In 1813, Louisiana got included in Arkansas which was a county then. In 1815, Lawrence County was created out of some portion of Arkansas and the land of Louisiana got divided between the two. In 1838, Poinsett County was created which included most of the area which is known as Craighead County today. It was quite difficult for the people of present Craighead County area to reach to the county seat of Poinsett as it was very far. So they complained and asked for a separate county.
In 1858 Senator William A. Jones promised the formation of a new county. Lands were taken from the counties Greene, Poinsett and Mississippi and a new county was to be formed and named Crowley County after the Crowley's Ridge. But a senator ‘Thomas Craighead’ opposed because the area that was going to be taken out of Mississippi County was a main source of taxes for Mississippi County. So one day in the absence of Thomas Craighead, Senator Jones got the bill passed in senate and a new county was formed. As compensation the new county was named ‘Craighead County’ after him. The grateful citizens of Craighead County named the county seat after Senator Jones; Jonesboro. Later in 1883 Lake City was made second county seat.
The total area covered by Craighead County is, 713 square miles. Out of these 713 square miles, 711 square miles is land and only 2 square miles is water. The noteworthy geographical landmark of the county is Crowley's Ridge. The major highways that run through the county are; US 49, US 63, AR 1, AR 18 and AR 92. The neighboring counties are Greene, Dunklin, Lawrence, Poinsett, Mississippi and Jackson. The important cities and towns are Bay, Brookland, Egypt, Lake City, Black Oak, Caraway, Herman, Monette, Bono, Cash and Jonesboro.
