Pulaski County

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Pulaski County is the most populous county in Arkansas and home of the state capitol at Little Rock. The county was established in 1818, and is named for Count Casimir Pulaski, Polish volunteer during the American Revolution. The county is one of the original five counties forming Arkansas Territory in 1819. Many settlers came to the area from Missouri and Memphis following the Southwest Trail in the nineteenth century. The county is bisected from northwest to southeast by the Arkansas River.

Neighboring counties include Faulkner County, Lonoke County, Jefferson County, Grant County, Saline County, and Perry County.

History

The first European explorer in what was to become Pulaski County was Frenchman Jean-Baptise Bénard de la Harpe who by tradition in February 1722 named two rocky outcroppings along the Arkansas River "La Petite Roche" (the "Little Rock") and "La Grande Roche" (the "Big Rock"). De la Harpe traded goods with local Quapaw Indians. The Quapaw (Ugahxpa, or "Downstream People") are a Native American tribe that may have migrated from the Ohio River Valley to the Lower Mississippi and Arkansas River valleys before the time of European settlement.

The first white settlers to the county may have been a party from the Carolinas led by John Gozel in 1806. The next year brothers John Pyeatt and Jacob Pyeatt settled at the present site of Crystal Hill, calling their settlement Pyeattstown.

Pulaski County has lost significant territory since its organization on December 15, 1818. Counties cleaved away from original Pulaski territory include Crawford County (in 1920), Conway County (1820), Jefferson County (1829), Scott County (1833), White County (1835), Saline County (1835), Prairie County (1846), Faulkner County (1873), and Lonoke County (1873).

Geography

Pulaski County, 771 square miles in extent, is composed of flat Arkansas River Valley delta farmlands in the east, rolling hills to the south, and Ouachita mountain foothills to the west. The western part of the county is dominated by Lake Maumelle and Pinnacle Mountain State Park.

Transportation infrastructure

Economy

Law, government, and politics

Little Rock is the county seat of Pulaski County as well as the state capitol of Arkansas. The Pulaski County Courthouse is located at 401 West Markham Street in Little Rock. The county judge is Floyd G. "Buddy" Villines. The circuit/county clerk is Pat O'Brien. The county sheriff is Doc Holladay. The county treasurer is Debra Buckner. The county assessor is Janet Troutman Ward.

Education

Pulaski County is the home to several institutions of higher education including the University of Arkansas Medical School, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the Bowen School of Law, and Pulaski Technical School.

Religion

Places of interest

The county is known for a large number of cultural and tourist attractions, includig the Little Rock Zoo, Arkansas Arts Center, Clinton Presidential Center, Arkansas State Capitol, Old State House, and River Market District.

Demographics

The 2007 U.S. Census population estimate for the county is 373,911. The population of the county is expected to grow to 376,396 by 2010. More than 88 percent of the adult residents have completed high school, and 30.8 percent have completed college. The average family size is 2.87. The home ownership rate is 61.4 percent, with median family income of $43,308.

Population:

  • 1980 - 340,693
  • 1990 - 349,660
  • 2000 - 361,474
  • 2005 - 366,463

Communities

Pulaski County has a number of incorporated cities within its boundaries: Cammack Village, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Maumelle, North Little Rock, Shannon Hills, Sherwood, and Wrightsville. An incorporated town in the county is Alexander. Notable unincorporated communities in the county are Applegate, Hensley, Iron Springs, Roland, and Warsaw.

Other populated places in Pulaski County:

  • Allendale Manor
  • Alpine
  • Amboy
  • American Manor
  • Arbor Cove
  • Arrowhead Manor
  • Autumnbrook
  • Azalea Place
  • Banty (historical)
  • Barger Addition
  • Base Line
  • Baucum
  • Berger
  • Beverly Terrace
  • Biddle
  • Bingham
  • Blue Hill
  • Booker
  • Breckenridge
  • Bredlow Corner
  • Brittain
  • Brownwood Terrace
  • Candlewood
  • Cannongate Addition
  • Catorce (historical)
  • Charity (historical)
  • Cloverdale
  • College Station
  • Colony West
  • Crossroads (historical)
  • Crystal Hill
  • Deer Meadow
  • Dickey (historical)
  • Dixie
  • Douglas Corner
  • Douglasville
  • Estes
  • Eureka Garden
  • Fairman
  • Fairview
  • Ferndale
  • Fourche (historical)
  • Foxboro
  • Galloway
  • Gap Rancheros
  • Geyer Springs
  • Gibson
  • Gillam Park
  • Gladewood Addition
  • Gravel Ridge
  • Guilford (historical)
  • Gum Springs
  • Haig
  • Head (historical)
  • Hickory Hills
  • Hickory Ridge
  • Higgins
  • Hillsborough
  • Holly Springs
  • Hot Springs Junction
  • Indian Head Lake Estates
  • Ironton
  • Ivesville
  • Jeffrey
  • Kensington Place
  • Lakewood
  • Landmark
  • Lansbrook
  • Levy
  • Longlea
  • Lundsford Corner
  • Mabelvale
  • Macon
  • Marche
  • Maumelle Station
  • McAlmont
  • McClellan Place
  • Meadowcliff
  • Melanie Park
  • Merrivale
  • Mesa View
  • Mineral (historical)
  • Monnie Springs
  • Morgan
  • Mount Pilgrim
  • Natural Steps
  • Niemeyer (historical)
  • North Hills Manor
  • North Oaks
  • Northpoint
  • Oak Forest
  • Oak Grove
  • Olmstead
  • Otter Creek
  • Overlook Park
  • Pankey
  • Park Hill
  • Parkers
  • Parkway Place
  • Pebble Beach Park
  • Pecan Grove
  • Pecan Lake
  • Picron
  • Piedmont
  • Pinnacle
  • Pleasant Forest
  • Pleasant Ridge
  • Pleasant Valley
  • Pleasant Valley Estates
  • Pleasant View
  • Ponderosa
  • Protho Junction
  • Pulaski
  • Pulaski Heights
  • Rainwood
  • Red Gate
  • River Ridge Manor
  • Rixey
  • Rock Creek
  • Rolling Hills
  • Rose City
  • Rosedale
  • Rottaken
  • Rusty Pines
  • Saint Charles
  • Saint Thomas
  • Secluded Hills
  • Shady Grove
  • Sheraton Park
  • Shiloh
  • Silver Creek
  • Skylark
  • Spring Valley
  • Sweet Home
  • Sylvan Hills
  • Tafton
  • Tall Timbers West
  • Tanglewood
  • Terrytown
  • Timber Creek
  • Timber Ridge
  • Toneyville
  • Town and Country Estates
  • Turtle Creek
  • Twin Springs
  • Valentine
  • Wakefield Village
  • Walton Heights
  • Wampoo
  • Ward
  • West Marche
  • Westbrook
  • Westbrook Addition
  • Western Acres
  • Westwood
  • Willowdale (historical)
  • Windamere
  • Woodland Heights
  • Woodland Hills
  • Woodland Ridge
  • Woodson
  • Woodyardville
  • Wye
  • Yorkwood
  • Zion Hill

References

  • David W. Baird, The Quapaw Indians: A History of the Downstream People, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980).
  • S. Charles Bolton, "Under Three Flags," in A Documentary History of Arkansas, eds. C. Fred Williams, et al. (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1984), p. 3-5.
  • Isaac Joslin Cox, ed., The Journeys of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, vol. 1 (New York: Allerton Book Company, 1922).
  • John Hugh Reynolds, ed., "Marquette's Reception by the Quapaws, 1673," Publications of the Arkansas Historical Association 1 (1906): 500-502.
  • Ralph A. Smith, ed. "Exploration of the Arkansas River by Bénard de la Harpe, 1721-1722: Extracts from His Journal and Instructions," Arkansas Historical Quarterly 10 (1951): 347-357.
  • Paulette Walker and Alan Paulson, Historic Pulaski County: Arkansas (Arcadia Publishing, 1999).

External links