 greene county is a county located in the u.s. state of arkansas. as of the 2010 census, the population was 42,090. the county seat is paragould, which sits atop crowley's ridge. greene county comprises the paragould, ar micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the jonesboroâparagould, ar combined statistical area. == history == the first settler to the area was benjamin crowley of kentucky who arrived in 1821 and established a home about 12 miles west of paragould. greene county was formed on 5 november 1833 out of portions of lawrence county and contained portions of present clay and craighead counties. the county was named after revolutionary war hero nathanael greene. the original county seat was in benjamin crowley's home. by 1836, when arkansas became a state, the county seat was located at a settlement called "paris" (not to be confused with present-day paris, arkansas). in 1848 a national highway was put through and the county seat was moved to the community of gainesville, arkansas which had a reputation as a relatively lawless town. the county seat remained there until 1883 when it was moved to the new town of paragould. the residents of gainesville opposed the move and it is reported that shots were fired and tempers were high. a new courthouse was built in 1888 and the building still survives in downtown paragould. == geography == according to the u.s. census bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (0.3%) is water. ===major highways===  * 20px u.s. highway 49 * 20px u.s. highway 49 business * 25px [[u.s. highway 41
1833_establishments_in_Arkansas_Territory Arkansas_counties Greene_County,_Arkansas Jonesboro-Paragould_Combined_Statistical_Area Populated_places_established_in_1833