Where is it?
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is located at 2120 W Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive in Little Rock, Arkansas. The park features:
- Museum and visitor center
- Restored Mobil gas station
- The school and grounds
- Ranger led walks
- Tours may be available on select days or by special arrangement with the park – all tours and ranger led walks require advance reservations
Website link: Little Rock Central High School
Why is Little Rock Central High School important?
Little Rock Central High School is one of the most significant sites of the civil rights movement in the U.S. In 1957, the school became a battleground, so to speak, in the fight between the State of Arkansas and the U.S. government over federally mandated desegregation of public schools. Additionally, whites wanted continued segregation, and blacks wanted educational equality and to attend their own neighborhood schools. The Alabama governor went against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow black students to attend previously all-white schools. A group of African American teenagers was, unfortunately, caught in the middle of the battle.
What happened?
Arkansas Governor, Orville Faubus, held a televised news conference on September 2, 1957, to inform Little Rock citizens that caravans of white supremacists were on their way to stop the integration of black students into Central High School. Faubus stated that he ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school due to the potential for “blood in the streets”. He was never able to provide evidence to prove those statements. Meanwhile, the Little Rock school board advised that no African American students try to enter Central High or any white school until the dilemma was “legally resolved”.
All eyes are on Arkansas
On September 4, 1957, nine African American students attempted to enter the school surrounded by a group of ministers as escorts. National Guardsmen blocked the ministers and students stating that under orders from Governor Faubus the students could not enter. Meanwhile, mobs of whites hurled derogatory comments, waved Confederate flags, and even spat on the black students. Governor Faubus claimed later in the month that the National Guard was called out only to prevent violence and not to prevent integration.
Excerpt from the national park website of a black newspaperman’s observation:
“The mob of twisted whites, galvanized into vengeful action by the inaction of the heroic state militia, was not willing that the young school girl should get off so easily. Elizabeth Eckford had walked into the wolf’s lair, and now that they felt she was fair game, the drooling wolves took off after their prey. The hate mongers, who look exactly like other, normal white men and women, took off down the street after the girl.” – Buddy Lonesome, St. Louis Argus
While the world watched
Federal District Judge Ronald Davis denied a petition by the Little Rock School Board to delay integration into Central High School. The judge ordered integration to begin on Monday, September 9. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Also on September 9, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was the first civil rights legislation since 1875. On September 24, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard which took them out of Governor Faubus’ control. Stating that “mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts”, Eisenhower then sent federal troops to Little Rock to surround the school. The next day, September 25, nine African American students entered the school escorted by members of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division. About 750 of the 2,000 students at Central High School were absent that day.
The aftermath
Racial tensions continued throughout the remainder of the school year with the issue of desegregation still an extremely hot topic. In September of 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Little Rock would continue with its desegregation plan. Therefore, the school board determined that the high schools would open on September 15. Overriding the school board’s decision, Governor Faubus ordered all Little Rock high schools closed pending a public vote on integration. Voters chose not to integrate, and the schools remained closed for the entire 1958-1959 school year.
The National Historic Site today
Why would a gas station be part of a national park site? This station had a pay phone, and it was the closest pay phone to the events taking place at Little Rock Central High School. Members of the media gathered here to take turns calling in stories to their news desks.
The museum takes visitors through a timeline of events leading up to the integration of Central High School.
Today benches commemorating each of the Little Rock Nine can be found near the reflecting pool in front of the school. Statues of them also grace the grounds of the state capitol building. Every one of the nine students graduated from college. Some even went on to earn post graduate degrees, and some have written books about their experiences. Click here to view their impressive biographies. As for us, we are inspired by the way these determined people handled such abhorrent adversity. And now we are honored to know their story.
Thank you for joining us on our visit to Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site!
Need some road trip inspiration? Check out these great destinations:
Things to do in San Antonio: River Walk
Things to do in Sedona, Arizona
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Strawbery Banke Museum and Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road.
