoir on the Little River - one of the most productive fishing lakes in Arkansas, particularly for crappie and largemouth bass, with the surrounding Millwood State Park providing camping and wildlife observation in the rich bottomland hardwood ecosystem) to Little River County's position at the three-state corner of Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma - the Tri-State area's natural resources and timber economy.
County SeatAshdown
Population12,026
Founded1867
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Office: Little River County Office of Emergency Management
Address: 351 N 2nd St, Ashdown, AR 71822
Phone: (870) 898-7208
Alert System: AR Alert; CodeRed; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Contact county OEM; Ashdown community facilities
FEMA Region: Region 6
Notes: Southwest Arkansas corner county; Ashdown is county seat; Red River drainage (flooding – Red River forms the Texas border); tornado corridor; timber industry (Domtar/paper mill in Ashdown); bordering Texas and Oklahoma; very rural
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Road Dept: Little River County Road Department – (870) 898-7208
Public Transit: Very limited; auto-dependent; rural county
Road Conditions: ARDOT – idrivearkansas.com
Notes: US-71 is main north-south corridor; Ashdown is small county seat near Texas border; Texarkana metro 25 miles east; timber industry truck traffic significant; very rural; Oklahoma border proximity
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Little River County – (870) 898-7208
Services: Basic building permits; Ashdown, Foreman, Wilton, Ogden separate
Notes: Domtar paper mill construction and maintenance; limited development; timber-dependent economy
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Little River County Veterans Service Office – (870) 898-7208
VA Medical: Overton Brooks VAMC (Shreveport, LA) – closest; Texarkana VA clinic
Services: Benefits claims, VA healthcare enrollment
Notes: Shreveport VA most accessible for southwest Arkansas; Texarkana VA clinic convenient
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Little River County Library – (870) 898-2758
Address: Ashdown area; Foreman Branch
Services: Books, public computers, Wi-Fi, children’s programs
Notes: Small two-branch library system; important community resource in this timber county
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Millwood Lake (20,000 acres – one of Arkansas’s finest fishing lakes; excellent bass, crappie, and catfish; Millwood State Park – arkansasstateparks.com | (870) 898-2800); Red River water recreation; hunting on private timber company lands; Little River (fishing and canoeing)
Notes: Millwood Lake is Little River County’s crown jewel – a large Corps of Engineers reservoir with outstanding fishing; the bass fishing at Millwood is legendary in southwest Arkansas; Millwood State Park offers camping, boating, and wildlife observation (the lake has outstanding birding – roseate spoonbills are sometimes seen); Red River and Little River provide additional water recreation; hunting on timber company lands is the primary land-based recreation
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Very limited; Arkansas GIS – gis.arkansas.gov
Notes: Rural county; state GIS primary; Army Corps Millwood Lake mapping
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Little River County Animal Control – (870) 898-7208
Services: Basic animal control
Notes: Very limited resources; rural timber county
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Little River County – (870) 898-7208; Ashdown city sanitation
Environmental: Arkansas DEQ; Domtar paper mill (Ashdown – significant industrial environmental presence; air emissions monitoring; wastewater management; pulp and paper effluent); Millwood Lake water quality; Red River watershed; Army Corps (Millwood Lake)
Notes: Domtar’s Ashdown paper mill is the dominant industrial environmental presence in Little River County; pulp and paper manufacturing creates significant wastewater, air quality (sulfur compounds), and solid waste management requirements; ADEQ actively monitors Domtar’s operations; Millwood Lake water quality is important for the recreation economy; Red River water quality is a multi-state concern; Army Corps manages Millwood Lake
About Little River County
Little River County is southwest Arkansas’s Millwood Lake and three-state corner county – the 29,500-acre reservoir and the Little River’s bottomland hardwood ecosystem define a natural resources community at the Arkansas-Texas-Oklahoma intersection.
Millwood Lake – created by the Army Corps of Engineers on the Little River – is one of Arkansas’s most productive fishing lakes. The surrounding Millwood State Park preserves exceptional bottomland hardwood habitat for waterfowl and wildlife.
