History of Maumelle

  1. Early Inhabitants
  2. Settlement
  3. General Hogan
  4. Arkansas Territory

Maumelle has a colorful and historical past that started long before the early 1970s when it was developed as a "New Home Town Coming True." In fact, the site on which the 5,000-acre planned community rests today has a heritage that is older than the State of Arkansas and even the Arkansas Territory. There is evidence that man first inhabited the area around 400 B.C. In later years, the Osage Native Americans claimed the lands north of the Arkansas River, including Maumelle, as their hunting grounds. Artifacts discovered by the Maumelle Historical Committee, such as a crude stone tool found in the Riverland Subdivision, give credence to our claim.

The first European to see what is now Maumelle was the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto. In 1541, he and his men made their way up the Arkansas River searching for gold. Very little is known about activities in the Maumelle area prior to 1812 because early settlers neglected to record events. They were primarily interested in survival in this rugged territory.

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  1. Maumelle Ordnance Works
  2. A New Town
  3. Today
  4. Maumelle Rings

Crystal Hill and the land that now comprises the City of Maumelle continued to serve as farmland until 1941, when the United States Government purchased it through eminent domain proceedings from dozens of land owners for the purpose of a munitions manufacturing and storage facility. It became known as the Maumelle Ordnance Works, and produced munitions for the army during World War II. After the war, the Army had no use for the facility and in 1959 sold it to the Perry Equipment Company for a salvage operation. Two years later, in December, 1961, the company sold the property for $600,000 to the City of North Little Rock, which had plans to develop the area into an industrial park. 

North Little Rock's plans were unsuccessful and the land was put up for sale again. The land was purchased by Jess Odom for a little more than 1 million dollars to begin his New Town Project. 

Maumelle Historical Documents