Mike and Kellye
As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.
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Thanks for sharing, I had no idea this school was turned into a National Historic Site. Makes me sad this was relatively not that long ago.
Thanks for this most valuable history lesson!!! We all need to know all about this historic place!
Thank you so much!
Yes, it’s hard to wrap our heads around the events that took place back then!
Thank you for this post. This is definitely a site for our bucket list, and it is not that far from home. I am glad to know there are ranger tours; I always learn the most that way. The Little Rock Nine do have impressive biographies. They truly valued education. I love the architectural symmetry of the school. The gas station being included as part of the national historic site is a statement on the advancement of the technology of phones.
Thanks for reading and for your comment, Betty!
Great post, and well-documented. The LR9 have been somewhat forgotten for their place in the civil rights movement, and it’s up to ongoing generations to seek and pass the knowledge.
We agree, Ray! Thank you for stopping by and for your nice comment!!
Interesting that the school is still in operation even though it’s a national historic site. Interesting post as well. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Donna!
Wonderful how that a few individuals can bring about change.
Great post! Two of the things are worth mentioning about this episode in U.S. history are (1) “Voters chose not to integrate, and the schools remained closed for the entire 1958-1959 school year”; and (2) “mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts”.
Those facts and statements are still relevant today. A majority of those who voted were firmly committed to denying opportunity and constitutional rights to their fellow Americans based on race. There are many instances throughout American history where mobs have been mobilized to enforce right-wing power and privilege.
I’m old enough to have some memory of this incident. If I’m in the area visiting this historic site would be very worthwhile. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, John! We agree that those things are still relevant. I hope you can visit this site someday. It’s a very worthwhile trip.
Those students were so brave to face that kind of opposition. How sad that it takes such terrible events to bring about change.
Thank you for sharing. This is such an interesting and important site!
I very much enjoyed (somehow that feels a wrong choice of word) this history lesson Kellye. I am always interested in learning more about U.S. civil rights and have even been lucky enough to see some historic spots myself, most notably in Memphis. I hadn’t heard of this school, what a great job they seem to have done with the place. Indeed it stands as a wonderful testament to the bravery of the 9.
Thank you , Leighton! That must have been a terrible time for lots of people.
What a wonderful article about a really important site. We really enjoyed our civil rights trip round the Southern States, but we didn’t make it here.
Thank you, Hannah!
I really enjoyed this post, they were brave and determined!
Thank you, Diane. Indeed they were brave!
Is the gas station a museum or a running gas station? Cool pumps!
It is just restored. It isn’t open or anything.
Still nice! There is a restaurant in Hudson, NY with restored gas pumps inside, but they do not allow anyone to take photos. They have a lot of cool things in there, its a shame.
Hard to believe that in this age of Instagram that a business won’t let you take pictures of their establishment,
Who knows maybe the Instagramers ticked him off. The paid ones are ruining things for others.
Lovely post!
Thank you!💕
My pleasure!
This piece of history is as fascinating and enlightening as it is appalling. A small town with a hugely significant story to tell.
Appalling yes, but it started the ball rolling toward a movement that changed a lot of things for the better, Thank you for reading and commenting!
This is so neat that it’s now a historic site! Your pictures are wonderful and I feel like I’m traveling there with you. I’m sure that you both have learned a tremendous amount by traveling.
Thank you! Yes, we have learned a lot! Learning something new is a great reason for traveling.
Very interesting and saddening too. It’s important to remember and learn from the past.
Absolutely! Thank you for your comment.
I want to travel with y’all!
Pack your bags!
Lol.
Thanks for this post. After watching Sarah Huckabee-Sanders response to the recent State of the Union address, I now understand what she was talking about and using to justify her current restrictive actions. Strange how we invoke inclusivity in the name of exclusivity. It seems we do not always learn the whole message. Thanks for sharing Kellye. Allan
Thanks so much for reading our post, Allan!