Central Trails
Introduction
Central Arkansas has a diverse population, economy, natural setting, and social structure. Its balanced economy results from state and local government, business and industry, and finance and nonprofit sectors. Three of Arkansas’s six natural divisions converge in the central region —the Ouachita Mountains, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (the Delta), and the Coastal Plain—representing the state’s wealth of flora, fauna, and geological features. In the geographic center of Arkansas, Central Arkansas has one of the state’s five original counties (Pulaski) and has been at the center of state government, politics, business, art, and culture for almost two centuries.
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto led an expedition through Arkansas between 1541 and 1542 and likely reached Central Arkansas in these two years. Between 1721 and 1722, Bernard de la Harpe, a French explorer, saw on the bank of the Arkansas River two conspicuous rock formations, which he reputedly named “La Petite Roche” (the little rock) and “La Grande Roche” (the big rock). Near the smaller rock was a Quapaw Indian settlement, which La Harpe made his trading post. The “little rock” later became the abutment for a railway bridge. The “big rock,” two miles farther upstream, was the site of an army post (now known as Fort Roots) and, later, the North Little Rock Veterans (VA) Hospital. No organized expeditionary groups traveled the area between de Soto and de la Harpe. It is estimated that the first permanent settlers began to move into the area in 1807 and that fewer than 2,000 lived in the area by 1820.
Central Arkansas is now the major hub of business and industry in the state. Three large public companies have their headquarters in this area: Alltel Corporation, Acxiom Corporation, and Dillard’s Inc. This area is a diversity of terrain as it borders on three other regions of the state. To the west, the terrain gets steep and rugged reflecting its connection with the Ouachita's. To the south the land is more subdued and gentle getting its attributes from the Timberlands. To the east the land is rolling just as it is in the Delta.
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