Tower Building of
the Little Rock Arsenal
Time line
The following is a chronology of events related to the Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal based on research, drawings located in the National Archives, and a timeline included in the museum's arsenal exhibit.
| 1797 | Land was given by the Quapaw
Indians to Baptiste Imbeau.* |
| 1836 | Governor Conway made a plea
to the War Department to establish an arsenal.*
Drawings were prepared dated August 18 and August 25, 1836. Lt. F. L. Jones, U.S. Artillery, arrived in Little Rock to select
a site for the Arsenal (Arkansas Gazette, May 30, 1837, p.
2). |
| 1837 | Maj. R. B. Lee selected a
site for the arsenal and urged the government to enlarge the
previous appropriation of $14,000 (Arkansas Gazette, May 30,
1837, p. 2). |
| 1838 | John Wormley Walker, a
government employee, was sent to Little Rock from Baton Rouge to be
the master builder of the arsenal.*
Construction began.* Contract awarded to Messrs. Stephen Cotter and Wm. R. Gibson for lumber at $24 per 1,000 board feet (Arkansas Gazette, June 6, 1838, P. 2). Maj. Lee left for Washington to procure workers and materials not convenient to obtain in Little Rock (Arkansas Gazette, June 13, 1838, p. 2). One hundred tons of munitions arrived in Little Rock for the
arsenal. (Arkansas Gazette, June 27, 1838, p. 2). |
| 1839 | After an extensive search,
Maj. Lee reported to have found excellent quarries for building the
entire building with stone (Arkansas Gazette, January 30,
1839, p. 2). |
| 1841 | The Gazette reported
that the buildings were progressing rapidly. "The main
building, with an octagonal tower, in which a hoisting machine is to
be constructed, are nearly finished, and are splendid specimens of
masonry...The main building already contains arms and
ammunition" (Arkansas Gazette, March 3, 1841, p. 2). |
| 1861 | The arsenal surrendered to
state troops.* |
| 1863 | Union forces took control of
the arsenal.* |
| 1868 | The Gazette reported
that porches had been added to the front and back of the building (Arkansas
Gazette, July 10, 1868). |
| 1873 | The arsenal's name was
changed to Little Rock Barracks.* |
| 1880 | Douglas MacArthur was born.* |
| 1892 | The arsenal was traded for
1,000 acres at Big Rock.* |
| 1893 | The other buildings were
moved; the arsenal building was spared. |
| 1894 | The Aesthetic Club began
meeting.* |
| 1911 | United Confederate Veterans
Reunion* |
| 1912 | First public library
established.* |
| 1923 | The National Guard used the
Tower Building as an armory.* |
| 1939 | The building was restored
(Ray Burks, architect).* |
| 1942 | The building opened as the
Museum of Science and Natural History.* |
| 1959 | The building was restored
(Bruce R. Anderson, architect).* |
| 1965 | The building was remodeled
(Robinson and Wassell, architects).* |
| 1992 | The building undergoes
mechanical and electrical renovation (Batson Engineering).* |
| 1995 | The MacArthur Military
History Museum Commission was established by the Little Rock Board
of Directors.* |
| 1997 | Arkansas Museum of Science
and History relocated to the Museum Center on East Markham.* |
| 2001 | MacArthur Museum of Arkansas
Military History opened to the public |
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