It was Major Rombaugh, one of the civil engineers from the railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, who gave the Lonoke its name. He and a Mr Robinson had to find a railroad depot, and a lone oak tree on the Arkansas prairie was the place they chose. They spelled Lone Oak "Lonoke" to make it sound Indian. The Original site for Lonoke was laid out in 1869. From a empty prairie in 1869 Lonoke grew to a town of 500 and by 1910 it had 1,500 residents. It also became the county seat of the newly established county, Lonoke County.
1879 Lonoke got a public school, and during the next 30 years Lonoke grew to a large farming community. The main crops were and still are cotton and rice and Lonoke became the town with one of the most valuable farm real estate in the state.

City Officials

Position	Name
Mayor	Wayne McGee
City Clerk	Jeri Edwards
Assistant To Mayor	Kimberly Lewis
District Judge	Teresa Smith
City Attorney	Ginger Stuart
Police Chief	(Vacant)
Fire Chief	Justin Whittenburg
Director Of Public Works	Thomas Stivers
Community Center Director	Mike Brown
Director Of Community Development	Jeremy Gosdin
Parks, Recreation Director	Roy Don Lewis
City Treasurer	Craig Blackard
Council Member	Koy Butler
Council Member	Raymond Hatton
Council Member	Steven Holt
Council Member	Wendell Moore
Council Member	Stan Moran
Council Member	Jim Ransom
Council Member	Shawn Simpson
Council Member	Wendall Walker
Human Resources Director	Cindy Reaves