Scott is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lonoke and Pulaski counties in the central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Per the 2020 census, the population was 97. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
More than 1,000 years ago, a complex formation of mounds was created near what is now called Mound Pond by what is today known as the Plum Bayou culture, a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that lived in what is now east-central Arkansas from 650–1050 CE, a time known as the Late Woodland Period. Archaeologists defined the culture based on the Toltec Mounds site The site was farmed in the nineteenth century but was later preserved as Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park.
The Arkansas River not only created distinctive oxbow lakes, but it also provided rich farmland that was attractive to the first white settlers in Arkansas Territory. Peter L. Lefevre and family were among the very first French settlers, locating in the fall of 1818 on the north side of the river on Spanish Grant No. 497, about six miles below Little Rock. Chester Ashley was one of the first investors to acquire land in the area for plantation purposes in the early 1800s. Conoway Scott Sr., for whom the community is named, arrived in the 1830s. Thomas Steele began his plantation in the area in 1850.
The Marmaduke–Walker duel occurred in the area on September 6, 1863, on the Lefevre Plantation, just east of the Lefevre House. The duel was fought between John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker, two generals in the Confederate States Army. Tension had risen between the two officers during the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, when Marmaduke accused Walker of not supporting his force, and then retaliated by not informing Walker of a Confederate retreat. Marmaduke was later assigned to serve under Walker during a Union advance against Little Rock. Walker did not support Marmaduke during a retreat after the Battle of Brownsville, and Marmaduke questioned Walker's courage after the Battle of Bayou Meto on August 27. A series of notes passed between the two generals by friends resulted in a duel, during which Marmaduke fatally wounded Walker. Marmaduke was arrested and charged with murder, but was soon released and later the charge was dropped.
The Skirmish at Ashley's Mills, also known as the Skirmish at Ferry Landing was an engagement that was fought between Union Army and Confederate States Army cavalry regiments in Arkansas on September 7, 1863, during the American Civil War. Federal troops approached Little Rock from the north, encountering resistance from Confederate forces at Battle of Brownsville, Arkansas on August 25 and at Bayou Meto, near present-day Jacksonville, Arkansas on August 27. Union Brigadier-General John W. Davidson commanding the cavalry division of the Union Army of Arkansas sent the 7th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as his lead regiment to clear the 5th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, under the temporary command of Major John Bull while Colonel Robert C. Newton was in temporary brigade command, from its position guarding a crossing of the Arkansas River near Little Rock, Arkansas. The Union cavalry forced the Confederates to retreat which opened the route to the east of the river, leading to the Battle of Bayou Fourche on September 10, 1863, and the capture of Little Rock by the Union Army of Arkansas under the command of Major General Frederick Steele. The Confederate regiment's casualties were 1 killed, 3 wounded and 2 captured while the Union regiment reported no casualties.
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway (known as the Cotton Belt Route) was constructed through the Scott area in 1871. The new station was located on the property of Conoway Scott Sr. The railroad depot was called Scott’s Station (or Scott’s Crossing).
In 1912, Conoway Scott Jr. built a large brick building, intending to house a general store. The store later opened under the Foster Family as Foster's General Store. A post office was added to the store in 1929. Later the name of the surrounding community was shortened to Scott. The CDP's portion in Pulaski County is bisected by Horseshoe Lake, an oxbow lake that was once a channel of the Arkansas River.