LITTLE ROCK URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT ARK-4:
THE DEMISE OF WEST ROCK, ARKANSAS, 1884 – 1960
A Thesis Submitted
to the Graduate School
University of Arkansas Little Rock
in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in History
in the Department of History
of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences
December 2019
Nancy Tell-Hall
B.A., University of Arkansas Little Rock, 2017
A.S., Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, 2014
© Copyright by
Nancy Tell-Hall
2019
Fair Use
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Duplication
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LITTLE ROCK URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT ARK-4: THE DEMISE OF WEST ROCK, ARKANSAS, 1884 – 1960
by Nancy Tell-Hall, December 2019
ABSTRACT
There are many reasons given for the demise of West Rock, Arkansas. This paper will, by analyzing the primary documents, show the process taken by the federal, state, county, and city governments to remove the residents of West Rock using a Housing Authority plan entitled PROJECT ARK-4. This paper will also maintain PROJECT ARK-4 is an important part in the study of Little Rock’s once vibrant African American culture and its history and, therefore, should be placed into Arkansas’ historical record.
DEDICATION
This paper is dedicated to my husband, Jeffrey A. Hall, Sr., my four children: Philip, Jarian, Victoria, and Jeffrey Jr., my 14 grandchildren, and all the ancestors. Without them, I could not have achieved my dream.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge the following for all the help, support, and encouragement they provided me through the completion of this project:
The UA Little Rock History Department.
The American Indian Center of Arkansas.
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Okmulgee, OK.
Brian Minyard, AICP, Urban Designer, City of Little Rock.
Thank you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. WHAT IS MATTER OUT OF PLACE, OR DIRT?
III. WEST ROCK’S BEGINNINGS
IV. WEST ROCK: A COMMUNITY OR A NEIGHBORHOOD?
V. ALLSOPP PARK
VI. LITTLE ROCK URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT ARK-4
VII. ANALYSIS OF THE 1960 PROJECT ARK-4 REPORT
VIII. THE DEMISE OF WEST ROCK, ARKANSAS
IX. THE LONG-RANGE EFFECTS OF URBAN RENEWAL IN LITTLE ROCK
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ATTACHMENTS
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
ATTACHMENT 1. Relocation in the Westrock Urban Renewal Area Project.
ATTACHMENT 2. List of Fred Allsopp’s Death Announcement in US Newspapers.
ATTACHMENT 3. Abstracts of City of Little Rock Ordinances and Resolutions Table.
ATTACHMENT 4. City of Little Rock Ordinance No. 7660 and Supplementary Chart.
ATTACHMENT 5. City of Little Rock Ordinance No. 11032 and Funding Table.
ATTACHMENT 6. HHFA Review of Progress Report Form under City of Little Rock Resolution 2624 with
a list of the 5 divisions under HHFA.
ATTACHMENT 7. LRHA: 20 Years of Progress, 1960 Report.
LIST OF CHARTS
CHART 1. RESIDENTIAL MOVEMENT OUT OF WEST ROCK, 1959.
CHART 2. RELOCATION ACTIVITY OF WEST ROCK’S 62 FAMILIES & 21 INDIVIDUALS.
CHART 3. NUMBER OF WEST ROCK RESIDENTS, N. VALMAR (1301-1515 BLOCKS), 1929 – 1961.
LIST OF MAPS
MAP 1. DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTWARD CORRIDOR, 1926.
MAP 2. WEST ROCK, 1943.
MAP 3. WEST ROCK PHYSICAL LOCATION, 1958.
MAP 4. WEST ROCK ZONING TYPE, 2019.
MAP 5. N. VALMAR STREET AND MIDLAND AVENUE, 1950.
MAP 6. WEST ROCK LAND USE, 2019.
LIST OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND ADVERTISEMENTS
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE 1. “Try to Drive Negroes Away”
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE 2. “The Slum Clearance Program”
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE 3. “Urban Renewal: A Decade of Progress Has Brought Impressive
Changes to Little Rock.”
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE 4. “Business Leaders Making Urban Renewal a Success.”
NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT 1. “Pulaski Heights: No Negroes and No Shanties”
NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT 2. “Will Public Housing Eliminate Poor People From Little Rock?”
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1. PROJECTED WEST ROCK LAND USE CHANGE, 1959.
TABLE 2. WEST ROCK STRUCTURES, 1959.
TABLE 3. WEST ROCK LIVING CONDITIONS, 1959.
TABLE 4A. SOURCE OF INCOME, EMPLOYED, 1959.
TABLE 4B. SOURCE OF INCOME, GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE AND UNEMPLOYED, 1959.
TABLE 5A. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WEST ROCK ADDRESS MOVEMENTS, N. VALMAR STREET, BLOCKS 1301-1512 AND 1816, 1929.
TABLE 5B. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WEST ROCK ADDRESS MOVEMENTS, N. VALMAR STREET, BLOCKS 1301-1515 AND 1816 MIDLAND AVENUE, 1935.
TABLE 5C. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WEST ROCK ADDRESS MOVEMENTS, N. VALMAR STREET, BLOCKS 1301-1515 AND 816 MIDLAND AVENUE, 1942.
TABLE 5D. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WEST ROCK ADDRESS MOVEMENTS, N. VALMAR STREET, BLOCKS 1304-1511 AND 816 MIDLAND AVENUE, 1948.
TABLE 5E. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WEST ROCK ADDRESS MOVEMENTS, N. VALMAR STREET, BLOCKS 1313-1510 AND 816 MIDLAND AVENUE, 1951.
TABLE 5F. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WEST ROCK ADDRESS MOVEMENTS, N. VALMAR STREET, BLOCKS 1301-1515 AND 816 MIDLAND AVENUE, 1961.
TABLE 6. THE FINANCIAL COST OF WEST ROCK, ARKANSAS, 1958.