In 1819, most of this area was in Clark County.  By the time Arkansas  became a State in 1836, the area was called Union County.   Bradley County was created December 18, 1840.  The area now known as Cleveland County was part of this County.  Located in the southeastern corner of Arkansas, Cleveland County was created in 1873 and first called Dorsey County in honor of Stephen Dorsey, a U.S. Senator from Arkansas. The name was changed in 1885 to Cleveland in honor of President Grover Cleveland. The residence of N. V. Barnett was its first county seat until 1872 when it moved to Toledo. In 1889, the seat moved to Rison. Communities in the county include Rison, Kingsland, New Edinburg and Woodlawn.

Betsy Mills - ARGenWeb Project State Coordinator
Jeff Kemp - ARGenWeb Project Assistant State Coordinator

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Surrounding Counties

Bradley  | Calhoun  |  Dallas  |  Drew   | Grant  | Jefferson