Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas. The city is steeped in history, from its settlement through the civil rights era to the present day. The city has also long been known for its food and natural resource processing industries. However, Little Rock's economy has diversified significantly in recent years and has witnessed growth in the tourism and health care industries as well as professional and business services.

Landscape

The city of Little Rock occupies 119.2 square miles along the southern shores of the Arkansas River in central Arkansas. To its west are the Ouachita Mountains and to the east are the flatlands of the Mississippi River Valley. In addition to being the state capital, Little Rock is also the county seat of Pulaski County and is the central point of Metro Little Rock, a collection of eleven counties in central Arkansas.

The nearest major cities to Little Rock are Memphis, Tennessee (which is 137 miles east), and Tulsa, Oklahoma (which is about 272 miles west). Other cities nearby include Hot Springs, Arkansas (about 53 miles southwest), and Pine Bluff, Arkansas (about 44 miles to the south).

Little Rock occupies a relatively small amount of land, but it is not a congested city. With slightly more than 1,600 people per square mile in 2020, the city's population density is considered low, and the city has more than sixty parks and recreational areas.

Little Rock rests at an elevation of about 335 feet above sea level. Because of its location, the city experiences a wide range of weather conditions. In the winter, cold air from the mountains can bring low temperatures to the region, although winters are generally mild. The summers can be extremely warm and humid, given the city's relative proximity to the Gulf of Mexico.

People

Little Rock had an estimated population of 202,864 in 2022. According to 2022 Census Bureau estimates, approximately 44.6 percent of the city's residents are White and not Hispanic or Latino, while about 41.5 percent are Black or African American. People of Hispanic or Latino descent (7.8 percent), Asian Americans (3.0 percent), and Indigenous Americans or Alaska Natives (0.3 percent) comprise the other significant groups living in the city. With 23.5 percent of the population under the age of eighteen years old, Little Rock is a relatively young city.

Little Rock is home to a number of colleges and universities, contributing to its role as a cultural center for the rest of the state. The largest of these institutions is the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which houses both a medical and law school. Other colleges and institutions within the city limits are Philander Smith College, Arkansas Baptist College, and a wide range of technical, vocational, and community colleges.

Little Rock's neighborhoods are eclectic and representative of the increasingly cosmopolitan flavor of the city. One of the more popular neighborhoods, River Market, is one that has seen considerable revitalization over the last decade. It is located downtown and hosts a large number of concerts and attractions, as well as a growing volume of restaurants, bars, and shops. The neighborhood is also home to a large-scale outdoor market.

Historical and upmarket homes are the norm in the Hillcrest and Heights neighborhoods. Hillcrest is one of the city's oldest residential districts, finding itself a place in the National Registry of Historic Places. The Heights is an upscale neighborhood featuring unique shops and restaurants. One of the city's most vibrant areas is Riverdale, which features all types of luxury housing, as well as a harbor with yachting facilities.

Little Rock is an affordable city in which to live. The cost of housing has not grown rapidly, with the average cost of a single-family home from 2018 to 2022 at $205,800. The median household income in the city in 2022 was $58,697.

However, the city has a violent crime rate that is nearly four times greater than the national average. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny, arson, and car theft also occur at a rate of nearly three times the national average.

Economy

For most of its history, Little Rock's economy reflected the rural and agriculture-oriented lifestyle of the rest of the state. As such, Little Rock's economy was based on the distribution of cotton, rice, soybeans, and other agricultural products. Economic diversity came in the late twentieth century, as Little Rock's leadership sought to attract manufacturing interests to the city. In the early twenty-first century, Little Rock's economy is diverse and conducive to business development in a number of industries. In 2023, Little Rock's unemployment rate of 3.2 percent was slightly below the national rate of 3.7 percent.

The largest employer in Little Rock is the government. Between the local, state, and federal governments, government is by far the largest employer in the city with 204,000 employees.

