When James Howell brought his family to the Riverways in 1832 and settled in the valley two miles east of present West Plains he set in motion the formation of Howell County. On January 5, 1833 Ripley County was organized, and the western township was called, "Howell". It was larger than the present county as the west line was the north fork of the White River.
The Township of Howell was retained as the Southwest Township of Oregon County when that county was organized into four townships by the County Court on the first Monday of October 1845. At this session Willie Howell was County Clerk.
The County elections for the year 1856, was held and three of the election judges were Josiah H. Howell, Thomas J. Howell and Willie Howell.
At the State legislative session years 1856,1857, a petition was presented asking the establishment of a county to be called "Howell" as the population had passed the required 500 people.
The creative act of forming "Howell County" was passed and the Justices named to organize the county were: Benjamin Alsup (of Alsupsburg), James Ellison and Joshy Howell, Sheriff, and Joseph Harris, County Clerk.
The first session of Circuit Court was held in a log house one mile east of present West Plains. The Circuit Judge was Albert Jackson and the Circuit Attorney was John R. Woodside.
The area included in Howell County was between ranges 7 and 10 and from township 27 north, south to the Arkansas line.
The location the justices selected for a permanent seat of justice for Howell County was at West Plains, the name was selected by Judge John Woodside. By the year 1869 there had been built a frame Court House. There was a population of 150 in West Plains and 3,000 county wide. Th town of West Plains had several stores.
The first settler I have record of that settled in the present area of Howell County was William Smith. He was born in South Carolina and moved with his wife and two sons Richard and John to the Eleven Points River in the year 1816.
Jacob House, Benjamin Adams, W. Sims, Samuel Rose and A. V. Tabor settled in the twenties. James Howell, Thomas Howell, Eli Tabor, Amos Smotherman and Hutton settled in the thirties. Joshua Farrar, George Morgan, A.J. Rhodes, Sherwood Reese, Hirmon Pinnel, and Peter Renfrow settled in the forties. William Goldsberry, Hezekiel Weaver, Abraham Padgett, Nathan M. Cammon, John Baker and many others were early settlers of a rapid growing county but it was to suffer destruction of its homes and buildings to the greatest extent of any county I know, as an eye witness wrote that less than twenty households remained after the Civil War.