Tag Archives: Little Rock City Hall

Women Making History – LR City Council member Carolyn Craig

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Carolyn Conner was elected to the Little Rock City Council in April 1931. She was initially elected to fill out the remaining year of her husband’s term on the Little Rock City Council. She received 551 votes, or 61.6% besting two male candidates.

She was not the first woman to run for City Council.  In 1924, Mrs. George M. Waller challenged Charles M. Connor (no relation to Carolyn Conner).

In 1932, Carolyn Conner was reelected and would continue to serve on the council until April 1942, winning a total of six elections.  Mrs. Conner was the first woman to be elected to any City of Little Rock office.  She was also the first to chair a council committee, leading the Civic Affairs Committee from 1933 to 1935. On October 16, 1933, she was chosen as Acting Mayor becoming the first woman to lead the City of Little Rock and preside at a council meeting.

In December 1939, she also became the first female alderman to be arrested for contempt of court along with eleven of her male colleagues.  The judge did not send her to jail, though he did the male aldermen.  At the end of the day their sentences were suspended.

In April 1941, Mildred Craig joined Mrs. Conner on the Council after being elected to finish out her husband’s term.  Their service marked the first time there were two women on the City Council.

Little Rock Look Back: A. M. “Sandy” Keith

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On March 4, 1924, Alexander M. “Sandy” Keith was born.  He would serve as Little Rock’s sixty-third mayor in 1979.

Growing up in Little Rock, he graduated from Little Rock Catholic High and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served in World War II as Lieutenant (jg) United States Naval Reserve.

Keith was a certified public accountant, who during his career worked mainly with the firm, Keith, Allen & Pickering. In addition, Keith spent more than a dozen years in public service in Little Rock. Elected to the Little Rock City Board of Directors in 1971, Keith served three consecutive terms.

He was elected Mayor in 1979, wishing to serve only six months in the post, when the ordinary term of office for the Mayor was two years. So he resigned the position after six months. (His grandfather, also known as Alexander M. Keith, served two terms on the Little Rock City Council in the 1800s.)

Following his twelve years on the Little Rock City Board of Directors, Keith was appointed to the Pulaski County Board of Equalization.

During his career, Keith also served as president of the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants, and was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Council. He also served on the Arkansas Board of Accountancy. In addition to these, Keith served as Chairman of the St. Vincent’s Infirmary Facilities Board, and as a director of the Benton Savings and Loan. He was a member of the Economic Opportunity Agency, Pulaski County Board, and the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Committee.

At his death in 2008, he was survived by his wife, Leah, three children and six grandchildren.

Little Rock Look Back: Byron Morse

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On February 23, 1917, future Little Rock Mayor Byron R. Morse was born.

A founder of the real estate firm of Rector-Phillips- Morse, he was long active in civic affairs of Little Rock.

Mayor Morse was first elected to the City Board of Directors in November 1960. In 1963, he was chosen as Little Rock Mayor. After serving two years as Mayor, he chose to not seek re-election to the City Board. Long active in civic affairs, in 1968 he chaired the fundraising drive to keep the Arkansas Arts Center’s doors open.

In 1980, he was appointed to the City Board to fill out an unexpired term. He was later asked to fill another unexpired term but declined.  In 1983, he was elected national president of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Mayor Morse also served as president of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Little Rock United Way, the Little Rock Red Cross, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Little Rock Boy’s Club. He was a member of the Fifty for the Future.

On July 25, 2001, Mayor Morse died.

Little Rock Look Back: John Herndon Hollis

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On February 5, 1870, future Little Rock alderman and acting mayor John Herndon Hollis was born shortly before his family moved to what is now Cleveland County. His parents were originally from Georgia and came from prosperous and longtime families there.

The Hollis family came to Arkansas after the Civil War and settled in Union County. A portion of that county was carved off and became Dorsey County (named after a Republican US Senator from Arkansas) but was renamed Cleveland County after Grover Cleveland was elected President. Cleveland was the first Democrat to be elected President in over 20 years. This name change also reflected the political shift in Arkansas from the Reconstruction-led Republican politics to the Democratic Party politics which would dominate for the next century.

John Herndon Hollis was one of six children, and the only one with a middle name. Herndon had been his mother’s maiden name. As one of his brothers described their childhood in Cleveland County, “they all went to country schools in their home neighborhood, worked hard on the farm in the summertime, and were inside their little Methodist Church every time the doors were open.”

Around 1900, Hollis and his new wife Malinda M. “Linda” Taliaferro Hollis (formerly of Rison) moved to Little Rock.  Together the couple had six children. In Little Rock, Hollis worked in the banking industry. For years he worked for People’s Building and Loan Association.

Hollis was first elected to the Little Rock City Council in April 1904. He would serve as one of the Aldermen from the city’s Fourth Ward until April 1918.  This was on the western border of Little Rock at the time. The family lived at 1510 S. Schiller, which is one block east of Central High, though at the time neither the school nor its predecessor (West End Park) existed.  From 1907 until 1913 he also served on the Little Rock School Board.

In April 1908, at the first City Council meeting in the new City Hall, Mayor W. E. Lenon announced his resignation. Because the resignation was effective immediately, there was a vacancy in the office of mayor.  Hollis was selected by his colleagues to serve as acting mayor until a successor could be elected. So from April 1908 through June 1908, Hollis was the City’s chief political and executive leader.

Though he was never formally mayor (and did not resign his position as alderman), since 1908, Hollis’ name has appeared on the list of mayors of Little Rock. The reason seems to be as a sign of respect since there was a vacancy.

There previously had been acting mayors when the mayor would be absent on business or due to illness. But in those instances, the mayor had not resigned. This is the only instance in Little Rock history when a mayor resigned immediately with no successor in place. So John Herndon Hollis holds a unique role in Little Rock history.

