GREENWOOD, Ark. (KFSM) — Greenwood, Arkansas is home to nearly 10,000 people and was founded in 1851.
Greenwood icon Dr. James Burgess moved to the city during his mother’s battle with cancer and never looked back.
"The people of Greenwood have been so good to us during the illness of my mother and more or less growing up here I just thought this was a near-perfect community," Burgess said.
Burgess left Greenwood for a time to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and to attend school.
He and his wife always dreamed of returning to Greenwood to raise their family, and that’s precisely what they did. They opened a dentistry practice in 1959.
“We here in Greenwood have all of the advantages of being in a small town, knowing people, I think we have one of the finest schools, our city government is so good," Burgess said.
Mayor Doug Kinslow, a lifetime resident of the city, says what makes the community special is the people.
“There’s very seldom a situation in Greenwood, Arkansas that affects a family or two that everybody doesn’t pull together. We just do," Kinslow said.
In 1968, Greenwood was almost wiped out during the tornado that ripped through the city.
Memorial Park was built to remember the 13 people who lost their lives that day.
"People came in from places I didn’t even know existed to help Greenwood, and we came back, and we came back strong," Kinslow said.
So whether it’s a Friday night and everyone is cheering on the championship-winning football team, checking out famous markers like the Old Jail Museum, or a life spent serving the community like Dr. Burgess, Greenwood feels like home.
“The people here are loving, kind and benevolent people, and there are people in general that want to help, want to make the community better, and it’s just a good place to live," Burgess said.