Some of the cities, towns, and places in Stone County are Alco, Allison, Arlberg, Ben, Big Springs, Bluetip, Bothersome, Boyle, Buckhorn, Chalybeate Springs, East Richwoods, Fifty-Six, Flag, Fox, Gayler, Hanover, Harness, Hedges, Herpel, Kahoka, Luber, Lydalisk, Marcella, May, Meadow Creek, Melrose, Mountain View, Mozart, Newnata, Oga, Old Lexington, Onia, Optimus, Parma, Pekin, Pleasant Grove, Pleasant Hill, Red Stripe, Rushing, St. James, Timbo, Turkey Creek, West Richwoods
Stone County is located in the Ozark Mountains in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The county is named for rugged, rocky area terrain of the Ozarks. Created as Arkansas's 74th county on April 21, 1873, Stone County has two incorporated cities: Mountain View, the county seat and most populous city, and Fifty-Six. The county is also the site of numerous unincorporated communities and ghost towns.
Most of the county is sparsely populated forested Ozark hills; including the northern fifth of the county managed by the United States Forest Service as the Ozark National Forest. The remainder of the county is used for poultry, ranching, and timber production. The White River runs along the eastern boundary of Stone County. The county contains six protected areas in addition to the Ozark National Forest: Blanchard Springs Caverns within the Ozark National Forest, two Natural Areas, two Wildlife Management Areas and the Ozark Folk Center, which preserves and interprets Ozark cultural heritage, especially traditional mountain folk music and crafts. Other features such as log cabins, one-room school houses, community centers, and museums, as well as annual cultural events, preserve the history and culture of Stone County.
Stone County occupies 609.43 square miles (1,578.4 km2) and contained a population of 12,394 people in 5,325 households as of the 2010 Census, ranking it 57th in both size and population among the state's 75 counties.