Stone County Genealogy Records
Stone County genealogy records begin in 1874, when this north-central Arkansas Ozarks county was formed from Izard, Independence, Searcy, and Van Buren counties. The county seat is Mountain View, and the courthouse holds marriage registers, probate files, and land records for family history research in this scenic mountain county.
Stone County at a Glance
Stone County Courthouse Genealogy Records
The Stone County Clerk's office mailing address is PO Box 56, Mountain View, AR 72560, phone (870) 269-3471. The Clerk holds marriage records from 1874 and probate records from 1874. Stone County was created on April 21, 1873, from parts of Izard County, Independence County, Searcy County, and Van Buren County, with courthouse records beginning in 1874. The Circuit Court Clerk at the courthouse holds divorce filings, court records, and land records. Birth and death records at the county level begin in 1914.
Stone County sits in the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks, and Mountain View is known as the folk music capital of the Ozarks. The county was formed from four parent counties in 1873 during the post-Civil War period of county reorganization. Because Stone County was carved from four different jurisdictions, researchers need to identify which parent county covered the specific area where their ancestor lived before 1873. Izard County records at Melbourne, Independence County records at Batesville, Searcy County records at Marshall, and Van Buren County records at Clinton all potentially hold pre-formation documentation for Stone County families.
The Ozarks mountain character of Stone County means its founding families were primarily small farm settlers from the Appalachian tradition, and many families maintained deep roots in the county across multiple generations. This makes Stone County one of the counties where multi-generational family histories are relatively common in the ARGenWeb submissions and local genealogical records.
Note: Stone County was formed in 1873 from Izard, Independence, Searcy, and Van Buren counties. Pre-1873 family records are distributed across those four parent county courthouses.
Stone County Genealogy on FamilySearch
The FamilySearch Stone County wiki lists available records and links to digitized collections. Marriage records from 1874 are in the statewide Arkansas marriage index on FamilySearch. Probate records are indexed for the county, and census records run from 1880 through 1940.
The 1880 census is the first complete federal census for Stone County and names every household member with ages, birthplaces, and occupations. It was taken seven years after the county was formed and captures the founding families in Mountain View and the surrounding townships. Birthplace data in the 1880 census traces Stone County settlers back to Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas, giving researchers the earlier trail to follow.
FamilySearch has indexed Civil War pension files for Stone County area veterans. Because the county was formed after the war, the relevant pension files are found under the four parent counties. Searching Izard, Independence, Searcy, and Van Buren county pension files gives the fullest picture of the Civil War generation in what is now Stone County. Both Confederate and Union pension files are relevant to this Ozarks region.
ARGenWeb Stone County Resources
The ARGenWeb Stone County page provides free genealogical resources compiled by volunteers. Cemetery surveys, family history submissions, and historical documents for this north-central Arkansas Ozarks county are available on the site.
Stone County cemeteries are scattered across the mountainous terrain and include both community burial sites in Mountain View and small family plots on private land throughout the county. The ARGenWeb transcriptions document these sites and are especially useful given the county's relatively late formation in 1873, since families that predated the county would have earlier burial records under the parent county jurisdictions.
The ARGenWeb Stone County page provides cemetery records, family history submissions, and genealogical resources for researchers tracing families in this north-central Arkansas Ozarks county.
Family histories on the ARGenWeb site for Stone County often trace connections across all four parent counties, reflecting the complex boundary history of this region. Researchers who need to work backward from Stone County records through the pre-1873 period may find the ARGenWeb submissions helpful for identifying which parent county to search first.
Vital Records and State Archives
The Arkansas Department of Health holds birth and death records for Stone County from 1914. The state marriage index starts in January 1917. For events before those dates, the county courthouse in Mountain View is the primary official source. Birth certificates cost $12 and death certificates are $10 per copy from the state.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds Confederate and Union pension files, military records, and microfilmed county materials for Stone County and its four parent counties. Federal records are at the National Archives at Fort Worth, 501 W Felix Street, Fort Worth, TX 76115, phone (817) 831-5620.
Nearby Counties
Stone County borders Izard County, Independence County, Searcy County, Van Buren County, Cleburne County, and Sharp County. All four bordering counties — Izard, Independence, Searcy, and Van Buren — are parent counties and hold pre-1873 records for Stone County families.