Little Rock
Historical Background

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Explorer Hernando de Soto first crossed the Mississippi River into what is now Arkansas in 1541. Since he did not find the fabled gold he was seeking, the Spanish who were backing him soon lost interest in the area.

Years later, in 1722, French explorer Bernard de La Harpe brought attention to the area again, making note of rock formations on the banks of the Arkansas River that he referred to as "La Petite Roche" and "La Grande Roche" ("Little Rock" and "Big Rock," respectively). The area of the little rock, near a Quapaw Indian settlement, turned out to be a convenient area for crossing the Arkansas River. La Harpe built his trading post at this point on the river. The big rock, a little further upstream, later became the site of an Army post. Today, the little rock can be seen downtown in Riverfront Park.

A trapper named William Lewis built his cabin—the first permanent home in Little Rock—at the post in 1812. When Arkansas became a territory in 1819, the capital was at Arkansas Post, a site down river. Two years later, it was moved to the bustling area of Little Rock. Incorporated as a city in 1831, Little Rock became the state capital when Arkansas was admitted into the union in 1836.

The territorial history of the city and the state is interpreted via the living history portrayals and displays at the Historic Arkansas Museum. This complex of buildings includes the territorial capital building, where the government met before Arkansas was made a state. Arkansas is unique in that it is the only state capital with three capital buildings still standing. The second is now known as the Old State House Museum, which is where the state's first governor was sworn into office in 1836. This building was the seat of government until 1911. The present capital building was only partially completed when the general assembly started sessions there in 1911, and was fully completed in 1916.

Little Rock was at the center of a tug-of-war between the Union and Confederacy during the American Civil War. Anti-Union forces seized the Federal arsenal in Little Rock in February 1861, and in May of that same year, Arkansas seceded from the Union. The Confederate state government moved to Washington, Arkansas, in 1863, after Little Rock was taken over by the Union. During the time when the Confederates were in Washington, the Union had its own state government functioning in Little Rock under the direction of Isaac Murphy. It was truly a divided state. More than 10,000 federal loyalists fought in the northern part of the state against the Confederate army.

Arkansas was readmitted to the Union in 1868, but only after a completely new Northern Republican government replaced the Murphy government. In 1874, a month-long struggle known as the Brooks-Baxter War erupted over a gubernatorial election, which ended only when President Grant ruled that Elisha Baxter was indeed the rightful governor. However, because this rule favored businesses, agricultural interests were suffering. After this debacle, Democrat Augustus H. Garland won the next election. Jeff Davis was elected Governor in 1900 on the promise of redressing the wrongs done to the agricultural community. This turn of events became known as the Agrarian Revolt.

By the 1880s, Little Rock was the center of a sinewy network of railroad lines. Much later, in 1969, the city's economy received a great boost when a series of locks and dams were opened on the Arkansas River, effectively making the city into a river port. Even today, Little Rock is the chief market center for the state, especially in terms of agriculture, lumber and bauxite.

What many consider one of the defining scenes of the civil rights movement played out in Little Rock in 1957, when nine African-American students attempted to attend Little Rock Central High School under a 1954 Supreme Court ruling against racial segregation. When the Arkansas governor called out troops in order to prevent these students from attending the school, President Eisenhower stepped in to prevent the state from interfering, and federal troops replaced the state troops. This event is now commemorated at the Central High Museum and Visitor's Center, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Little Rock rose to center stage in 1992 with the election of William Jefferson Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States. The former governor was a lifelong resident of Arkansas and a four-term governor of the state. The Clinton Presidential Library will soon be added to the list of historical and cultural jewels of this town on the river.