A handful of families moved into the area now known as the City of Sherwood in the early 1900’s. Sherwood started out as a small farming community with no utilities or running water. By 1923 running water was piped in from three springs on the Koehler farm. In 1925 electricity became available for the community. Sherwood continued to grow over the next twenty years until its formal incorporation as a town on April 22, 1948.
The first citywide election was held on July 10, 1948, and Sherwood’s first Mayor, Recorder, and City Council were elected. Mayor Hal P. (Bob) LaCoste won in a race of three, and our first Town Council members ran unopposed from each of five wards. Sherwood elected officials but had no City budget. Ladies from the two Home Demonstration Clubs and seven girls, their parents and friends came to the rescue. At a penny a vote, $525 was raised in the First Miss Sherwood Contest. The night of the coronation, a Bingo game and the sale of cold drinks brought in another $75. The $600 raised was turned over to the Sherwood Improvement Fund to help the newly elected officials address the community’s needs.
The first Town Council meeting was held at 8:00 p.m. on July 20, 1948 in the home of the newly elected Recorder, Joe Turssell. Topics at the meeting included the following:
- Handbill distribution in each ward to urge people to buy poll tax receipts, and point out the value of a health department and the collection of trash and garbage
- Solving a problem with school bus transportation
- A possible franchise for public transportation with the Capital Transportation Company or The National Bus Company
- Alderman Noel stated that he would like to start a local newspaper called The Sherwood Times-Herald as the official publication of the Town
- Alderman Nave offered to contact the commanding officer at Camp Robinson to obtain surplus buildings for a municipal facility
- A discussion of a tax and vaccinations for dogs in the Town was discussed
- Four new committees were formed
- Health and Sanitation
- Streets and Drainage
- Public Utilities and Transportation
- Law Enforcement
- A proposal was made to oil all of the streets
- Alderman Harrington nominated T.O. Simmons for Town Marshall, and he was unanimously elected with the charge to enforce the speed limits and breaches of peace.
The meeting lasted just over three hours, and formally launched Sherwood as a community. The first City Ordinance was passed a week later at the second Town Council meeting. It stated that it shall be unlawful for anyone to drive a vehicle within the Town of Sherwood at a speed greater than twenty-five (25) miles per hour, excluding from the ordinance responding emergency vehicles.
A special census was taken on September 27, 1948, that determined the population of the Town of Sherwood was 714. The first Town Hall was a 16-foot square Army surplus building purchased for less than $100. The Little Rock Y.M.C.A. donated a 2,760 square foot building to Sherwood to be used for a Teenage Club and other community activities. The two buildings together gave the new Town a place to meet. Another milestone was reached when Sherwood agreed to pay the Little Rock North Heights Improvement District $1.00 per month and an average of 70 cents per month for the electricity to run each of twenty-five streetlights.
Sherwood created its own volunteer Fire Department on September 6, 1950. On September 22, 1951, the first Fire truck was housed in the Sherwood Fire Station. One long blast from a Civil Defense siren called the volunteer firemen to duty for a fire. Five fire hydrants were installed around the Town following a Resolution passed by the Council on October 24, 1960.
Over the next twenty years, Sherwood grew as a community from its original 714 residents to 2,754 in the 1970 U.S. Census. From 1970 to 1980 we tripled our population to over 10,000 citizens. The City of Sherwood has continued that rapid growth trend, and in the 2000 U.S. Census had 21,511 people. Since 1955 the City of Sherwood has accepted eighty-three annexations of land. Today over 80% of our current residents live in single-family homes that they own.
Sherwood has had the leadership of eight Mayors during its fifty-five year history. Each has contributed significantly to the growth of the City and expansion of services for its residents. Today the City of Sherwood boasts the third lowest crime rate of any city in the State of Arkansas. Our Animal Services Department has one of the most successful animal adoption programs in the country, with the second lowest euthanasia rate of any city except San Francisco, California. Our Parks and Recreation Department hosts thousands of fans from all over the United States each year during our summer baseball tournaments. The Senior Citizens Center serves over 600 of our seniors with a busy calendar of social events, trips, local transportation assistance to grocery stores, doctor’s offices, and shopping centers, and a daily activity schedule at the Center that includes computer classes, bingo, line dancing, ceramics classes, crafts, board games, and Tai Chi classes.
The City of Sherwood offers a high quality of life for its citizens, while keeping their tax burden low. We are optimistic about our continued growth, and look forward to finding new ways to improve our community.
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