Central High School National Historic Site

Address:2125 Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive
Little Rock, Arkansas
Tel: (501) 374-1957

Visit the site of the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957, where African American high school students known as the Little Rock Nine were denied entrance to school in defiance of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling. The bold action of the Little Rock Nine led to a showdown between Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and President Eisenhower, gaining international attention and making Little Rock the site of the first important test of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education. During that fateful time in the 1950s and 1960s, Central High School became a place of protest, violence, and victory.

Though Central High is active even today, this landmark site in civil rights history is still open to visitors. The visitor's center includes a permanent exhibit on the crisis as well as a bookstore providing books about the famous case as well as books on civil rights in general. Guests are welcome to explore the Commemorative Garden and the neighborhood on their own. Rangers are available to introduce the exhibits and give guided tours of the school, available by reservation only, with two weeks advance notice. Guided group visits, lasting about 30-45 minutes, are offered at the school on weekdays too.

To get to the Central High School National Historic Site, take I-40 to I-430 South to I-630 East. Exit at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and make a right. Little Rock Central High School is four blocks ahead at the intersection of Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive and Park Street. The visitor's center is across the street from the school. See where civil rights progress boomed as you walk the halls of this historic site!