The city of Gould, a quaint little town in southeast Arkansas has its beginning in the early 20^th century. On August 6, 1907, the petition of Max A. Joslyn and thirty-one others was heard by the Lincoln County Court. The petition was granted and the township of Gould was incorporated, deriving its name from Jay Gould, American capitalist and financier.

On April 1, 1910, a town meeting was held to nominate persons for election to town offices. S.G. McClellan was elected as the first Mayor of Gould. Other officials were: J.E. Bowers, Recorder; A.J. Keller, R.L. Muse, L.G. Van Valkenburgh, E. Rose, and E.H. Brandt were aldermen. W.H. (Will) Smith was appointed as town marshal on April 18, 1910. Judge G.H. Joslyn was serving as town treasurer at this time.

In 1923, Gould Water District No. 1 was formed. The total assessed value for real property in the town of Gould at this time was $40,670.00. This assessment was used for securing bond funds to install a complete water system in Gould.

On February 25, 1925, an ordinance was passed authorizing Telephone and Allied Industries a franchise to provide telephone service to Gould.

In April 1949, the incorporated town of Gould was upgraded to a city of the second class and three wards were established.

The present administration of Gould consists of:  Eddye B. Stennis-Wilson, Mayor; Erma Preston, Novola Starks, Robert Stephens, Paul Stephens, Chesa Owens, Garvin Mills, City Councilmen; Barbara Fountain, Recording Treasurer; Monty Watkins, Police Chief.

The present day Gould Special School District evolved from separate schools for the black and white population. In an interview with Mr. Billy Moore, a resident of the area since his birth in 1894, information was obtained about the early school for blacks. Mr. Moore stated that his first recollection of any school in the area was about 1900-02. The school was held in the Bailey Chapel Church located on the site of the present Thomas Chapel Church.

The first school for blacks in Gould was organized in 1918 by Wash Coleman and Albert Rash and was located in an old saw mill cabin. Mr. Moore was a teacher in this school. Through a rant from the Rosenwald Foundation, a four to five room school building was in operation in 1924. The school at that time was actually called the Gould Colored School. This school later evolved into Fields School, and remained the school for blacks until integration in 1967.

The first school for whites in Gould was in 1918. The building was located where the parsonage for the First Baptist Church now stands. In 1923, a three story brick building was constructed on the site of the present elementary campus. The building burned in 1956-57. The present day building was constructed on the same site. A separate elementary building adjacent to the high school was constructed in 1964.

In September, the Gould Special District uniquely became the only fully integrated district in the nation. While others were experiencing "freedom of choice" or integration by gradual measures Gould was the first to fully integrate.

Today Gould School district has two campuses with three divisions. The elementary school consists of grades K-4.  The middle school consists of grades 5-8.  The high school consists of grades 9-12.

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