City of Little Rock

The capital city of Arkansas, Little Rock is a metropolitan area with a population more than 600,000 and more than a million people living within an hour's drive of downtown. The centrally located city Little Rock, is where the Southeast meets the Southwest, and the delta becomes the mountains.


The name Little Rock is believed to be created by the French explorer, Bernard de la Harpe who, while leading a group of people in 1722 up the Arkansas River from New Orleans, had come upon two rock outcroppings, one large, one small, on opposite sides of the river. He had presumably decided on the name "little rock" for the smaller outcropping in order to distinguish it from the larger bluff upstream, which he christened "French Rock." The first white settler near the "little rock" is believed to have been William Lewis in 1812, a hunter who built a small hut and planted a few pumpkin seeds so that he could file a homestead claim.


Little Rock is a historic city with lovely neighborhoods, fine museums and scenic parks, which welcomes visitors from around the globe. If you love to shop for antiques and one of a kind artisan treasures or to explore the past at historic sites and museums, this is the place to be. On the other hand if you are a person attracted to the natural beauty, this city lets you enjoy a wealth of outdoor adventures, breathtaking views, vast underground caverns, charming arts villages, and crystal clear lakes and rivers and many more.