North Little Rock History Commission

08/14/2026

Who likes ice cream? Well, today is your lucky day because we have a Flashback Friday post full of creamy goodness.

If Loblolly Creamery relocates to the former Central Fire Station building at 723 Maple, its ice cream manufacturing plant won’t be the first in North Little Rock. Clark Ice Cream Products at 310 Main was making ice cream in the 1920s, followed by Mayflower Dairy at 120 Maple in the 1930s.

A 1927 article in the North Little Rock Times noted that J.S. Clark was adding equipment to his pasteurizing plant and freezing system. Clark’s company was making all flavors of ice cream and dairy products, the newspaper reported.

In a 1933 article, the Times said improvements were underway at Mayflower Dairy, “where an ice manufacturing plant is being built and new machinery installed in the ice cream plant.”

Fred G. Breitzke, Mayflower president, said an increase in business justified the expansion.

Mayflower Dairy advertised extensively and sponsored a popular KGHI radio show on Saturday nights that featured Uncle Al’s Mayflower Melody Boys, photographed in this 1935 Times article.

Also included is a 1927 advertisement in the Times for Clark Dairy Company and one for Mayflower Dairy in 1939.

Have a great weekend, everybody! Just remember to stay cool & hydrated. You know, ice cream just might help that!

Also note that there is a burn ban on for Pulaski County because of the dry spell we're experiencing. Stay safe!

North Little Rock Tourism

08/07/2026

Happy Flashback Friday, folks! We have a fun one for you today. See how many of these kids you can identify.

The North Little Rock High School yearbook in 1969 published a photograph of this crowded hallway near the principal’s office. Enrollment in the 1968-69 school year for grades 10-12 at North Little Rock High was 2,253.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

North Little Rock Tourism

08/01/2026

It's Friday again and you know what that means - Flashback Friday!!

North Little Rock and the Republic of Korea’s Uiwang City became sister cities in 1999. A six-member delegation from Uiwang, including Mayor Sang Sup Kang, visited the city and signed an agreement, approved by the City Council on July 26, 1999.

In this North Little Rock Times photograph by David Scolli, published on July 29, 1999, representatives of the two cities strolled along Riverfront Park’s promenade. The South Koreans also toured the Old Mill, McCain Mall, and other sites during a four-day stay.

North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays, who had previously visited Uiwang City, said the sister cities relationship would foster economic, educational, and cultural opportunities through youth exchange programs.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

North Little Rock Tourism

07/29/2026

07/24/2026

Yay!!! It's Flashback Friday time again!

The heat wave and drought in the summer of 1980 is etched in the memories of those who struggled through it. This “Think Snow” sign on JFK, photographed by the North Little Rock Times in July 1980, gave hope that relief would come. From early June to September, the thermometer hit 100 degrees or more on 47 days. The temperature soared to 111 on July 13. Many communities around the state suffered water shortages and imposed limits on use.

Have a great weekend, everybody! Stay as cool & hydrated as you can and we'll see you next week.

North Little Rock Tourism

07/17/2026

Guess what day it is. If you guessed Friday, the day everyone looks forward to, especially because of our weekly Flashback Friday posts, then you are correct! And here's our post for this week.

An unidentified umpire swept the plate just before the first pitch of the 1965 season at Vestal Park in Baring Cross. This photograph, published on June 3, 1965, in the North Little Rock Times, highlighted the Optimist Club’s baseball program. According to the caption, the club hosted 10 Little League teams, six Babe Ruth teams, and four American Legion teams.

At the plate was Joe Worthsmith, a pitcher and lead-off batter for the Little League team of the Elks Lodge. Vestal Park, an 18-acre tract at 13th and Vestal streets developed in the late 1950s, drew large crowds to youth baseball in North Little Rock. The park had three diamonds, one each for Little League, Babe Ruth, and American Legion.

Have a great weekend, everybody! Stay cool out there.

North Little Rock Tourism

07/15/2026

From our chairman, Suzanne Jackson:

The North Little Rock History Commission is opening a new museum in the old fire station on Main Street. It will focus on North Little Rock’s history from the early days to the present. A special section will focus on the city’s various neighborhoods. We are reaching out to individuals asking them to share their photos with us and write their “stories” of what it was like to grow up in their neighborhoods. From Levy to Rose City, from Lakewood to Baring Cross, from Dark Hollow to Argenta and everywhere in between- everyone is welcome.

