Fort Logan H. Roots (North Little Rock, Arkansas)
North Little Rock · Arkansas · American Civil War
History & Significance
In 1893, the U.S. Army chose Big Rock Mountain in North Little Rock as the location for one of its new military posts. Logan H. Roots was instrumental in negotiating a property trade involving the federal government, the state of Arkansas, and the city of Little Rock, whereby the United States exchanged the arsenal grounds on Ninth Street in Little Rock, now known as MacArthur Park, for land on the north side of the Arkansas River.
Construction began in 1893 and the post was first garrisoned in 1896 by a small 4th U.S. Cavalry detachment. The onset of the Spanish-American War in 1898 halted construction at Fort Roots until 1905.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Camp Pike (now Camp Joseph T. Robinson) was constructed to provide the military with a larger training facility. Fort Roots always maintained a hospital; during the 1918 influenza epidemic, a barracks was converted to a hospital ward to accommodate the increased patient load.
The fort was transferred in 1921 to the Public Health Service for use as a veterans' hospital, and on April 29, 1922, Executive Order No. 3669 placed Fort Roots under the control of the newly established Veterans Bureau. Although four of the existing hospital structures were demolished, Fort Roots retained many of its original military buildings and an 11-acre parade ground in the center of the original post.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Original military barracks and parade grounds from 1892 Army post
- National Register Historic District with preserved Civil War-era architecture
- Active medical campus blending military and healthcare history
- Grounds reflect transition from military fort to veterans hospital
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Logan_H._Roots
- https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fort-logan-h-roots-military-post-historic-district-5807/
- https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/finding-aids/590/
- https://fortwiki.com/Fort_Roots
- https://loc.gov/item/ar0024/
- https://honors.uca.edu/wiki/index.php/Fort_Logan_H._Roots