Tower Building of The Little Rock Arsenal - Decommissioning

Decommissioning

In 1873, the building was renamed Little Rock Barracks and used as a barracks for married officers and their families. The building was drastically altered the inside and outside. Prior to renovation, a rear basement door provided the only entrance to the building, while the tower served as a hoist to move munitions between floors. By 1868, front and rear porches had been added to the building, as well as interior walls and stairs, some of which remain today, including the central staircase. In 1880, Douglas MacArthur was born on the northwest upper floor of this building while his father, Captain Arthur MacArthur, was stationed there.

In the 1880s, the federal government began closing many small arsenals around the country in favor of smaller ones built near railroads for quick deployment. The arsenal commander received word from Washington that the Little Rock site must be abandoned "not later than October 1, 1890." On April 12, 1893 the tower building and the surrounding buildings were traded to the city of Little Rock for 1,000 acres (4 km²) in North Little Rock under the condition that the building and land be "forever exclusively devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park" for 1,000 acres (4 km²) in Big Rock Mountain on the north side of the Arkansas River, present day North Little Rock. That site later became Fort Logan H. Roots. All of the original buildings surrounding the Tower Building were demolished.