The Memphis to Little Rock Military Road was a military highway that ran from Memphis, Tennessee, to Little Rock, Arkansas. Constructed by the United States Army in the 1820s, the historic road was followed by pioneers moving to Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Texas as well as Native American tribes who were removed from their lands east of the Mississippi River. Sections of the route survive in various locations in Arkansas. - AsNotedIn
| Y/M/D | Description | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1824/01/31 | US Congress passes an act for the construction of a military road from Memphis, Tennessee, through the swamps of eastern Arkansas to the territorial capital of Arkansas at Little Rocky. | |
| 1825/00/00 | Memphis surveyors, Joseph Paxton and Thomas Mathers are hired to lay out a route for the proposed Memphis to Little Rock Military Road. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Blackfish Lake to Hill Lake Segment, Parkin |
| 1825/02/12 | Joseph Paxton and Thomas Mathers provide a survey of their proposed route for the new Memphis to Little Rock Military Road to Secretary of War John C Calhoun. | |
| 1826/00/00 | The survey of the proposed road from the Memphis to Little Rock Military Road is completed in early 1826. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Village Creek Segment, Village Creek State Park, AR |
| 1826/01/27 | Lt Frederick L Griffith is appointed superintendent of the Military Road. He is ordered to build a 24 ft wide road with 4'x3' ditches. All timber and brush removed, stumps cut as low as possible and marshes and swamps causewayed with poles or timber. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Village Creek Segment, Village Creek State Park, AR |
| 1826/07/25 | A Carr, N Anderson and W Irwin of Memphis enter into contracts to build 60 miles roadway west from where the road leaves the Mississippi, at the rate of $160 per mile. Mr Hunt is to build the 4 mile connecting road to Memphis. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Blackfish Lake to Hill Lake Segment, Parkin |
| 1826/09/00 | A Carr, N Anderson and W Irwin begin constructing the Military Road 4 miles north of Memphis. | Mound City Site, Marion |
| 1826/10/00 | Lt Charles Thomas replaces Lt Frederick L Griffith as superintendent on the Memphis to Little Rock Military Road. | |
| 1826/11/23 | Lt Thomas informs Jesup that the 3rd contract and part of the 4th, traversing uninhabited wilderness, crosses Blackfish, Shell and Bevans lakes which will need ferries, as they are too wide and deep to be forded, or bridged. | Blackfish Lake Ferry Site, New Shady Grove |
| 1826/12/18 | Carr, Anderson and Irvine Carr request an extension on their contract, due to flooding. Most of the 15 miles of the 35 from Blackfish to 3 miles West of the St Francis is under the high flow of the Mississippi. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Blackfish Lake to Hill Lake Segment, Parkin |
| 1827/01/17 | it is also evident from the water marks on the trees, that the county is subject to be overflowed in some places as much as 8 ft and by the Mississippi and St Francis Rivers. - Lt Charles Thomas to Quartermaster General Thomas S Jesup | |
| 1827/07/01 | By July 1st, the first 64 miles of the Memphis to Little Rock Road are completed. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Highway 306 Segment, Colt |
| 1827/09/10 | Lt Thomas reports that he has contracted with Gray, Cook and Walker to open 15 miles of the road commencing at Little Rock and extending to the Bayou of Two prairies (north of Lonoke), which is as far as the road will proceed on the present route. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Bayou Two Prairie Segment, Lonoke |
| 1827/10/00 | Seeking a better alignment for the Memphis to Little Rock Road, Lt Thomas explores the country from the 64th mile tree to White river, below the mouth of Cache and from thence, in the direction of Little Rock, as far as the Bayou of the two Prairies. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Highway 306 Segment, Colt |
| 1828/01/00 | William Strong bids $1,600 to bridge the L'Anguille River and build a 93.5 mile military road from the 64 mile point to the White River ferry. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Henard Cemetery Road Segment, Brinkley, AR |
| 1828/01/01 | Lt Thomas pays $500 to Samson Gray to construct the between Little Rock and the White River including a log bridging.Samson Gray made no written proposals neither did any one else for the section. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Brownsville Segment, Lonoke |
| 1828/06/01 | William Strong completes the Military Road from the 64th mile to the ferry on White River, now known as Clarendon. The timber has been removed and the side ditches have been cut, but it is a rough road to travel. | Clarendon, AR, Arkansas |
| 1828/08/00 | By the end of August, the remaining sections between the White River and Little Rock are built, completing the Memphis to Little Rock Military Road. Thomas, tired of the heat and swamps of Arkansas, request transfer to a northern post. | |
| 1832/07/03 | The US Congress approves $20,000 for repairs to the Military Road. Territorial Governor John Pope will use the money to improve the road between Little Rock and William Strong's place near the St Francis River. | Memphis to Little Rock Road: Village Creek Segment, Village Creek State Park, AR |
| 1834/06/00 | Lt Alexander H Bowman arrives in Memphis with orders to make contracts for improvements on the road between "a point on the Mississippi River, opposite Memphis, and terminating at the house of Wm Strong on St Francis." | Memphis to Little Rock Road-Strong's Ferry Segment, Wittsburg |
| 1836/06/15 | After Arkansas becomes a state, the US Army transfers maintenance of the Military Road to local authorities. The US Congress spent $267,000 of the $660,000 allotted for territorial Arkansas's transportation needs on construction of the Military Road. | |
| 1837/00/00 | Emigrants continue to flock to this part of the country but they do so at the risk and cost of passing the most disgraceful bogs, wilderness, and swamps that can be found. - Arkansas Gazette |
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