Blog · October 14, 2026 · Arkansas
St. Francis County Plat Book: finding and using one
Out toward Caldwell, plat books show ownership by township; the parcel viewer shows it today.
Main page: St. Francis County, AR GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, county facts and neighboring maps).
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Looking for a St. Francis County plat book? It's a printed atlas of landownership, usually by township, useful for farms near Heth. Covered here for St. Francis County: how the atlas is organized, where to look for printed copies, and how the county viewer fills the gaps.
Tracking down a St. Francis County plat book
In and around Hughes, a plat book is a privately published atlas, that map ownership across the countryside, usually township by township.
Where the parcel data lives
Go first to the St. Francis County ArcGIS parcel map; it includes every tax parcel around Madison and Forrest City. If the land is near Madison, enter a street address, an owner's name or a parcel number, and the viewer zooms to the match. For a home near Palestine, write down the parcel ID while you have it open; every clerk in the county asks for it first.
Finding a printed edition
Not every county has a current edition, try the county extension office, recorder's office or library near Caldwell.
Where the recorded documents are
Closer to Goodwin, the map is an index, not the title: recorded deeds, plats and easements for parcels in the county sit with the Circuit Clerk. For a tract near Hughes, have ready the instrument number listed on the parcel record so staff can find the deed fast.
Making your own township pages
Screenshot each section of the viewer around Madison to build your own up-to-date atlas.
Using it on a phone
Most viewers work in a phone browser, handy when you're parked on a road near Madison, but coverage can be spotty out of town. A saved image of the lot near Palestine and its lines keeps working without signal.
Reading the legal description
Arkansas follows the Public Land Survey System, so rural legal descriptions near Caldwell cite section, township and range. Each section is nominally a mile square, about 640 acres, with 36 sections to a township, though sections near Heth can be irregular. Write down the legal description for the tract near Madison when you talk to a surveyor.
Land on the county line
St. Francis County borders Crittenden County, Cross County, Lee County, Monroe County, and Woodruff County; every one of them runs a separate parcel map. Acreage along the edge near Caldwell can be split in two county records, so look at the neighboring map before you assume the acreage. If you're looking near Colt, the Platbookmapper state page lists every neighboring county map across Arkansas.
Common uses
Buyers and seed dealers around Madison rely on them to see ownership across many tracts at once.
Current ownership online
Click a parcel near Hughes for owner and acreage, and save it for your own township pages.
Getting your bearings
Forrest City holds the county offices, home to the main records offices. You'll also find Madison, Caldwell, Colt, and Heth, each with its own cluster of lots. Roughly 22,101 people live in St. Francis County (Census Bureau estimate, 2023) on about 635 square miles. St. Francis County dates to 1827, which matters when you trace an old farm's title.
Offices that can help
Deeds, mortgages and recorded plats for land near Goodwin come from the Circuit Clerk, usually searchable by name or document number. Zoning, permits and septic questions near Hughes need the planning or permitting office, depending on whether the land is inside town limits.
Atlas or legal document
On ground around Hughes, a plat book is not a recorded plat: the recorded plat at the Circuit Clerk is a legal document, and the atlas is just a guide.
A word on accuracy
Closer to Caldwell, listed acreage is a tax-roll number; just a licensed surveyor establishes the real boundary on the ground. If the land is near Palestine, owner names and values update on a schedule, so a deed recorded last month can take weeks to appear.
St. Francis County: common questions
How do I research old landowners near Palestine?
For a tract near Forrest City, some older atlases have been digitized; availability varies.
Why does the plat book differ from the deed around Hughes?
Near Heth, plat book acreage and lines are approximate; don't rely on them for boundaries.
Who sells plat books in St. Francis County?
The extension office or courthouse near Palestine usually knows; ask local offices.
Is the online parcel map better than a plat book for land near Caldwell?
Short answer: the viewer covers town lots near Palestine too; a printed atlas is still handy offline.
Is the parcel map a survey for land near Palestine?
If the land is near Colt, parcel lines are tax drawings, not surveys.
Open the official St. Francis County, AR parcel map See it in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.