Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,997. The county seat is Newport. Jackson County is Arkansas's 23rd county, formed on November 5, 1829, and named for Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. Jackson was nearing the end of his second term when Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836.Jackson County is represented in the Arkansas State Senate by the Republican Ronald R.