Sheridan is a city and
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of
Grant County,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
, United States. The community is located deep in the forests of the
Arkansas Timberlands. It sits at the intersection of
US Highways 167 and
270
__NOTOC__
Year 270 ( CCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antiochianus and Orfitus (or, less frequently, year 102 ...
. Early settlers were drawn to the area by the native timber, which is still a very important part of Sheridan's economy, although the city has diversified into several other industries. Sheridan's history also includes a college,
Missionary Baptist College
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
, until its closure in 1934, and a series of conflicts during the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
.
Located at the southern end of the
Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state o ...
region, Sheridan has been experiencing a population boom in recent years, as indicated by a 49% growth in population between the 1990 and 2010 censuses.
The population as of the
2010 census was 4,603.
History
Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood
In 1818–1824, the land that Sheridan currently occupies was the site of a
Quapaw
The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tr ...
reservation __NOTOC__
Reservation may refer to: Places
Types of places:
* Indian reservation, in the United States
* Military base, often called reservations
* Nature reserve
Government and law
* Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty
* Reservation in India, ...
. After the
Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Quapaw were removed from the land and pushed further west. By 1833 most of the natives had been moved westward and the land was ceded to the United States.
Eponym
Sheridan was named after , who served as the 8th
Commanding General of the United States Army
The Commanding General of the United States Army was the title given to the service chief and highest-ranking officer of the United States Army (and its predecessor the Continental Army), prior to the establishment of the Chief of Staff of the ...
from 1883 to 1888.
Settlement through the Gilded Age
The first white settler was Dr. Richard C. Rhodes, a native of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a railroad passed through Sheridan south into
Dallas County. The railroad, owned by E. S. McCarty, carried freight and passengers for hire.
From 1917 to 1934, Missionary Baptist College operated in Sheridan. The college suffered from financial troubles due to the
Great Depression. The college provided local residents with courses, not only in
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
, but in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...
,
ecclesiology
In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership.
In its early history, one of t ...
, and expression. A 1920 bulletin issued by the college wrote that its goal was "to teach and emphasize the very principles for which the real
Baptists of Arkansas stand and for which true Baptists have stood for almost nineteen centuries . . . this is no preacher manufacturing establishment
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...
the Lord alone has the prerogative of calling men to preach the gospel." The revamped Missionary Baptist Seminary thereafter opened in
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
.
Mid-twentieth century
In 1943, Jewell Williams, a
Jehovah's Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved i ...
, was convicted in the Mayor's Court for selling Bibles without a permit under Sheridan City Ord. No. 50. and fined $10. On a
trial de novo, he obtained the same result. Williams joined other members of his faith and appealed similar convictions occurring across the state to the
Arkansas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction ...
in ''Berry v. City of Hope'', challenging the city ordinance as
unconstitutional
Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...
under the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. The court agreed and held the ordinances unconstitutional.
The "Mighty 1090"
KAAY radio station sponsored the Rebel Springs Rock Festival of 1973 east of Sheridan on Highway 270 that included
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature so ...
as a headliner. Tickets were $4 before the show and lasted three days, July 4–6, 1973. The
National Guard was sent out to maintain "peace". Local property owners attempted to get a court-ordered
injunction to halt the festival from talking place, on the legal theory of
nuisance
Nuisance (from archaic ''nocence'', through Fr. ''noisance'', ''nuisance'', from Lat. ''nocere'', "to hurt") is a common law tort. It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "common") ...
, but to no avail.
In 1954, Sheridan's school board voted to comply with the Supreme Court's decision in
Brown vs Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
. Sheridan had operated an elementary school for Black children and bused its Black high school students to schools in other counties The protests were so severe that the school board reversed itself the following night. Then, local sawmill owner Jack Williams told his Black employees that they could accept his offer to buy out their homes and give them to the employees, and all move 25 miles west to the town of
Malvern. Black residents had no choice, for Williams told them that "if a family refused to move, he would evict them and burn down their home."
This left Sheridan as a
sundown town
Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminato ...
, and instead of becoming "one of the most racially progressive towns in Arkansas if its initial school board decision had stood, instead became one of its most backward."
Loewen Loewen is a spelling variant of the word ''Löwen'' which means "lions" in German. This spelling is uncommon in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (as in the most common German language dialects ö is used usually instead of oe, while in English ö a ...
's research describes the fact that "no Sheridan resident lifted a voice to protest the forced buyout of its black community" and a "reputation for bigotry when their high school played interracial teams in athletic contests."
Demographics
Sheridan is part of the
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
–
North Little Rock–
Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
.
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 4,920 people, 1,884 households, and 1,235 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the
2010 United States census of 2010, there were 4,603 people, 1,841 households, and 1,238 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,007 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.0%
White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 1.6%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 0.5%
Asian, 1.3% from
other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 2.8% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race. There were 1,841 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.6 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.
The median income for a household in the city was $57,305, and the median income for a family was $64,123. Males had a median income of $46,438 versus $31,580 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $23,969. About 3.8% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.
2000 census
As of the
2000 United States Census,
there were 3,872 people, 1,509 households, and 1,050 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,685 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.34% White, 0.96% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,509 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,207, and the median income for a family was $43,953. Males had a median income of $32,216 versus $22,891 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,184. About 7.0% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over.
Education

