A Piece of the Rock, a Piece of History
The Little Rock was not always as it is now. To support the Junction
Bridge and ensure an adequate channel for river traffic, much of the
Rock was removed in 1872 and 1884. No one knows how the Point of
Rocks looked before progress took its toll. In 1932, the Civitan
Club sought to promote the Rock as a historic site, but the railroad
tracks around it, which had obliterated Hell's Half Acre,
discouraged tourists. The Club's solution was to remove and
transport a piece of the Little Rock to a more accessible spot. A
4,700 pound piece was detached and moved to the grounds of City
Hall. A time capsule was placed inside of it. In 2009, this piece of
the Rock was returned to the banks of the Arkansas River. As the
marker of the settlement plateau, location of the riverboat landing,
pier of an economically vital railroad bridge and namesake of the
municipality, the Little Rock could be considered the foundation of
the city but its lack of physical prominence - it is a "little" rock
and smaller than it used to be - impeded a grand presentation of its
historical importance until La Petite Roche Plaza was constructed in
2010.
One Old Rock
La Petite Roche ("the Little Rock") refers to the rock outcropping
on the Arkansas River used as a navigation point during the early
exploration of what would become the state Arkansas. Sometimes
called the Point of Rocks, it is the first rock on the Arkansas
River as one ascends from the Mississippi. This is where the
foothills of the Ouachita Mountains first touch the river, creating
a natural plateau above the flood plain. The rock is sandstone, a
sedimentary rock consisting of compacted particles originally
deposited in a deem marine environment more than 300 million years
ago, and is part of what geologists call the Jackfork formation. The
Little Rock is the unique place where three of the state's natural
divisions adjoin: the Ouachita Mountains, the coastal plain and the
Mississippi alluvial plain or Delta. The junction of natural
divisions here at the rock brings a diversity of plant and animal
life to the area.
Smaller Rock, Big Bridge
Post-Civil War, railroads became vital to the Arkansas economy.
Point of Rocks was a natural support for a railroad bridge on the
river. In October 1872, construction began at the Little Rock with
several tons of rock removed from the landmark. The Gazette urged
readers to "take a photograph of the 'Little Rock' from which our
city derives its name, before it is destroyed by the ruthless hand
of civilization." But it took 12 more years before the Junction
Bridge was opened in 1884, the second on the river following the
Baring Cross (1873). Ultimately a total of six bridges were built:
Baring Cross, Junction, Rock Island, Broadway, Main Street and I-30.
In the 1960s, engineers realized five of the six bridges would
require modification for increased river navigation. In 1970, the
swing span of the Junction Bridge was replaced with a lift span, and
a new pier was constructed off the Point of Rocks. With the decline
in railroad traffic, the Junction Bridge was redeveloped into a
pedestrian walkway in 2008.
It is River City
In the early days of Little Rock, the Arkansas River was the
lifeblood of the community. The Little Rock extended out into the
river, pulling the current around it to form a natural landing basin
for boats. The earliest ferry across the Arkansas River connected at
the Point of Rocks in 1819. In 1863 during the Civil War, Rebels
burned the CSS Pontchartrain at the riverboat landing so the gunboat
wouldn't be taken by Union forces.
As soon as Little Rock was captured, the Federals built a pontoon
bridge at the Little Rock to facilitate the movement of troops and
equipment across the river.
After the war, the riverboat landing was one of the liveliest places
in town. The neighborhood around the Little Rock became notorious
for the entertainment it provided - drinking, gambling and loose
women.
Water street took the label "Battle Row," Elm Street became
"Fighting Alley," and the area itself was dubbed "Hell's Half Acre."
One cobblestone half-block of Elm Street remains north of Clinton
Avenue between Cumberland and Rock streets.
Witness to Removal
In 1818, the U.S. policy on Indian Removal restricted the Quapaw to
a reservation in Arkansas. The western boundary, or Quapaw Line,
began at "the Little Rock." This was perhaps the first official use
of the name Little Rock. In 1824, a new treaty pushed the Quapaw
out, marking the beginning of Indian Removal in Arkansas. In the
1830's, nearly all of that Indians in the southeaster U.S. came
through Little Rock on their way to Indian Territory. Hundreds of
men, women and children were transported on steamboats. The north
side of the Arkansas River at Little Rock became a major supply
point. Contractors made fortunes providing rations to Indians. On
February 4, 1839, the Little Rock Times reported that the "last of
the 228 emigrating Cherokees arrived at this place on the steamer
Victoria. Nine deaths have occurred since the commencement of their
journey; but in general they look well and enjoy good health. In the
company is the celebrated [Cherokee] chief John Ross, who buried his
wife in this city on Sunday." Quatie Ross lies at rest in Mount
Holly Cemetery.
The Big Rock and the Little Rock
Jean-Baptiste Benard de La Harpe was the first European explorer to
record the existence of a large rocky bluff on the north bank of the
Arkansas River. According to his journal, La Harpe named it le
rocher Francais ("the French Rock") on April 9, 1722. It later
became known as the Big Rock. The French referred to the smaller
outcropping on the south bank as le Petit Rocher ("the Little
Rock"). The name first appeared on a 1799 French map of the area.
The first official reference to Little Rock occurred in the Treaty
of 1818, indicating the northernmost point of the Quapaw
reservation. An August 20, 1822, article in the Arkansas Gazette
described the rock: "It projects several feet into the river,
forming below it a fine basin for boats, and its top reaches perhaps
about midway between low water mark and the summit of the bank of
the river. The name Little Rock was given to it by the aborigines or
the early white settlers of the county to distinguish if from the
Big Rock." In the 1950s, la Petite Roche became the accepted
spelling based on local scholar Samuel D. Dickinson's suggestion.
All of these display rocks are display under the
foot of the Junction Bridge.
