El Dorado Genealogy Records
El Dorado genealogy records are held at the Union County courthouse, which is located in El Dorado as the county seat, with records going back to 1830 and the South Arkansas Historical Foundation providing additional local archives for the region.
El Dorado at a Glance
Union County Courthouse Records
El Dorado is the county seat of Union County. The Union County Clerk's office is at 101 N. Washington Street, El Dorado, AR 71730, phone (870) 864-1910. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1830 and probate records from 1830. Union County was formed in 1829 from Clark and Hempstead counties, and the courthouse records run continuously from 1830. The Circuit Court Clerk holds land records and court files. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Union County has one of the deeper record bases in south Arkansas, with continuous courthouse documentation going back nearly two centuries. The county was the parent of Ouachita County (formed 1842), and families in the Ouachita County area before 1842 have their earlier records in the Union County courthouse at El Dorado. Pre-1829 records for the El Dorado area are in Clark County at Arkadelphia and Hempstead County at Hope.
The Union County courthouse in El Dorado is the central repository for county genealogy records going back to 1830.
The Union County courthouse at 101 N. Washington Street in El Dorado holds marriage records from 1830, probate records from 1830, and land records for south Arkansas genealogy research.
South Arkansas Historical Foundation and Barton Library
The South Arkansas Historical Foundation in El Dorado preserves south Arkansas history including Union County. The Foundation holds historical archives, photographs, and publications relevant to El Dorado area families and can assist with research requests. The museum's collection documents both the antebellum settlement period and the oil boom era that transformed El Dorado after 1921.
The Barton Library in El Dorado holds an Arkansas Room collection with local history materials, genealogy resources, and online database access. The library's Arkansas Room is the primary public library genealogy resource in the El Dorado area. The Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA) at 201 Highway 195 S, Washington, AR 71862, phone (870) 983-2633, covers 12 southwest Arkansas counties including Union County and holds regional records that supplement what is available at the courthouse.
The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records from 1914. The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds Confederate pension files and microfilmed county materials for Union County. Federal records are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Cities
El Dorado is in the south Arkansas timberlands. Other qualifying cities in the broader region with genealogy pages include Texarkana to the southwest in Miller County. The nearest significant city to the north is Pine Bluff in Jefferson County.