 Maumelle has a colorful and historical past that started long before the early 1970's when it was developed as a "New Home Town Coming True." In fact, the site on which the 5,000-acre planned community rests today has a heritage that is older than the State of Arkansas and even the Arkansas Territory.
There is evidence that man first inhabited the area around 400 B.C. In later years, the Osage Indians claimed the lands north of the Arkansas River, including Maumelle, as their hunting grounds. Artifacts discovered by the Maumelle Historical Committee, such as a crude stone tool found in the Riverland Subdivision, give credence to our claim.
The first white man to see what is now Maumelle was the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto. In 1541, he and his men made their way up the Arkansas River searching for gold. It was the 1700's before the next visitors came to this area, passing through on their way to the Cadron Settlement near Conway.
Very little is known about activities in the Maumelle area in the 1700's because early settlers neglected to record events. They were primarily interested in survival in this rugged territory.
One of the first notable events in Maumelle on record was the arrival of a group of settlers from Alabama in March of 1812. They were led by Jacob and James Pyeatt, who were brothers. The area in which they settled is now a part of the golf course of the Maumelle Country Club. The settlement became known as Pyeattstown. Jacob Pyeatt operated a ferry on the Arkansas River and James Pyeatt was a farmer.
It was at the home of James Pyeatt in 1812 that the Reverend John Carnahan, an exhorter for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, conducted the first Protestant services ever held on Arkansas soil.
By 1819, the settlement had grown to include more than 150 persons. It was reported to be a center of fashion, intelligence and religion.
One of the early settlers was General Edmund Hogan who served in the special Arkansas County Militia of the Missouri Territory. He and his wife built a home in the vicinity of the River Run Subdivision in 18 2 1. His home was reported to be the finest in the Arkansas Territory.
General Hogan was also appointed the first postmaster of the Crystal Hill - Maumelle area and was a representative to the legislature of the Missouri Territory, of which Arkansas was then a part. In March of 1821, General Hogan registered a plat for a town site to be called Crystal Hill. However, no record of the plat of the exact location of the town exists. It is believed the town now lies under the Arkansas River just south of Maumelle.
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