The Arkansas legislature established Dorsey County as Arkansas's 71st county on April 17, 1873, naming it for Stephen W. Dorsey, the U.S. Senator from Arkansas. When he was indicted for defrauding the Post Office, they renamed it on March 5, 1885, for Grover Cleveland, the newly elected President of the United States. The Battle of Mark's Mills, the pivotal engagement in the Union Army's ill-fated Camden Expedition during the U.S. Civil War, took place in what is now Cleveland County. This engagement resulted in a crushing victory for Confederate forces, though the victory ultimately proved to be hollow when Federal General Frederick Steele and the rest of his army managed to escape from Camden to Little Rock.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 8,571 people, 3,273 households, and 2,513 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile. There were 3,834 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 84.79% White, 13.22% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 1.62% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 3,273 households out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were married couplesliving together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.20% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,405, and the median income for a family was $38,164. Males had a median income of $31,282 versus $21,172 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,362. About 11.40% of families and 15.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.50% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.
Over The past few election cycles Cleveland county has trended heavily towards the GOP. The last democrat to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1996.
Monroe Schwarzlose, a turkey farmer and political who polled 31 percent of the vote against Governor Bill Clinton in the 1980 Democraticprimary. He won in Cleveland County.
