MORRILTON

city, seat (1883) of Conway county, central Arkansas, U.S., about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Little Rock, in the Arkansas River valley. Settlement in the area originated in 1819 at Lewisburg, a trading post founded by Stephen Lewis. The post became an important river port on Point Remove Creek, and in the 1870s the Little Rock and Fort Smith (now Union Pacific) Railroad was built a mile north. The population soon relocated to the railroad, and the new settlement was named for Henry Morrill, a Lewisburg resident. Morrilton developed as an agricultural trading and processing centre, especially for poultry. Tourism, light manufacturing, and retail services have also become increasingly important to its economy. Petit Jean State Park and Winrock Farm (developed by Winthrop Rockefeller, governor of Arkansas from 1967 to 1971, and a noted breeder of Santa Gertrudis cattle) lie to the southwest. Inc. 1880. Pop. (1990) 6,551; (1998 est.) 6,580.