The Old State House

One of the most beautiful, historic buildings in Arkansas is located on West Markham Street in downtown Little Rock — the Old State House. If you’ve never been to the Old State House, you owe it to yourself to see this grand structure where so much of the history of our state was made.

The first capitol of Arkansas was located at Arkansas Post when the

Territory of Arkansas was created in

1819. But it moved to Little Rock in

1823. For a while, several buildings were used as the capitol, including the Hinderliter Tavern.

In 1833, Arkansas’ territorial governor, John Pope, hired Gideon

Shryock, the architect of the

Kentucky State Capitol, to design a capitol building in hopes that the territory would soon become a state.

At Pope’s request, Shyrock agreed to draw up plans for a large stone structure with a copper roof to be built in the Greek Revival architectural style.

Once Shyrock finished his plans for Arkansas’ new capitol, he sent his employee, George Weigart, to Little Rock to oversee construction. The capitol complex would be three separate buildings to house each branch of government. But due to budgetary constraints, Weigart was forced to reduce the square footage, replace the stone with stucco-covered brick, and use faux graining on interior doors and columns and faux marbling on mantles. By the time Arkansas became the 25th state on June 15, 1836, construction of the capitol was well underway.

The legislative branch was located in the center building, the executive branch in the west wing and the judicial branch in the east wing. The first session of the General Assembly met in the House chamber in 1836 with construction still in progress while legislators debated and voted. Gov. Archibald Yell officially declared the building complete in 1842, and covered walkways were added to connect the three structures.

In 1837, Arkansas’ Speaker of the House, John Wilson, stabbed Rep. Joseph Anthony to death after a heated debate on taxes. In May 1861, the second session of the Secession Convention met in the original House chamber to vote on whether Arkansas would leave the Union and join the Confederacy after the attack on Fort Sumter. Every delegate except for Isaac Murphy voted for secession.

The Old State House was the home to the Confederate government until Union forces led by Gen. Frederick Steele captured Little Rock in September 1863, forcing the state’s Confederate government to temporarily move to Hot Springs and eventually to Washington (Hempstead County). After the Civil War’s end, Murphy was appointed governor of Arkansas for his loyalty to the Union.

By 1911, the state government had outgrown the building, which was in need of repair. But many legislators disagreed with spending money to fix a building that was too small. Following the completion of the new capitol, all Arkansas government offices moved to the new structure. In 1912, the University of Arkansas Medical Department (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) moved into the old capitol.

In 1921, the building was given to the American Legion and renamed the War Memorial Building, and in 1947, legislators designated the former capitol as a museum dedicated to Arkansas history.

Today, the Old State House Museum is operated by the Division of Arkansas Heritage. The building remains the oldest standing state capitol building west of the Mississippi River.