Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Quitman, AR

Quitman is a small city in southwestern Cleburne County that also extends into Faulkner County along Arkansas Highway 25, about a dozen miles southwest of the county seat, Heber Springs.

White settlers began arriving in the area in 1840, attracted by available land and plentiful water, and Goodloe's Chapel, the area's first church, was founded in 1843.

A post office was established in 1848, and the budding town was named for Brigadier General John Anthony Quitman, a hero of the Mexican-American War.

Quitman was officially laid out in 1868, the same year its first public school opened.

Education defined early Quitman: the Quitman Male and Female Institute, founded in 1869 and later known as Quitman Male and Female College, made the town an educational center that some called the "Athens of Arkansas."

Two surviving buildings of the old Quitman college are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Quitman was incorporated on May 25, 1881, and when Cleburne County was created in 1883, Quitman became the new county's first incorporated community.

Quitman's growth stalled when the railroad bypassed it in favor of Heber Springs, and the town's population did not exceed 600 until 1990.

The 2020 census counted 694 residents in Quitman, living in 311 households, down from a peak of 762 in 2010.

Students in Quitman attend the Quitman School District and graduate from Quitman High School.