The Little Rock Arsenal

Shortly after Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836, the Federal government established the Little Rock Arsenal to store munitions and weapons for frontier defense. More than thirty buildings eventually stood on the thirty-six-acre site, including an armory, officers' quarters, barracks for enlisted men, and other structures needed for a military post, but the brick tower building constructed in 1840 is the only surviving structure. In February 1861, armed citizens threatened to seize the arsenal as Arkansas moved toward secession, but authorities and Captain James Totten reached a peaceful compromise and Federal troops withdrew from Little Rock. After Arkansas seceded in May 1861, Confederate forces used the arsenal until September 11, 1863, when Union troops under General Frederick Steele captured Little Rock. The post was renamed the Little Rock Barracks in 1873 and continued as a garrison until it closed in 1890. Douglas MacArthur was born in the building on January 26, 1880, while his father was stationed there. In 1892, the Federal government traded the property to the City of Little Rock for 1,000 acres in North Little Rock where Fort Roots was built, and all of the structures except the tower building were removed as the grounds became a city park later named MacArthur Park in honor of General Douglas MacArthur.

Little Rock, Arkansas · United States