Hickory Ridge

Hickory Ridge is a small town blessed with a rich history and residents who truly care about their neighbors and the town they live in.

Once part of a region that was a very large swamp, Hickory Ridge was also at one the time the exploration grounds for a young German explorer named Friedrich Gerstacker. On Oct. 5, 1875, Hickory Ridge’s first post office was established with Perry Lewis as postmaster. The initial post office was discontinued only a few months later and the village of Hickory Ridge did not have another post office until 1892.

Although no “official” date for the founding of Hickory Ridge has been established, Oct. 5, 1875 is widely considered the closest date due to the opening of the post office.

Many theories of how Hickory Ridge was name exist primarily due to its location along a North-South railroad line.

Before the beginning of the 1900’s, Hickory Ridge’s first school opened in 1895 with Henry T. Mitchell as its teacher. Around 1900, a second school structure was built. It was located at what is East Oak St. in Hickory Ridge today. The building at Oak Street was in operation until 1909 when a third structure was built to replace it. At the time, the third structure was considered the “New School.”

A fourth, larger school building was constructed in 1917 and was considered as modern as any building of the period. It was also the first building in western Cross County to employ a steam heating system. The first senior class of Hickory Ridge graduated in 1934.

Not long after the final school was built, it was decided to consolidate the Dye and Urfer schools into the Hickory Ridge system. With its growth, the Hickory Ridge system needed its first superintendent – Mr. Earnest E. Stevenson. Hickory Ridge fielded a football team in the 1950-51 school year. Football at the school was cancelled in the fall of 1953. Hickory Ridge would begin an eventual consolidation into the Cross County School District, which centralizes the schools of Cherry Valley, Hickory Ridge and Vanndale with its Cherry Valley location.

Rice has become one of the primary crops of farmers in the western portion of Cross County.

With a rich tradition dating to the late 1800’s, in what was once considered to be land that could not be developed, Hickory Ridge has become a vital part of Cross County’s past, present and future.

(Special thanks to Hickory Ridge’s Johnny Wilson for providing background information on the city. Along with James O. Jeffers, Isaac A. Bratcher and Don Evans, Mr. Wilson compiled a 560-page book detailing the history of Hickory Ridge.)