The Commission is also seeking volunteers to staff the museum. If interested in submitting your “story” or volunteering, please reach out to us at [email protected].

07/11/2026

Good evening! Better late than never for a good Flashback Friday post, right? Well, we have another good one for you tonight.

In this 1985 photograph of the North Little Rock Times, City Clerk Jackie C. Neil knelt by the transom blocks that were above the front door of the old Argenta High School at Fourth and Willow streets.

Neil, a member of the North Little Rock History Commission and a city historian, kept the blocks in the lobby of City Hall. They are now in the History Commission’s archives.

The Argenta High School building was demolished in 1976. The school was a junior high and high school from 1912-29, and then exclusively a junior high from 1929 until closing in 1969. The school was named Fourth Junior High when Jefferson Davis opened in 1953 as the city’s second junior high school.

Facing West Broadway and attached to Argenta High was Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (1924-65). After Woodrow Wilson closed, the building at 417 West Broadway served as an annex to Fourth Street Junior High before the 1976 demolition.

Theressa James Manor now occupies the site.

Prior to 1912, the site was owned by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. It was leased from 1908 to 1911 to the W.C. Faucette Baseball Park, which had grandstands and bleachers, with seating for 500 spectators. The semi- professional Argenta Shamrocks and Argenta Grays played home games there.
The field was razed to build Argenta High in 1912.

Have a great weekend, everybody! It's supposed to be hot tomorrow so stay as cool as you can, and stay hydrated. See you next week!

North Little Rock Tourism

07/03/2026

Happy Independence Day weekend, everybody! It's Friday so it's time once again for another Flashback Friday post.

A horse-drawn hose wagon of the Argenta Fire Department appears to be lining up for a parade on Main Street about 1910. Flags decorating the wagon suggest it may have been a Fourth of July parade. There are two other wagons. The one in front and to the side has bunting.

Donated by Lee Clark, an author of a history of the North Little Rock Fire Department, this is a digital photo image of the wagons and two firefighters. The original photograph was taken from across the street in front of the fire station at 506 Main. The Baker House (left) and the Barth-Hempfling cottage are seen in the background.

The Baker House at 501 Main St., a Queen Anne-style home built in 1897 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is now a boutique hotel, known as The Baker. It was the residence for many years of Cadmus Baker and family. Baker, an Argenta school teacher and superintendent before going into the pawn business, is credited with starting Square Deal Pawn Shop.

The Barth-Hempfling cottage at 507 Main St., a Victorian vernacular house built in 1886 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, is the office of Clements and Associates Architecture. Adolf Barth, a German immigrant, moved his family to Argenta, where he bought the property and opened a butcher shop. The house stood in a cornfield.

After her father and brother died, Stefanie Barth ran the butcher shop. She met John Hempfling, an employee. They married, she then closed the butcher shop, and he went to work for the railroad. Their daughter, Anna Hempfling, was born in the cottage in 1899 and lived there until 1980.

Have a great weekend, everybody! Stay safe out there, no matter what you're doing to celebrate.

North Little Rock Tourism

06/26/2026

Good morning! This week's Flashback Friday post is about something many of you may not know existed, though many of you may remember.

The Broadway Trailer Park, shown in this 1951 photograph taken from the Broadway Bridge, is the site today of Dickey-Stephens Baseball Park.

A billboard, visible on the bridge, is not in focus and difficult to read. It welcomed travelers to North Little Rock, encouraging them to stop at the trailer park.

Situated between West Broadway and West Second (in the foreground), the Broadway Trailer Park was behind a liquor store and a filling station on the corner at the bridge.

The 1942 city directory listed it as the Broadway Tourist Court, but later directories identified it as a trailer park.

Charles L. and Letha Bray owned the trailer park in the 1940s. Blanche L. Clevidence co-owned it with the Brays in the 1950s.

Seen in the background of the photograph were the large brick buildings of Woodrow Wilson Elementary School at 417 West Broadway and Fourth Street Junior High at West Fourth and Willow Streets. The other large brick building was the Thompson Apartments at 422 West Fourth.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

North Little Rock Tourism