Brainerd
Ghost town · Poinsett County, Arkansas

Brainerd is a ghost town in Poinsett County, Arkansas. It is one of 8 former communities in Poinsett County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 40th among the 74 Arkansas counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Brainerd as a historical populated place on the Otwell topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 35.6812° N, 90.8635° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Otwell |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 250 ft |
| Nearest living town | Weiner, AR |
| Distance to it | 4.9 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 78949 |
| Coordinates | 35.68119, -90.86345 |
Then and now
Drag the slider: the old USGS map on the left, the same ground from the air today on the right. Both cover the same 1.9-mile square centred on the recorded location.

Left: Weiner quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500), U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection. Right: The same ground today: NAIP aerial imagery, USDA Farm Service Agency, National Agriculture Imagery Program (via USGS). Both public domain.
What's there now
Brainerd is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Weiner, AR (population 675), about 4.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 250 feet above sea level. The aerial view above shows what covers the ground today. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Obearghost town · Craighead County · 2.6 mi
- Creditghost town · Craighead County · 8.5 mi
- Buffalolickghost town · Poinsett County · 10.1 mi
- Scarbghost town · Craighead County · 12.3 mi
- Haleghost town · Jackson County · 13.2 mi
- Tuscanyghost town · Jackson County · 13.8 mi
- Marchghost town · Craighead County · 14.6 mi
- Wilkinsvilleghost town · Jackson County · 15 mi
- Dossghost town · Craighead County · 16 mi
- Ruffinghost town · Poinsett County · 16.4 mi
- Mercedghost town · Poinsett County · 17.4 mi
- Bessieghost town · Lawrence County · 17.6 mi
Questions
Where is Brainerd?
Brainerd is in Poinsett County, Arkansas, at 35.6812, -90.8635.
How many ghost towns are in Poinsett County?
Poinsett County, Arkansas has 8 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.