Acknowledgements

The Cleveland County Historical Society is deeply indebted to many people whose interest and efforts
made this project possible. The generous funding by the Arkansas Humanities Council to the Cleveland
County Historical Society allowed this project to become a reality.

Ann Prichard and Andrea Cantrell of the Special Collections Division at the University of Arkansas
Library at Fayetteville were most generous with their technical assistance in accessing the Fordyce
family papers and the Sanborn maps.

Hilda Terry and Amber Drye of the Cleveland County Library constantly made relevant Rison and
Cleveland County material available to us and allowed us to meet numerous times at the library.

Over the years, efforts of the Sadler family, including Guy, Bill, Stan and "Brother Harold," all of
whom published or wrote at one time or another for the Cleveland County Herald, were invaluable
with the information they accumulated and reported about Rison and its early growth and development.

Britt Talent and Shannon Ingram of the Cleveland County Herald were invaluable with their journalistic
expertise when we were assembling the contents of this booklet.

Dr. J.B. (Johnny) Johnson, Ed. D., retired professor and acting chancellor of the University of Arkansas
at Pine Bluff, was most generous with information about the Rogers family and Sam Ballard, some of
Rison's early Black businessmen and professional people.

Herschell and Anna Lee Garner provided us access to numerous photographs of events and people
important to Rison's early development, and we also acknowledge photographs received from George
and Peggy Ackerman.

Jay England and Betty Sadler England furnished photographs about saw milling and timber cutting
engaged in by her father and grandfather in Rison and the surrounding area.

James L. Moore provided us with pictures of a cotton gin owned by his grandfather, LE. Moore.

Jana Blankenship of the Jefferson County Library system was especially helpful in locating news items
in the Pine Bluff Daily Graphic and the Pine Bluff Commercial.

Patsy Thurman for typing the original manuscript.