The Quapaw Quarter of

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, United States, is a section of the city including its oldest and most historic business and residential neighborhoods. The area's name was first given in 1961, honoring the Quapaw Indians who lived in the area centuries ago. As many as fifteen separate National Historic Register Districts make up the Quapaw Quarter, including more than 200 separate homes and buildings on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. ''Trapnall Hall'', along East Capitol Avenue, was among the first of the homes built in 1843 as the home of early state legislator Frederic Trapnall and his wife, Martha. Structures housing businesses on Main Street and Broadway south of

Interstate 630 Interstate 630 (I-630) in Arkansas is an east–west connector within Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. It is also known as the Wilbur D. Mills Freeway and starts at Interstate 430, I-430 and Shackleford Road as a continuation of Chena ...

are also among this group. Throughout the Quapaw Quarter, many small and large homes from the Antebellum and Victorian eras can be found, in addition to several examples of Craftsman-style architecture. Scott, Center, and Spring streets, in particular, are where many such homes stand today. The exterior of the Villa Marre, one such home, was known nationally as the outside of the home containing the office of Sugarbaker Designs, the fictional

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-based

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

firm on the

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Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS between September 29, 1986 and May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomas ...

''. The actual home is along Little Rock's Scott Street, and has been a former home for the office of the Quapaw Quarter Association, the chief organization that sponsors historic preservation efforts in the area.

Notable Quapaw Quarter neighborhoods

Governor's Mansion District

Along with the Villa Marre, the exterior of the

Arkansas Governor's Mansion The Arkansas Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the governor of Arkansas and Arkansas' first family. The mansion is located at 1800 Center Street in Little Rock and is included in the Governor's Mansion Historic District, a district ...

was also featured on ''Designing Women'', shown as the home of

Suzanne Sugarbaker ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS between September 29, 1986 and May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason ...

. The mansion and its grounds comprise a city block, dividing Center Street in its 1800-numbered block, and anchor the city's Governor's Mansion Historic District, encompassing many homes and businesses along and around lower Broadway. The first official residence of Arkansas's governors opened on January 10, 1950, to a week-long open house for all Arkansans. The Georgian Colonial Revival home was renovated and expanded from 2000 through 2002, reopening for the inauguration of

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

's second full term as

Governor of Arkansas The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...

in early 2003.

MacArthur Park Historic District

The MacArthur Park Historic District, dedicated in 1981, adjoins the city's MacArthur Park along East 9th Street, including the

Arkansas Arts Center The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA), formerly known as the Arkansas Arts Center, is an art museum located in MacArthur Park, Little Rock, Arkansas. The museum's most recent expansion and renovation was designed by architecture and urban des ...

, and the circa-1840

Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal The Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal, also known as the Main Building of the U.S. Arsenal at Little Rock, or Headquarters Building of the Little Rock Barracks, is the home of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. It is als ...

. This building in the district contains the birthplace of General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

, a foremost commander of American forces in the

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during

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South Main Residential Historic District

The South Main Residential Historic District — nicknamed SoMa by some area locals — was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 according to the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The district, which runs along South Main Street between 19th and 24th streets, is notable for its assortment of quality late 19th and early 20th century residential architecture, including the Queen Anne, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival styles.

Area landmarks

Mount Holly Cemetery

Another area landmark is

Mount Holly Cemetery Mount Holly Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and is the burial place for numerous Arkansans of note. It was listed on the National Register of Historic ...

, at the intersection of 12th and Broadway streets, with one of the largest collections of gravesites of notable Arkansans, from past governors, senators, and mayors to Confederate spy

David Owen Dodd David Owen Dodd (November 10, 1846 – January 8, 1864), also known as David O. Dodd, was an Arkansas youth executed for spying in the American Civil War. In December 1863 Dodd carried some letters to business associates of his father in Union ...

and ''Arkansas Gazette'' founder William E. Woodruff. The cemetery dates from 1843, and is among the several locations throughout the Quapaw Quarter on the National Register of Historic Places.

Notable businesses

The edge of the Quapaw Quarter, near the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

central business district, contains the headquarters of the ''

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas's counties. By virtue of one ...

'', the state's largest newspaper, with roots in the ''Arkansas Gazette'' founded in 1819, and the ''Arkansas Democrat'' founded in 1878. Its headquarters are in a circa-1904 building at the intersection of East Capitol Avenue and Scott Street that formerly housed a branch of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. Boulevard Bread Company has an outlet on Main Street.

External links

Quapaw Quarter Association
official website
Arkansas Governor's Mansion
(c. 1950) official website *An alternate version of th
Arkansas Governor's Mansion
virtual tour at the Arkansas Governor's Office official website
Trapnall Hall
(c. 1843) official web page, including information on one of Little Rock's oldest homes, today serving as the Arkansas Governor's official reception hall
Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church
website, whose congregation's Gothic Revival church building dates from the 1920s {{Coord, 34.73437, -92.27302, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-AR Neighborhoods in Little Rock, Arkansas