Before European settlement the area was inhabited by the Caddo people, whose artifacts are occasionally found. The land that became Fordyce was partially cleared prior to 1850 by W. W. Killabrew, an early settler. In the 1870s the land was owned by an African American named Henry Atkinson who sold it to Dr. Algernon Sidney Holderness for $118, who built the first sawmill in town.
The town of Fordyce was named for Samuel Wesley Fordyce. Little construction took place until 1881 when four railroad lines were constructed in Dallas County, one of which was surveyed by Samuel Fordyce. The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company was completed in 1883 under Fordyce's management, which he operated for 16 years. The rail line called the Cotton Belt Line passed through the town of Fordyce until 1940 when the rail lines were abandoned, and trucks on the roads replaced the trains.
By 1890, Fordyce was the largest town in the county and on April 8, 1908, it became incorporated and the seat of Dallas County.
The Fordyce Lumber Co. was formed in February 1892 by Charles Warner Gates, John Wenzel Watzek and Edward Savage Crossett. Within four years of starting the Fordyce Lumber Co., the partners began the Crossett Lumber Co. in 1899. The city of Crossett is named after Edward Savage Crossett. On March 10, 1907, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&PR) connected the town of Crossett to Fordyce. The (CRI&PR) allowed timber and lumber to move between the sawmills in Crossett to Fordyce that were owned by Charles Warner Gates, John Wenzel Watzek and Edward Savage Crossett.