Letter from Mayor Charles Snapp

Greetings from the City of Walnut Ridge!

Since its founding 150 years ago, Walnut Ridge has been a thriving community and a commercial center in our region. Walnut Ridge is a town with a rich history and a bright future. It’s a great place to run a business, and a wonderful community to raise a family. It has the charm and security of small town life, and it has easy access to bigger cities. We like to think we have it all! 

We are blessed with a great location that provides abundant access. Walnut Ridge Regional Airport, a former military facility, can accommodate any aircraft, from small, private planes to large airliners. We have four-lane highway access to Little Rock and Memphis, and Future I-57 will connect us by freeway to St. Louis and Chicago. On top of that, we have Amtrak service and two major railroad lines.

We have city services that make this mayor’s heart swell with pride. Our police and fire departments are top notch, giving our citizens a justifiable feeling of security. An aggressive resurfacing program over the past decade has provided us with great city streets. Plus, our water and sewer systems have been fully updated, and they have tremendous capacity for growth. 

Above all, Walnut Ridge offers wonderful quality of life. We have a historic downtown area with shops and restaurants. We have the Guitar Walk, with tributes to the Sun Studios artists who used to frequent Rock ‘N’ Roll Hwy. 67. We have Beatles Park, which commemorates the Fab Four’s visit to our airport in 1964, as well as the Beatles at the Ridge Music Festival, a big event that happens downtown the third Saturday of every September. And we have the Wings of Honor Museum, with a fascinating collection of World War II artifacts and history. 

For those who like to be outdoors, Stewart Park is a gem. It’s a 70-acre city park with ball fields, a swimming pool, a newly paved walking path, a pavilion, fishing pond, and abundant green space. It comes to life every Christmas, as well, with lights of the season. For walking and bicycling, there’s also a 6 ½ mile, paved rail-trail that extends all the way through Walnut Ridge, from the Williams Baptist University campus on the north side of town to Hoxie on the south. 

Our public schools provide a high quality education in a safe environment, and we have an outstanding university in WBU. Housing is very affordable here, too, with single family homes in nice neighborhoods and modern apartments with all the amenities. In other words, Walnut Ridge has an awful lot to offer! 

We are always delighted to greet visitors, and it would be our pleasure to show you around. Please make yourself at home, and welcome to Walnut Ridge!

Sincerely,

Charles Snapp, Mayor