FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2015
CONTACT: Lindsley Smith
Communication Director
479-575-8302
lsmith@fayetteville-ar.gov
2015 HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS PRESENTED BY CITY
The City of Fayetteville’s Historic District Commission presented its Historic Preservation Awards on Thursday, May 14, 2015, honoring projects, organizations, and individuals that have displayed outstanding commitment, practice, and leadership in historic preservation.
Bonnie Davis received a Best Practices Award for the façade restoration of the Davidson House, located in the Washington Willow Historic District. Part of the House was built in 1858 and then passed on to Benjamin Davidson, who added Victorian details, including an Eastlake-style porch. Mr. Davidson died in 1939 and the House was soon turned into five apartments. After having numerous owners, Davis bought the House in 1992. Davis began renovations in 1995; layers of paint were removed from the façade and intricate wood pieces. Davis has returned the House to a single family residence
Nominated by historian Jerry Hogan, the Washington County Historical Society (WCHS) received a Best Practices Award for the repair of the Headquarters House Smokehouse. Home to Judge Jonas Tebbetts and his family, the Headquarters House (now home to a small museum and offices of WCHS) was built in 1853 and is one of the oldest buildings in Fayetteville. The Smokehouse was built shortly thereafter. In recent years, the Historical Society noted the deteriorating condition of the Smokehouse and that many bricks were in bad shape. In the fall of 2014, WCHS began efforts to improve the overall condition of the Smokehouse, including replacement of broken bricks. The type of bonding material was carefully considered. In keeping with the nineteenth century historical nature of the building, mortar was used to replace the bricks.
The Fayetteville Historical Hike – A Walking Map of Historical Sites, a Washington County Historical Society brochure, received the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Service in Historic Preservation. Released in the fall of 2014, the brochure was produced with a grant from the Fayetteville Area Community Foundation, an affiliate office of the Arkansas Community Foundation. WCHS members Bill Kincaid, Charlie Alison, and Ellen Compton along with DOXA, a nationally-recognized design firm based in Fayetteville, created the illustrated map that includes famous landmarks such as Old Main and the Washington County Courthouse, as well as less-well-known sites such as Ridge House, the Trail of Tears Memorial, and Gregg House. Other sites listed on the map include Headquarters House, the Archibald Yell Law Office, Frisco Depot, Evergreen Cemetery, Clinton House, the Fayetteville Female Seminary, Walker-Stone House, the Washington County Jail, the Old Post Office, St. James United Methodist Church, the Confederate and National Cemeteries and Mount Sequoyah.
The brochure has been very well received by Fayetteville residents and visitors alike. University students, genealogists, and visiting scholars have been encouraged by the brochure to visit sites they may not have known about or thought they had time to visit. The brochure has effectively shared WCHS’s passion and pride for Fayetteville history and historic spaces benefitting the City, visitors, residents, and historic preservationists.
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