Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Watson, AR

Watson is a second-class city in Desha County, about twenty miles north of McGehee and fourteen miles east of Dumas, hemmed in by the Arkansas River to the north and the Mississippi River to the east.

Watson briefly held one of Arkansas's most unusual honors: the Desha County seat was moved there in October 1874 after Mississippi River bank erosion undermined the old seat of Napoleon, which eventually disappeared into the river altogether.

The county seat remained at Watson until 1880, when it moved to Arkansas City, by then a major Mississippi River port; development in Watson largely ceased after the seat and the railroad both went elsewhere.

Watson was incorporated on December 2, 1907, and is governed by a mayor and city council.

Early French trappers had camped at the Watson site along Red Fork Bayou as far back as the era when Henri de Tonti established Arkansas Post across the Arkansas River in 1686.

The 2020 census counted 185 people in Watson, down from 211 in 2010 and a peak of 433 in 1980; the 2000 census recorded 288 residents in 113 households.

Watson covers only about 0.20 square miles, making it one of the most compact municipalities in southeast Arkansas.

Watson's schools merged into the Desha Central School District at Rohwer on July 1, 1972, when the local school still enrolled 384 students.

In 1992 the Union Pacific Railroad discontinued service through Watson and donated its 73-mile right-of-way to the State of Arkansas, parts of which have since been converted into the Delta Heritage Trail.

When complete, the Delta Heritage Trail will pass through Watson between the Yancopin Bridge over the Arkansas River and the Benzal Bridge over the White River, crossing old-growth hardwood forest in the Trusten Holder State Wildlife Management Area.