Highland Industrial Park is a part of the former Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot. The site was operated by the U.S. Navy from 1944 until 1957 for the manufacture, testing, storage, distribution, disassembly, reworking, and destruction of ammunition, bombs, and explosives, principally rockets.

Improvements to the site included an extensive rail network, hundreds of reinforced concrete storage magazines, loading dock facilities and administration buildings.

Subsequent to being placed in a standby status, the United States Government placed the entire depot in the surplus property category and offered the land and improvements for sale. Sealed bids for the facilities in parcels or in total were received for bid opening April 4, 1961. Brown Engineering Corporation, the predecessor to Highland, was successful in purchasing three of the five parcels offered for a total 25,601.82 acres.

The navy’s housing area became the town of East Camden. The commander’s house became a guest house for visiting consultants, executives and engineers.

Southwest Technical Institute was opened in 1968. This is now Southern Arkansas University Tech Also, Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy, Arkansas Fire Training Academy, and Arkansas Environmental Training Academy are located in the Highland Industrial Park. These educational facilities have provided the Park with a nucleus of trained labor.

The Highland Industrial complex has over 1,000 buildings, containing over 5,500,000 square feet of space for manufacturing and warehousing. Today, Highland owns the 15,765.437 acre industrial park. As well as, 123 lots, a commercial center and a nine-hole golf course in the town of East Camden.