Little Rock

Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas, on the south bank of the Arkansas River in the center of the state. The French explorer Bénard de La Harpe named a rock outcrop on the riverbank la petite roche in 1722, and the city took its name from it.

Laid out in the 1820s, the town became the capital of the Arkansas Territory, and later of the state. The Old State House, a Greek revival building finished in the 1840s, is the oldest standing state capitol west of the Mississippi. In 1957 nine Black students entered Little Rock Central High School under the protection of federal troops, a turning point in the movement to end school segregation, and the school is a national historic site. Bill Clinton lived in the city as governor of Arkansas before he became president.

Dillard's, the department store company with stores across the South and West, has its head office in Little Rock. Dassault Falcon Jet finishes the interiors of business jets at its completion center at the Little Rock airport. Heifer International, a charity that gives farm animals and training to rural families around the world, also has its headquarters in the city.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center, a long glass building that juts out over the river, holds a copy of the Oval Office and the archives of his presidency. The Big Dam Bridge, built on top of a lock and dam, carries walkers and cyclists across the Arkansas River. The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, reopened in the 2020s, has a pleated roof over its galleries.