Before Hernando De Soto, in 1541, arrived to the site where todays Marianna is located the area had been home to Native Americans for ages. And after the Spanish had been there the French explorers Marquette and Jolliet also traveled in the area of Marianna.
Marianna's first residents were pioneers, that had come from the Mississippi, up the St Francis and settled when they realized the natural resources of the area and how good it was located. The initial property of Marianna was provided by John Harland who named the town after his daughter. The town was founded in 1870.
Marianna is famous for being the resting place of a John Patterson, the first white child to be born in the state of Arkansas.
Marianna today has a population of about 5,900 people.

City Officials

Position	Name
Mayor	Ora Barnes Stevens
Clerk/Treasurer	Kim Miles
District Judge	Jason Carter
City Attorney	Vandell Bland
Police Chief	Rodney Perry
Fire Chief	Terry Sandefer
Sanitation Superintendent	Daniel Lawson
Street Superintendent	Daniel Lawson
Code Enforcement Officer	Doug Kennedy
Council Member	(Vacant)
Council Member	Mattie Allison
Council Member	Danny Blount
Council Member	Lafay Broadway
Council Member	Daphane Lathrop
Council Member	Leigh Lewis
Council Member	W.H. Calvin Murdock
Council Member	Joey Tinzie