Another major industry in Little Rock is health care and health services. The largest healthcare provider is the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Because of the growth of hospital systems in the area, the medical research and biotechnology industries have seen concurrent growth. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is largely responsible, as it offers a business incubator program for start-up biotechnology companies. Other important industries are aerospace, banking and financing, technology, advanced manufacturing, and education.

Agriculture still plays an important role in the Little Rock economy. Soybeans, rice, timber, and poultry are major state exports, and the distribution of such products—as well as the manufacturing of food products—remains a vital component of the economy, as it has throughout the city's history. The development of the city's ports along the Arkansas River has aided the growth of this industry, making Little Rock a major distribution center for the region.

Landmarks

Many of Little Rock's sights and attractions are reflective of the city's history. The Little Rock Central High School National Historical Site, for example, is a reminder of the city's past participation in the civil rights movement and racial desegregation in the 1950s.

Another landmark is the massive homage to one of Little Rock's most famous modern figures, former president Bill Clinton. The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park includes the Clinton School of Public Service (part of the University of Arkansas) and the Clinton Presidential Foundation, as well as the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. The museum alone contains twenty thousand square feet of displays of the Clinton presidency.

Additionally, the Old State House provides an image of antebellum Little Rock. Built in 1836, the building was constructed from handmade brick and was the state capitol building for seventy-five years.

The city has a number of outdoor venues as well, including a zoo and an operational replica of a grand steamboat. A number of riverfront parks and trails and the Big Dam Bridge, spanning the river into North Little Rock, provide a wide range of outdoor experiences.

History

In 1722, a group of French explorers traveled up the Arkansas River from New Orleans, when they came to a group of rocky outcroppings. The expedition's leader, Bernard de la Harpe, dubbed the area "Little Rock." Over the next century, settlers moving westward in search of new territory also arrived.

Before it was officially chartered in 1831, Little Rock was little more than a frontier town. However, after it became a city, Little Rock embraced its main cash crop, cotton. Because of its location on the river, it became a major distribution center, sending cotton south to New Orleans and receiving its exports.

In 1861, Arkansas, which was a slave state, voted to secede from the Union, and Little Rock became a supply center for Confederate troops. However, Union troops occupied the city with little resistance in 1863.

After the Civil War, Little Rock, like many southern cities, fell into financial despair. However, industrial development, particularly with the expansion of railroads in the late nineteenth century, helped to grow and diversify Little Rock's economy.

In the early twentieth century, Little Rock became an important US Army induction and training center during World War I. In the 1940s, it would again serve this role, and the influx of money and jobs that such a role carried meant economic benefit for the city.

In the 1950s, Little Rock became a focal point in a dark period in American history. The city's segregationist policies meant that black and white citizens could not attend the same schools. Nine students defied the law, seeking entry into Little Rock Central High School. When the Supreme Court called for an end to segregation, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and his Arkansas National Guard found themselves in a standoff with the US Army, called into the city by the president. The resulting scene was broadcast across the country and the world.

No physical confrontation occurred, but the spectacle of the US Army facing off against the Arkansas National Guard over the entry of nine students into Central High School had profound implications for the city. Businesses and developers alike stayed away from Little Rock for more than a decade, despite the city's efforts to dismantle its segregationist system.

The 1970s and 1980s saw the city's turnaround as the city's natural resources and climate were seen as a benefit for industry. Gradually, Little Rock began to reemerge as a city of importance to the state and region.

The 1990s added to Little Rock's increased national standing, when Arkansas governor Bill Clinton became president in 1992. Clinton was reelected in 1996, and his background in Arkansas cast a spotlight on Little Rock.

Bibliography

Anderson, Karen. Little Rock: Race and Resistance at Central High School. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2010. Print.

Christ, Mark K. Civil War Arkansas, 1863: The Battle for a State. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 2010. Print.

"Little Rock, Arkansas. Quick Facts." US Census Bureau, 1 July 2023, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/littlerockcityarkansas/PST045222. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.

"Our Historical City." City of Little Rock. City of Little Rock, 2015. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Williams, C. Fred. Historic Little Rock: An Illustrated History. San Antonio: Qupaw Quarter Assn., 2008. Print.