Izard County, AR
History
In the nineteenth century, Izard County served as a gateway to settlement across northern Arkansas and was the parent county of seven other counties...According to some historians, John Lafferty, a native of Ireland, traveled up the White River in 1802 to what became known as Lafferty Creek. He built a log cabin and attempted to claim 640 acres following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, but his claim was denied because he had not lived on the land for ten years. In spite of this setback, Lafferty and his family established the county's first settlement at Lafferty Creek in 1810. Osage hunted in the area prior to an 1808 treaty, and Shawnee also lived in the White River valley until 1833.Keelboats began bringing settlers up the White River in the early 1800s. By 1844, steamboats were traveling the White River as far as Izard County, bringing in passengers and mail and leaving with cash crops.
In 1825, the territorial government split off part of Independence County, naming the new county for Governor George Izard. Adding Osage (1827) and Cherokee (1828) lands, Izard County covered most of north-central Arkansas. In 1833, western Izard County was divided into Van Buren, Carroll, and Johnson counties. Later, sections of Izard County were split off to become Marion (1836), Fulton (1842), and parts of Baxter (1873) and Stone (1873) counties.
Source: http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=777