Wrightsville, AR

Wrightsville had 1,542 residents in 2020 and sits along Highway 365 southeast of Little Rock, near wetlands and the Arkansas River. The Little Rock, Mississippi & Texas Railroad reached the area in the 1870s, when Wrightsville served as a station and refueling stop. One early proposal would have named the place Isbell, while William Farrell operated a narrow-gauge spur with a single engine and six cars. The community remained unincorporated for more than a century before incorporating as a town in 1973 and becoming a second-class city in 1982.

Wrightsville’s modern history is closely tied to institutions that grew on its southern edge. The Arkansas Negro Boys’ Industrial School opened there in 1931 for Black male youth, and a surviving WPA-era building recalls that chapter. A state correctional facility became a major employer in 1981, and the city later annexed its 3,300-acre campus. Wrightsville is served by Pulaski County Special School District, with Daisy Bates Elementary, Mills Middle, and Mills University Studies High School. The Millie Brooks branch of Central Arkansas Library System opened in 2013, giving the community another gathering place beyond its schools and churches.