Sylvan Hills Country Club Golf Course · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0

History · Sherwood

Sherwood dates to 1948, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #109 of 123 in Arkansas. What drives it

Most of Sherwood was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listings are the Roundtop Filling Station and the Sylvan Hills Country Club Golf Course. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1950.

1948founded

2on the National Register

0.8%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Sherwood began

When was Sherwood founded?

1948

Sherwood dates its founding to 1948 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 717 in 19502020 census: 32,73178 years

How historic is Sherwood?

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Sherwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sherwood is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #109 of 123 in Arkansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sherwood’s overall grade.

Founding era1948, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD⁻Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.4) · typical AR town 3.1% · U.S. 8.4%D National Register2 listings, 0.6 per 10,000 residents · typical AR town 20.5 · U.S. 2.4C⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%

NewerOlder

Arkansas towns of 2,500+ (123)Ahead of 11%

Arkansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Arkansas town has 20.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sherwood’s 0.6 sits below most of its state (24% of Arkansas towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1948.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Sherwood’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sherwood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sherwood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sherwood’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map

AutumnbrookGravel RidgeIndian Head Lake EstatesNorth Hills ManorSilver CreekSylvan HillsWestern Acres

Gone or out of use

Gravel Hill Schoolschool

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sherwood

BrushyCalvaLeaRest Hills

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Sherwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sherwood.

Read it all →

Sherwood was officially incorporated as a town on April 22, 1948. Sherwood moved to a city of Second Class on September 16, 1957, and subsequently as a city of First Class on April 30, 1971.

On March 31, 2023, a damaging tornado passed through Sherwood causing damage. The tornado originally touched down near Little Rock, before it continued on a path which went through Sherwood.

Gravel Ridge was a census-designated place in Pulaski County that was annexed into the city of Sherwood in 2008. Gravel Ridge had a population of 3,232 and total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2), as of the 2000 census. In a 2008 special election, Gravel Ridge was annexation by Sherwood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sherwood, 1935 to 1975

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

20th century
1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1948
FoundingSherwood is established
1975Born hereWes Johnson is born here

By decade

Sherwood, decade by decade

Today2 recent

2013Ricky Baez SHHS-1977

2005ARMap-doton-Sherwood

On the map

Sherwood on the map, 1935 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sherwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1935Mc Almont sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sherwood.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Sherwood

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2008

Roundtop Filling Station

BuildingsSites

Roundtop Filling StationBuilding

Sylvan Hills Country Club Golf CourseSite

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Sherwood, census by census

Grew from 717 people in 1950 to 32,731 in 2020, more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sherwood’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

North Little Rock58 historic placesB⁻Jacksonville4 historic placesC Gibson1 historic placeD McAlmontIts storyC⁻

Questions about Sherwood’s history

What year was Sherwood founded?

In 1948, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1950 counted 717 people here.

How does Sherwood rank for history?

Sherwood is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #109 of 123 in Arkansas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Sherwood?

Two places: the Roundtop Filling Station (listed 2008) and the Sylvan Hills Country Club Golf Course (2010).

How old are the homes in Sherwood?

0.8% of Sherwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.1% for an Arkansas town; the median home was built in 1986.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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