Ashdown (the county seat, population ~3,000) serves the county’s timber and agricultural communities near the Texas border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Local DHS office: Ashdown (confirm via dhs.arkansas.gov)
Recommended
Search Little River County public records for Ashdown, Foreman, and Little River County residents.
Courts & Legal
Little River County Circuit Clerk at 351 N. 2nd Street, Ashdown, AR 71822, phone 870-898-7206, handles probate.
Senior Services
Area Agency on Aging: Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District (SWAPDD) — Area Agency on Aging
Meals on Wheels, transportation, senior centers
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
351 N. 2nd St., Ashdown, AR 71822
(870) 898-7208
CIRCUIT CLERK (Deeds, Court Records)
351 N. 2nd St., Ashdown, AR 71822
(870) 898-7208
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Little River County Clerk, Probate Division (marriage licenses, will and estate case files – see Probate section above)
Local societies
Little River County Historical Society (LRCHS), P.O. Box 1134, 5 E. Main Street, Ashdown, AR 71822
Little River County Genealogy Society, Inc. (LRCGS)
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
In Little River County, probate matters are handled by the County Clerk’s Office, while other Circuit Court matters go through the separate Circuit Clerk.
Little River County Clerk – Probate Division 351 North Second Street, Ashdown, AR 71822 (870) 898-7208 (Probate/County Clerk); (870) 898-7280 (Circuit Clerk, other case types) Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Arkansas has one of the more generous small-estate thresholds in the country, so check this first.
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where total property value (after debts, excluding the homestead and statutory spousal/minor-child allowances) is $100,000 or less. Available 45 days after the death. Filed using Form 23 (Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee) under Ark. Code § 28-41-101 – no personal representative is appointed, and no full administration is needed.
Independent Administration – available when the will authorizes it, or when all heirs agree to it. The personal representative acts with minimal court oversight at each step.
Supervised Administration – the traditional, more heavily court-involved track; used for contested estates or when independent administration isn’t available or agreed to.
Administration with Will Annexed – used when a valid will doesn’t name an executor, or the named executor can’t or won’t serve.
If using the small estate affidavit
Wait at least 45 days after the death.
Confirm the estate’s total value (after debts, excluding homestead and statutory allowances) is $100,000 or less and there are no unresolved claims against the estate.
Complete Form 23, the Affidavit for Collection of Small Estate by Distributee, listing the property and heirs.
File it with the Probate Clerk, or present it with a certified death certificate directly to banks or other institutions holding the property.
If filing for independent or supervised administration
Gather the original will (if any), a certified death certificate, a list of assets/debts, and names of heirs.
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative (Form 3, if there’s a will) or a Petition for Appointment of Administrator/Administratrix (Form 2, if there isn’t) with the Probate Division. Filing fee is $165.
If there’s a will, the court formally admits it to probate; the court then issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative must file an inventory of estate assets within 2 months of appointment.
Creditor notice must be published in a local newspaper, plus direct notice to known creditors; creditors then have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
If independent administration applies, the personal representative can act on most matters without seeking court approval at each step.
After debts are resolved, the personal representative files a final settlement with the court; once approved, the estate closes.
What it costs
Small estate affidavit: no separate court filing fee (a nominal recording fee may apply depending on what’s being transferred).
Formal probate filing fee: $165 (may vary somewhat by county).
Personal representative and attorney compensation: no fixed statutory rate – courts typically look to roughly 2–5% of the estate’s value as a reasonable baseline, subject to court approval as “just and reasonable.”
No state estate tax or inheritance tax in Arkansas.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
Ashdown, AR 71822
(870) 898-5311
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Unit
(870) 898-7208
DHS / SNAP / Medicaid
(800) 482-8988
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Little River County Health Unit – (870) 898-5561
Services: Immunizations, WIC, family planning, STI testing, environmental health, vital records
Hospital: Little River Memorial Hospital (Ashdown) – (870) 898-5011; critical access hospital; primarily uses Texarkana hospitals
Notes: Small critical access hospital; Texarkana (Wadley, Christus St. Michael) is primary healthcare center; Domtar mill worker occupational health considerations
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Ashdown
Population: 12,026
Area: 532 sq mi
Established: 1867
Tier: 3
Public Records
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