Central High School - Little Rock, AR - the site of the Little Rock Nine

Central High School located at 2125 West Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive in Little Rock, Arkansas was where forced desegregation of schools occurred in the mist of the Civil Rights Movement. The school goes from 9th to 12th grade with over two thousand enrolled students.

Originally the Little Rock Senior High School the building was built during 1927. The cost of building what is now Little Rock Central High School was one and a half million dollars. There were almost twenty thousand people at the dedicating ceremony for the school.

In 1957 it was where the Little Rock Nine faced more than 1.000 angry white Americans that were protesting their admittance to the school. The nine students were escorted in by the 101st United States Airborne Division making national headlines. In August of 1977 the school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and during 1982 it became a National Historic Landmark.

Central High School is still in use as an educational facility. A 50th Anniversary event for the students of the Little Rock Nine was held during 2007 at the facility and that same year a museum opened honoring them. The rich history of the school makes it worth visiting when in the Little Rock, Arkansas area.