US Land Life

Arkansas

Buying Land in Perry County, Arkansas

Perry County is one of Arkansas's least populated counties, sitting in the Fourche La Fave valley where the Ouachita Mountains begin, with a land base shaped as much by national forest ownership as by anything the county government does.

National Forest Ownership Limits Available Private Land

Case-by-case / verify locally

A meaningful share of Perry County sits within the Ouachita National Forest, which means the pool of private land available to buy is smaller relative to the county's total area than in a county without significant federal ownership. If a target parcel borders national forest land, confirm the boundary survey and any recorded access easement before assuming the property line matches what a map shows.

Part of the County Feeds a Major Drinking-Water Reservoir

Case-by-case / verify locally

The northern part of Perry County lies within or near the watershed that drains into Lake Maumelle, Central Arkansas Water's primary reservoir for the Little Rock metro area. Utilities that rely on a largely unfiltered surface-water source like this one commonly pursue land conservation and development limits within the contributing watershed -- ask Central Arkansas Water directly whether a specific parcel falls within any such watershed-protection area before assuming ordinary development rules apply.

Zoning Is Likely Minimal Given the Small, Rural Population

Case-by-case / verify locally

Perry County's population is small, and unincorporated land here is unlikely to fall under a comprehensive zoning ordinance, consistent with the pattern common among Arkansas's less populated rural counties. Confirm directly with the county whether any ordinance applies to a specific parcel rather than assuming either way.

Rural Terrain Means Site-Specific Septic and Access Checks Matter

Generally favorable

As in much of the Ouachita foothills, hilly terrain and variable soil can affect septic siting and road access on a given parcel. Get a site evaluation from the county environmental health office and confirm recorded legal access before buying anything off a state highway.

A small county shaped by the Fourche La Fave valley and the Ouachita foothills

Perry County sits where the flatter ground of central Arkansas gives way to the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains, with the Fourche La Fave River running through the county on its way to the Arkansas River. Perryville, the county seat, is a small town, and the county's overall population has stayed modest for decades -- this is genuinely rural, low-density country, more defined by forest cover and river valley than by any town of real size.

A large share of that forest cover falls within the Ouachita National Forest, which owns and manages a meaningful portion of the county's total land area. For a buyer, that means fewer private parcels relative to the county's footprint, and it means checking a target property's boundary against national forest land carefully, since forest-service and private ownership can interlock in irregular patterns in this part of the state.

A share of Little Rock's drinking-water watershed reaches into the county

Lake Maumelle, the primary drinking-water source for the Central Arkansas Water utility serving the Little Rock metro area, draws from a watershed that extends beyond the lake itself into parts of the surrounding counties, including the northern reaches of Perry County. Utilities managing a reservoir like this one -- particularly one treated with minimal filtration relative to a more engineered water source -- have real incentive to limit development and encourage conservation within the contributing watershed, sometimes through direct land purchases, easements, or partnerships with landowners.

If a parcel you're considering sits in that northern part of the county, it's worth a direct call to Central Arkansas Water to ask whether any watershed-protection program, easement, or land-use partnership affects it, since that kind of restriction won't necessarily show up on a standard county zoning check.

What this means for due diligence in Perry County

Start with the basics common to most rural Arkansas counties: confirm zoning status with the county judge's office, and budget for the state-run well and septic permitting process. Then layer on Perry County's two distinguishing checks -- a boundary and access review for anything near Ouachita National Forest land, and a direct call to Central Arkansas Water if the parcel sits in the county's northern, Lake Maumelle-adjacent portion.

Because so much of the county's land base is either federally owned forest or watershed-sensitive ground, it's worth budgeting extra time for these calls rather than treating them as a formality -- a boundary or watershed question here can take longer to resolve than a routine zoning check would in a more conventionally structured county, simply because more than one agency may need to weigh in before you can be confident about what a specific parcel actually allows.

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Perry County

For land bordering Ouachita National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service's local ranger district is a useful additional contact for boundary confirmation alongside the county offices above.

Planning & Zoning

Perry County Judge's Office

Confirming whether any zoning or building-permit ordinance applies to a specific unincorporated parcel.

Septic / Onsite Wastewater

Arkansas Department of Health -- Perry County Environmental Health Office

Septic system site evaluation, construction permit, and operation permit.

Official website →

Recorder / Clerk / Land Records

Perry County Circuit Clerk / Recorder

Recorded deed, easement, and plat history for a specific parcel.

Other

Central Arkansas Water

Whether a parcel falls within a Lake Maumelle watershed-protection area or is subject to any related land-use partnership.

Official website →

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Sources

  1. Arkansas Code Title 14, Subtitle 2, Chapter 17 -- County Planning — Arkansas Code (via Justia) (accessed 2026-09)
  2. Onsite Wastewater — Arkansas Department of Health (accessed 2026-09)

Last reviewed 2026-09