Sheridan is provided public education from the
Sheridan School District, including the
Sheridan High School.
Sheridan had a
segregated school for
African-Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
until the ''
Brown v. Board
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
'' decision. At the time, Sheridan had around 199 African American residents out of the town's total population of 1,898. On May 21, 1954, the local school board voted unanimously to integrate its 21 African-American students into its high school to avoid the $4,000 it would have cost the school board to send them to
Jefferson County. The white parents became upset and called another vote the next night. At that vote, the board voted unanimously to keep the local school segregated. Community members in the area, still not happy, petitioned and forced four school board members to step down.
Next, Jack Williams, the largest employer of African-Americans in the area, told Black families that they could accept his offer to buyout their homes and move them, or he would burn their houses down.
After the departure of the last African-American student from the city limits, the city bulldozed the African-American school; the remnants of the school were buried and the city no longer had a duty to integrate their schools.
[A Minister Recalls The Pain Of Segregation]
" ''National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...
''. Retrieved on February 24, 2009. This incident is recounted by former resident James Seawood on storycorps.
In March 2014, Sheridan High School principal Rodney Williams ordered the removal of student profiles from the student yearbook, rather than publish one of an openly gay student. In response, a human rights organization held a rally on the
State Capitol steps, and the principal received a petition with 30,000 signatures asking Williams to reverse the decision.
Arts and culture

Sheridan hosts an annual event based on the area's deep roots in the timber industry called Timberfest, which includes a
lumberjack
Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
competition and live music around the courthouse square. ''The White River Kid'', starring
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival ...
and
Randy Travis
Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.
Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...
, was filmed during a mock Timberfest during the summer of 1998, with many of the local residents appearing as extras.
Tourism

The
Grant County Museum
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
* Castle Grant
United States
*Grant, Alabama
* Grant, Inyo County, ...
, located on Shackleford Road in Sheridan, preserves and interprets the history and culture of the county for residents and visitors. The museum features exhibits detailing the
Battle of Jenkins' Ferry
The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, also known as the Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry, was fought on April 30, 1864, at Jenkins' Ferry, southwest of Little Rock (present-day Grant County, Arkansas), during the American Civil War. Although the battle en ...
, a segment of the
Union's failed
Red River Campaign during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
, as well as a large
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
vehicle collection. Other exhibits include pioneer life and settlement in Grant County, and the flora and fauna native to the county. The Heritage Square is also on the museum grounds, featuring ten relocated and restored buildings. Just 5.8 miles north of Sheridan is the B-17 Crash Memorial where a replica
B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theate ...
was constructed to honor nine airmen who died in a plane crash at this location in 1943.
Media
Bales and Cleveland started the first newspaper in the Grant County area, titled ''The Sheridan Spy''. The first issue was dated September 1, 1881. In 1882, the Hon. J.S. Williams, who a year later became a state senator, bought the ''Sheridan Spy'' and renamed it ''The Sheridan Headlight'', which is still published today. Jacob Palmer is the current reporter for the Sheridan Headlight. The short lived ''Grant County News'' was started in 1916 by William GoForth.
Utilities

Sheridan's water system began when a private entity began installing water lines in the 1930s. This system was eventually purchased by the city, which now allows the Sheridan Water and Sewer Department to operate the system independently of city funds.
Today, Sheridan is capable of treating
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...
obtained from five wells at a rate of 4.5 million gallons (17 million liters) per day (MGD/MLD). Sheridan's
wastewater
Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industri ...
treatment facility is located at the end of Gatzke Drive and discharges treated effluent to Big Creek in accordance with the permit granted by the
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
The facility utilizes a three-cell pond stabilization system followed by a holding pond and is designed for a flow of 0.67 MGD (2.5 MLD).
Notable people
*
Ken Bragg,
Republican member of the
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the s ...
from Sheridan since 2013
*
Buck Fausett,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
player
*
David Delano Glover
David Delano Glover (January 18, 1868 – April 5, 1952) was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 6th congressional district.
Life and work
Born in Prattsville in Grant County, Glover attended the public schools of Prattsville and Sherid ...
, United States representative for
Arkansas's 6th congressional district from 1929 to 1935
*
Ray Hamilton, football player who played
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
from 1938 to 1947, inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
*
John Little McClellan
John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) from ...
, lawyer and politician, United States representative for
Arkansas's 6th congressional district from 1935 to 1939, United States senator for
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
from 1943-1977.
*
Earl Smith,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
player who played for the World Series champion Giants and Pirates.
*
Eddie Joe Williams
Eddie Joe Williams (born June 26, 1954) is an American politician who served as a member of the Arkansas Senate for the 29th district from 2011 to 2017. During his tenure in the Senate, Williams served as majority leader.
Early life
Williams ...
, State Senate Majority Leader, formerly mayor of
Cabot, Arkansas
Cabot is the largest city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and a suburb of Little Rock. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,776, and in 2019 the population was an estimated 26,352, ranking it as the state's 19th la ...
*Jami Cook, Career law enforcement officer and Secretary of the
Arkansas Department of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety is a department of the government of the state of Arkansas. The Department of Public Safety is responsible for state law enforcement, emergency management, crime information, crime support, and fire safety.
The Ar ...
See also
*
List of cities and towns in Arkansas
*
List of places named after people in the United States
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Grant County, Arkansas
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Arkansas
1887 establishments in Arkansas
Cities in Arkansas
Cities in Grant County, Arkansas
Cities in Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway metropolitan area
County seats in Arkansas
Philip Sheridan
Planned cities in the United States
Populated places established in 1887