National Register of Historic Places adds 13 Arkansas properties

The National Register of Historic Places has added 13 Arkansas properties, according to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

A list of the newly added properties follows.

• The Gentry Grand Army of the Republic Monument, a commemorative monument raised by Union veterans in 1918. It is one of four such monuments known to be erected in Arkansas. “While Confederate monuments erected in the years following the Civil War can be found scattered across Arkansas, including around 30 that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Union monuments are much scarcer,” according to the National Register nomination. “The Minnesota Monument was placed in Little Rock National Cemetery by the State of Minnesota in 1916. The Judsonia Grand Army of the Republic Monument was erected by the Sherman G.A.R. Post in 1894 and the Siloam Springs Grand Army of the Republic Monument was placed by the Simon R. Curtis G.A.R. Post in 1928.” More than 120 Grand Army of the Republic chapters existed in Arkansas, according to the nomination.
• Highfill School (No. 71), known now as the Community Building and used for social events, is a wood-frame former school built around 1911, according to the AHPP. “This school building is one of the only known surviving structures related to the early history of the Highfill community as a whole and one of few surviving early school structures in Benton County,” according to the nomination. It is close to a state highway, and, residents considering relocating the building but have opted not, because it is worn down, and they fear it would be damaged in the move.
• Green Valley Homestead in Fulton County consists of a series of log buildings constructed between 1936 and 1943. “The Green Valley Homestead is an excellent example of an intact rustic-style farmstead designed and built during the 1930s and 1940s in rural Fulton County,” according to the National Register nomination. The farmstead includes the main residence (Green House), a privy, a root cellar, a carriage house (garage and workshop), a stone chicken coop, and a large barn as well as several stone site features including a fire pit, retaining walls and patios.
• House at 1920 South Main Street in Little Rock is a folk Victorian-style cottage built in 1905. The house was originally excluded from the South Main Street Residential Historic District because of extensive alterations made to the property but is now considered as contributing to the district, following an extensive restoration project that included re-installing the original windows, removing synthetic exterior siding and restoring the original wooden exterior, according to AHPP. The renovation project was made possible by a historic preservation tax credit.
• Greenwood School in Hot Springs is a 1930 art deco-style building with a 1950 international-style addition, according to AHPP. “In 1950, Greenwood School was expanded through the addition of four classrooms, two at each end of the original school building in newly constructed upper level atop the existing eastern and western bays, designed to match the art deco style of the original building,” according to the National Register nomination. “Also, a new international-style combination gymnasium-auditorium-cafeteria was added to the eastern side of the original building. This new multi-use space allowed the original central auditorium space to be subdivided into additional classrooms. The additions, including the multi-use addition were all designed by the school’s original architect, Irven D. McDaniel.”
• Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command Alert and Weapons Storage Area Historic District contains support structures for a nuclear bomber base that date back to 1959, according to AHPP. “Though arriving late to the Strategic Air Command’s Bomber Alert Program, it provided another installation that was able to augment SAC’s already strong ability to establish a one-third strike force that was able and ready to provide a counterattack within 15 minutes, in the event of a Soviet-initiated strike on the United States,” according to the National Register nomination. “It is through the constant efforts of SAC and its airmen that the bomber fleet was considered the backbone of the SAC deterrent posture.”
• L. Leach Grocery Store in Dutch Mills is a traditional-style commercial building. “Built circa 1925, the north half of the R.L. Leach Grocery Store is the original building sold to the Leaches by Johnny and Mary Jane Sparks, while the southern half is from the Sycamore Filling Station, which was located across the road from the Leach store, and was owned by Will Sparks,” according to the National Register nomination. “The R.L. Leach Grocery Store reflected the economic strategy employed by many postmasters at the time, further solidifying the importance of the building to the community.”
• Elmwood Cemetery in Fort Smith contains burials dating to 1891 from the Sebastian County Poor Farm, according to AHPP. “The poor farm system was an important part of the social fabric in several Arkansas counties during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,” according to the National Register nomination. “As county residents fell on hard times, the poor farm was often one of the only places that residents could turn to for assistance. As a result, it was an important place for many residents. The fact that the poor farm also existed for over 50 years meant that it was an important facility in Sebastian County for a significant length of time.”
• Fitzgerald Historic District in Fort Smith features buildings designed in the styles of folk vernacular, colonial revival, Tudor revival and craftsman. They date back to 1905. “Developed in the early 20th century, the neighborhood was home to middle- and working-class citizens who built modest homes,” according to the National Register nomination. “Most lots in the neighborhood were developed between 1920 and 1930. Only a few dwellings within the district were built after World War II, with the exception of two modern apartment buildings. The majority of dwellings in the district have not been significantly altered, and the district retains a strong sense of time and place.”
• Robert Wanslow House in Fort Smith was built in 1962 from a design by Wanslow and reflecting the mid-century modern style of architecture. “The design of the Robert Wanslow House reflects the increased relationship between the indoors and outdoors, as well as the issue of privacy in house design,” according to the National Register nomination. “The design of the Wanslow House, with its sliding-glass doors on the east and north sides encouraged residents and visitors to interact with the house’s surroundings. The placement of the large windows away from the street also emphasized privacy for the house’s occupants from the street. The issue of privacy is also illustrated by the fact that the main entrance does not face the street and is also recessed from the main plane of the façade.”
• Sherman Mound and Village in Mississippi County an archeological site dating back to 1200, with components from the Prehistoric Late Woodland and Middle Mississippian periods, according to AHPP. “Geophysics produced evidence for the presence of all the basic architectural design elements of a Mississippian town with a mound-and-plaza complex, including a primary mound, two secondary mounds, one or two plazas, a palisade wall with bastions and discrete residential or habitation areas characterized by multiple geophysical features and surface artifact concentrations,” according to the National Register nomination. “The most conspicuous remaining element of this Mississippian town is the Sherman Mound, which is one of the largest and best-preserved Middle Mississippian period earthworks in the Central Mississippi Valley.”
• Arkansas Teachers Association headquarters building and Professional Services building in Little Rock are mid-century modern-style buildings completed in 1965 and designed by the architectural firm of George Henry Tschiemer & Associates of Pine Bluff. “The two buildings, designed for the ATA and the medical corporation Professional Services Inc., were contemporary in style, featuring the mid-century modern aesthetic of simple lines and un-ornamented facades,” according to the National Register nomination. “While the modern aesthetic was partially a result of the use of new and cost-efficient materials and building techniques, the modern styling of the structures was also a reflection of the forward-thinking organizations that commissioned the buildings. The overall cost of the project was over $150,000, a huge sum, especially for an African-American financed and constructed project in downtown Little Rock only five years after the Little Rock desegregation crisis.