Scott County Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law: Ouachita National Forest, Seven Courthouses, the Waldron War, and What Every Landlord Needs to Know
Scott County is one of the most isolated and most forested counties in Arkansas, set in the heart of the Ouachita Mountains along the Oklahoma border. Named for Andrew Scott, a justice of the Supreme Court of the Arkansas Territory, the county was formed on November 5, 1833. More than half of its 898 square miles — 307,608 acres — are part of the Ouachita National Forest, giving Scott County more Ouachita NF acreage than any other county in Arkansas. Trees genuinely outnumber people here, with a 2020 census population of just 9,836. The county seat is Waldron, founded on land donated by William G. Featherston, with the town eventually platted and named for John P. Waldron, the surveyor who designed its layout in 1845.
Seven Courthouses — Three Destroyed by Fire
Scott County has constructed seven courthouses since its founding, and three of those were destroyed by fire. The current courthouse, built in 1996 at 190 West First Street, is the seventh in the county’s history. The previous courthouse — an Art Deco structure built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) assistance after the 1933 fire consumed its predecessor — still stands on the same courthouse square and now houses the Scott County Museum of History. Inside the museum, visitors can view the county’s original plat map (an 1869 recreation of an 1840s document that burned with an earlier courthouse during the Civil War), along with exhibits on Native American history, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the story of Forester, a now-vanished timber boomtown that once rivaled Waldron in size. Eviction filings for Scott County properties are made to the Circuit Clerk at the 1996 courthouse.
The Waldron War and the Civil War
Scott County’s post–Civil War history was marked by extraordinary lawlessness. The Civil War itself brought four attacks on Waldron in 1863 and 1864; Union forces from the 14th Kansas Cavalry captured the town in September 1863, and when they departed in 1864, they burned most of the buildings except those of founder William Featherston. After the war, two factions of the Republican Party turned their disputes violent during what became known as the Waldron War — a period from 1873 to 1879 during which more than thirty murders occurred in the county. Governors Elisha B. Baxter, August H. Garland, and William R. Miller each ordered the state militia to Waldron to restore order before the lawlessness finally subsided. The county also developed a reputation for mistletoe growing in the trees around its old courthouse, and for mountain music as a central form of community entertainment — a tradition that continues today.
Forester, the Lost Boomtown, and Goose Tatum
At the height of the timber industry, the community of Forester, south of Waldron, had more residents than the county seat and operated one of the largest sawmills in the state. The town supported hotels, stores, schools, and — in one of Scott County’s most distinctive historical footnotes — a semiprofessional African American baseball team on which Reece “Goose” Tatum reportedly played before his later fame as a Harlem Globetrotter. When the virgin forests were exhausted by the late 1920s and the mills closed, Forester’s population evaporated and the town was effectively abandoned. The Kansas City Southern Railway arrived in Waldron in 1903 and provided the transportation infrastructure that allowed Waldron to survive when other timber communities did not. Rock Café, which has operated in downtown Waldron since 1936, is among the few institutions that bridge the boomtown era and the present.
Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Law in Scott County
All residential rental relationships in Scott County are governed by statewide Arkansas law. There is no local rent control anywhere in Arkansas — state law preempts any county or municipal rent control ordinance. For nonpayment, serve a 3-day written notice to vacate after rent is at least 5 days past due, then file an Unlawful Detainer complaint with Circuit Clerk Brianna Freeman, 190 West First Street, Box 10, Waldron, AR 72958, (479) 637-2642. For lease violations, serve a 14-day notice to cure. Month-to-month tenancies require 30 days’ written notice to terminate. Security deposits are capped at two months’ rent for landlords with six or more units, returned with written itemized deductions within 60 days. No implied warranty of habitability by default; no repair-and-deduct remedy; self-help evictions are prohibited. Scott County remains a dry county — alcohol sales are prohibited within its borders.
This guide is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney for guidance specific to your situation. Last updated: March 2026.
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