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The City of Belmont
est. 1917
A Panorama of Belmont
Belmont was created to become an entertainment hub for WWI soldiers of all ranks and local citizens of North Little Rock. A group of southern businessmen and civil servants put up the capital and filed papers to create the “Belmont Development Company” in 1917.
Memphis Judge Allen Hughes, professional baseball player Robert G. Allen, Pulaski county Sheriff W. G. Hutton, T. I. Davis, W. L. Smith, and Washington Gordon Erskine are listed on the incorporation papers for the company.
Between 1917 to 1923 the United States Army leased 320 acres for Camp Pike as well as the Hotel Belmont from Bishop John Morris. The Orphanage, just 10 years old, was adapted for luxury hotel service and rebranded the Hotel Belmont. The Hotel would be the center and foundation of the city of Belmont, Arkansas.
Prior to the orphanage and Belmont's development, this northern portion of North Little Rock, which went by the name Argenta during this time, had a small population of farms. At the height of Belmont, it is reported that around 400 people lived in the area.
W. G. Hutton, Pulaski Co. Sherrif
Homesteads
The circled buildings show a view of North Little Rock's Landscape
The name Belmont comes from the local name for the hill that the orphanage sits atop. The city would be described as "Little Rock's Coney Island" and offered convenient and safe entertainments that both the War Department and mothers back home both approved of.
January 16, 1919, the Volstead Act was passed, making the sale, transportation, and production of spirits and other alcoholic beverages illegal. Previous military training interactions with local communities had earned training camps the reputation of attracting "immoral vices" such as gambling, drinking, and prostitution. Belmont was developed and designed as an answer to that, ensuring that troops could enjoy themselves in a way that preserved their minds, souls, and bodies for battle.
Near Beer
was an alternative, alcohol-free version of malt beer popular during prohibition
After WWI ended, Camp Pike's average population count declined. The number of wives, mothers, sisters, and friends visiting their soldiers before they were deployed or stationed slowed also. Instead of being the last stopping point before they embarked on an uncertain future in battle, Camp Pike became one of the last stops before they returned home.
For Belmont, the decrease in people in Camp Pike and arriving as tourists in the area hit the local businesses hard. The War Department scaled down their efforts to police and dictate the types of businesses and activities around military posts.
The lease of the hotel ended in 1923, a full 5 years after the end of the war. The exact reason or dates for the abandonment or end of Belmont as a city is still unknown.
In 1927 Arkansas suffered a catastrophic flood of the Arkansas River and 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression. Environmental, social, political, and or economic factors are likely to have worked together to overpower the small city.
“We intend to comply with the wishes of the war department and provide the cleanest possible amusement for the soldiers.”
- W. G Erskine
President of Belmont Entertainment Co.
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