Click Here to See Our Follow-Up Investigation of the Museum

The Little Rock Arsenal Investigation was conducted with KARK Reporter Ernie Paulson and aired on "Did You Know?"

Shortly after Arkansas was admitted to the Union in 1836, the federal government established the Little Rock Arsenal for the storage of munitions and weapons in defense of the frontier. Eventually, more than thirty buildings were constructed on this 36-acre site, including an armory, officers' quarters, barracks for enlisted men, and a variety of other buildings necessary for the routine operation of a military post.

Constructed in 1840, the Tower Building is the only surviving remnant of the Little Rock Arsenal and one of central Arkansas' oldest structures. With exterior walls almost three feet thick, the massive edifice originally served as a munitions warehouse.

In February 1861, armed citizens threatened to seize the arsenal in anticipation of Arkansas' secession from the Union. A confrontation was averted when authorities negotiated a peaceful compromise with the commander, Captain James Totten, 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 commanded by General Frederick Steele captured Little Rock. Renamed the Little Rock Barracks in 1873, the post was used to garrison troops until it closed in 1890.

After the war, the building became quarters for Arsenal officers and their families. In January 1880, Douglas MacArthur, future General of the Army, was born here while his father, Captain Arthur MacArthur, was stationed in Little Rock.   

Final Report

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