calsfoundation@cals.org
November 22, 1821
Two factions, led by Chester Ashley and William Russell, settled their differences, ending their year-long conflict over ownership of the land on which Little Rock, the proposed site for the territory’s capital, would stand. Two groups of speculators held conflicting claims to the location of what is today downtown Little Rock. Ashley represented the faction composed of James Bryan, William O’Hara, Amos Wheeler, and Governor William Read Miller, who claimed through a New Madrid certificate. William Russell headed the other faction, which also included Robert Crittenden, Henry Conway, Judge Andrew Scott, and a number of other prominent citizens, who claimed through pre-emption. Although Ashley’s faction lost in court, the two sides compromised and split up downtown Little Rock between them.