Born from the Shumaker years

During World War II, the Navy needed a place to build, test, and store ammunition and rockets, and southern Arkansas had the land and the will. The result was the Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot, which once spread across more than 68,000 acres.

To house the workers and their families, the Navy built a planned community with homes, a swimming pool, and recreation. When Shumaker closed and the land was sold off, those neighborhoods became the city of East Camden, and the old depot grounds became something lasting: the Highland Industrial Park. That spirit of reinvention is still our greatest strength.

Where Arkansas builds for the nation

If Arkansas has a capital for aerospace and defense manufacturing, it is right here. The Highland Industrial Park is the backbone of the entire county's economy, and the work done inside it helps protect the United States and our allies. The investment keeps coming, including a new RTX missile facility and a 2025 plant from R2S building components for the Tamir and SkyHunter air defense missiles.