Sometime during the year of 1844, the Jack Hodges family from Georgia and the Addison Nunn family from Tennessee staked a claim to land in what was then the extreme southwest corner of Lawrence County, Arkansas. When the territory became part of the newly formed Sharp County, the settlement's name changed to it's current designation of Sidney. Sidney's recent mayor, Gwenn Battles, is related by marriage, four generations removed, to the founding family of Nunn.

Within the year 2000 city limits, there are 175 residents of the present day Sidney. A post office, bank, two churches, and a grocery store are all a part of the town.

Formerly a land plentiful in cotton and watermelons, cattle and chicken are now the industries supporting those living in the Sidney area.