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Do you know the history of Anthony Scott, the person Scott Street is named after?

Andrew Scott was a brilliant man who came to Arkansas territory to be superior court judge for the new frontier, but there were some issues.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - So far, we have covered the origin of Markham, which is still a mystery, and Chester Street, much clearer. Next, we travel to a street named after a man with a questionable record.

“He was a colorful character in a day filled with colorful characters,” Little Rock Engineer Director Mike Hood said.

Andrew Scott was a brilliant man who came to Arkansas territory to be superior court judge for the new frontier, but there were some issues.

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“Unfortunately, he had a temper and it was a nasty temper,” Hood said.

His anger turned deadly after a card game led to a duel across the Mississippi River in Tennessee.

“Andrew Scott killed that other judge fairly, or legally you might say, because dueling was legal in that state,” Hood said.

Dueling wasn’t legal in Arkansas, but that didn’t stop Scott from fighting with his opponent in a congressional race here in Little Rock.

“Andrew Scott stabbed him with a sword hidden in an umbrella handle,” Hood said.

Though he faced murder charges, he didn’t end up serving time.

“He was tried for that crime and acquitted, but he left Little Rock and lived the rest of his days in Pope County,” Hood said.

Hood also said that early Arkansas was a dangerous and wild place. He said that during this same time period, an adventurer wrote of Little Rock that:

‘He would scarcely meet a man that would refrain from wearing a pistol and a bowing knife on his belt at all times.’

In the end, his accomplishments outweighed his bad behavior.

“They had a very good family name. His brother was a U.S. Marshal he had a long and very good career,” Hood said.

Scott Street was named in his honor by 1820 before the street was even built. Scott County was also named after the judge in 1833.

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