After leaving the City Council, Hollis remained active in civic affairs.  He co-chaired a successful campaign in 1929, to raise a tax for a variety of civic issues.

Hollis’ wife died in 1920.  He later married Ann Jewell of Little Rock (who was a cousin of his first wife). They were married until his death on October 23, 1941.  Ann Hollis lived in Little Rock until her death in 1980.  The Hollis family is entombed in the mausoleum at Mount Holly Cemetery.

Both of John Herndon Hollis’ wives are distant cousins of the Culture Vulture, so he is particularly fond of John Herndon Hollis.

Little Rock Look Back: Opening of 1868 LR City Hall

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The 1868 City Hall as featured on a city report.

On January 22, 1868, a charity ball (including a supper) was the first special event held in the new Little Rock City Hall located at 120 to 122 West Markham.

The two story building featured city offices downstairs, including an engine house for the volunteer fire department. Upstairs was the council chambers and a special event space. The facility was the width of two storefronts. The upstairs was accessed by a central staircase which went from street level through an archway directly up to the second floor. The first floor had a stone exterior and the second floor was a combination of brick and woodwork.

Records do not indicate when the first city council in the new building took place. At the January 21, 1868, meeting, the body formally accepted the building and cancelled any clauses in the contract about penalties should the contractor not meet the construction deadline. But there is no indication whether that meeting took place in the new building or in the previous city hall. (The location of that prior city hall is a mystery.). The minutes from the council meetings just prior to and just after the January 21 meeting give no indication as to which building was the site for the meeting.

It IS known that March 30, 1908, was the date of the final council meeting in the 1868 City Hall. After that meeting, city offices completed their move to the edifice at Markham and Broadway, which still serves as Little Rock City Hall.

As early as November 1867, the City Council was getting requests for special events to be held in the new city hall. In November and December the council refused to take action on any requests because the building was still under construction.

The January 22, 1868, event was created to help the destitute in Little Rock. The ARKANSAS GAZETTE encouraged people to be generous and purchase tickets. Even the day before the event, the weekly version of the GAZETTE (which at the time had added daily editions in addition to its weekly issue) was assuring people there would be plenty of space in the splendid new building so there was still room for additional ticket purchases. Tickets were $5 to admit a lady and a gentleman.  (That would be the equivalent of $83.71 today. While cheap for two people to attend a Little Rock event in 2018, in the post-Civil War era, it was a definite hit to the pocketbook.)

The unnamed organization which put on the charity event was led by W. W. Wilshire (president), George W. Clark (secretary), Joseph Meyer (treasurer) and a standing committee of Dr. C. M. Taylor, Dr. P. O. Hooper, A. Adams, F. H. Moody, and E. Langley.  Donations could be made to any of the officers.  The arrangements for the event were handled by Joseph Meyer, A. Adams, J. P. Jones, Alexander George, Jr., Joseph W. Bossert, and Daniel Ottenheimer.  The reception committee was W. D. Blocher, H. C. Ashley, A. McDonald, P. W. McWhorter, T. Lafferty, and F. H. Moody.   Tickets could be purchased at the stores of J. E. Reardon, G. H. Gibbs, Joseph Meyer, Lafferty & Raleigh, S. L. Griffith, McAlmont & Stillwell, Beideman & Co., and Dodge & Co as well as at the Anthony and Commercial Houses.  (It is interesting to note how so many people at the time were publicly listed by only their first initial.)

The building stood for 56 years after City Hall vacated it.  It housed a variety of businesses over the years.  The building was torn down in 1964 as part of Urban Renewal.  Today it is the site of part of the Statehouse Convention Center.  It is directly across from the One-Eleven restaurant side of the Capital Hotel.

Little Rock Look Back: Museum of Discovery is gifted to City in 1929

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At the City Council meeting on December 19, 1929, Bernie Babcock presented the City of Little Rock with a Christmas present — the Museum of Natural History.

After the meeting was convened, Mrs. Babcock was given permission to make remarks to the City.  According to Council minutes from that meeting, she stated “she was at this time making a Christmas gift to the City of Little Rock in presenting to it the museum located on the third floor of the City Hall, setting forth, at length, the struggles in making the collections of which the museum is composed, and stressing the value of the museum to the city.”

Upon a motion, the museum was accepted by the City.  She then presented letters which formally made the offer to the City and suggested persons for a governing board.

Mrs. Babcock had been trying to get the City to accept the museum for a while.  She had been unsuccessful in getting Mayor Pat L. Robinson to agree to it after he took office in April 1929.  Ever-determined, she circumvented the mayor and went directly to the City Council. By December 1929, they had grown estranged from Mayor Robinson.

Since December 19, 1929, the museum has been affiliated with the City of Little Rock.  During that time, it has had several names and three locations.

Little Rock Look Back: LRSD Choirs sing Christmas Carols on Robinson Auditorium steps

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In front of Robinson Center, one of the sculptures is called “Let the Music Play.” 79 years ago today, the music played on the front steps of the building as construction continued on the inside.

On the afternoon of December 18, 1939, 500 school children from elementary schools were joined by the A Capella Choir of Little Rock High School as they sang Christmas carols on the front steps of the auditorium on a weekday afternoon. The singers were accompanied by the Little Rock High School Brass Sextet. The invocation for the event, which was sponsored by the Little Rock Council of Parents and Teachers, was delivered by the Right Reverend Richard Bland Mitchell, the Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas.

A Christmas tree in front of City Hall was lit up as part of the ceremony as well. Media coverage noted that the audience witnessing the program stood on the front steps of the Pulaski County Courthouse, the side lawn of City Hall and in front of the steps of Robinson Auditorium. It was also noted that most windows in the nearby government buildings were filled with people watching the festivities.