What We Do

Bacon Hotel (Also known as the Sunrise Hotel)

Whitehall (Poinsett County)

Street Address: 16740 Homestead Road, Harrisburg, AR 72432

The Bacon (or Sunrise) Hotel is located in the small community of Whitehall, which is on Highway 1 about six miles south of Harrisburg. Built in 1912 by James William Bacon, the hotel is a rare surviving example of a Folk Victorian-style hotel constructed during the area’s timber boom. Because of its proximity to the railroad, the hotel originally catered to timber agents and traveling salesmen. After the land was cleared of timber, the economic boom subsided, making the building’s use as a hotel short-lived. From 1919 until the early 1950s, the William D. Roberts family used the building as housing for farm managers who tended to their agricultural holdings in the area. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, the building has been vacant since the mid-20^th century and suffers from long-term deterioration and neglect. The rehabilitation of the Bacon Hotel presents an opportunity to turn a vacant building into a community asset. With its location near the Parker Pioneer Homestead, the building could once again accommodate overnight guests as a boutique short-term rental or small hotel, catering to local customers and heritage tourists traveling along Crowley’s Ridge. 

Columbia County Jail

Magnolia (Columbia County)

Street Address: 200 W. Calhoun Street, Magnolia, AR 71753

Designed ca. 1920 by the Little Rock architectural firm of Charles L. Thompson and Thomas Harding, Jr., the Columbia County Jail’s Renaissance Revival details mirror the county courthouse just one block away. Its design features a front portico with arched openings supported by Corinthian columns. Gargoyles are placed at each corner of the portico, and a stringcourse with shell detailing runs above the second story windows. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as part of the Charles L. Thompson Design Collection Thematic Group. After serving as a jail for some 70 years, the building has been vacant and deteriorating since the 1990s. However, it recently sold, and the new owners intend to rehabilitate the historic jail. Its location in downtown Magnolia opens creative possibilities for future reuse.

First Baptist Church EMOBA

Little Rock (Pulaski County)

Street Address: 1204 S. Louisiana Street, Little Rock, AR 72202

Located at the corner of 12th and Louisiana streets just north of the Governor’s Mansion Historic District, Little Rock’s historic First Baptist Church was built in 1941. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 as an excellent example of a church designed in the Collegiate Gothic style by Little Rock architect A. N. McAninch. After the congregation relocated, the former church was purchased by the nonprofit Ernie’s Museum of Black Arkansans or EMOBA, founded by Little Rock native Ernestine “Ernie” Dodson. EMOBA highlighted the achievements of black Arkansans and hosted programs for youth, but the organization has not been active at this property for several years, putting it at risk. This building was included on Preserve Arkansas’s Most Endangered Places list in 2018 after a partial roof collapse. Since then, the worst roof damage was repaired, but the building remains vacant and continues to deteriorate. Neighbors report vagrants accessing the property regularly, and a fire in the spring of 2026 caused additional damage. Ideally, this property would be rehabilitated and put back into active use. Given its National Register status and location near an active commercial corridor, the building’s rehabilitation for income-producing purposes would qualify for federal and state historic tax credits.

First Presbyterian Church

Clarksville (Johnson County)

Street Address: 212 N. College Ave., Clarksville, AR 72830

The historic First Presbyterian Church in Clarksville is located at the corner of N. College Avenue and W. Cherry Street between the city’s commercial historic district and the University of the Ozarks campus. The 1919 church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 with statewide significance as the largest and best example of the Classical Revival style by architect A. O. Clarke. Of particular note are the building’s monumental entablatures reading “Presbyterian Church” and “Welcome,” along with its stained-glass windows and octagonal dome skylight above the sanctuary. Since 1891 when the Arkansas Cumberland College – now the University of the Ozarks – relocated to Clarksville, the Presbyterian denomination played an important role in the development of Clarksville and Johnson County. The historic church was built to accommodate a growing congregation and demonstrate the church’s strong commitment to community service. In 2017, with shrinking attendance, the First Presbyterian Church congregation made the hard decision to sell its historic building and hold services in the chapel at the University of the Ozarks. The historic church is currently on the market again and could qualify for preservation grants and historic tax credit incentives for rehabilitation.

Forest Service Headquarters Historic District

Hot Springs (Garland County)

Street Address: 115 Indiana Street, Hot Springs, AR 71901

Built in 1933 by the 741^st Company of the Arkansas District of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Forest Service Headquarters Historic District in Hot Springs survives as the only complex of administrative buildings constructed by the CCC in the Ouachita National Forest. The district consists of six buildings designed in the Plain Traditional style with simple, unornamented walls and gable roofs. The buildings served as offices, woodworking and general maintenance shops, and vehicle garage and repair facilities. The district is significant for its association with the Civilian Conservation Corps and its mission to create jobs during the Great Depression while conserving and providing public access to federal lands. The buildings are currently unoccupied and suffer from deferred maintenance. The Forest Service is in the final stages of preparing the property for conveyance under the Forest Service Facility Realignment and Enhancement Act. As part of this process, the General Services Administration will oversee the sale of the property. The district and its buildings should be properly maintained for the future, when they could be rehabilitated to serve a wide variety of community purposes.

Blytheville, Leachville & Arkansas Southern Railroad Depot (Also known as the Leachville Cotton Belt Depot)

Leachville (Mississippi County)

Street Address: 203 W. Second Street, Leachville, AR 72438

Located at the corner of Second and McNamee streets in Leachville, the Blytheville, Leachville & Arkansas Southern Railroad Depot was built about 1910. The railroad line connected local farmers to larger markets throughout the Mississippi Delta region. In 1929, the Blytheville, Leachville & Arkansas Southern Railroad was acquired by the Cotton Belt line. The depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Years of vacancy and significant storm damage took their toll on the building, leaving it in a precarious state of disrepair by 2025, when the Leachville Beautification Commission identified the depot as a priority project. In early 2026, the Commission negotiated a land swap in order to gain ownership of the depot. The organization acted immediately to install a new roof and protect the depot from additional water intrusion. This was accomplished through a partnership with GAF, North America’s largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer, who donated the materials, and Price Roofing, Renovations and Landscaping, who donated the labor to install the new roof. More work has been done since then, including repairs to exterior wood siding, exterior painting, and construction of an ADA-accessible ramp. However, much remains to be done before the building can be occupied, including window restoration, installation of new systems, and restoration of all interior finishes. Once completed, the depot will serve as a community space and business incubator.

R. M. Knox House

Pine Bluff (Jefferson County)

Street Address: 1504 W. Sixth Avenue, Pine Bluff, AR 71603

Located at the southeast corner of 6^th Avenue and Plum Street in downtown Pine Bluff, the 1885 R. M. Knox House stands as one of the best remaining examples of Eastlake Victorian architecture in Arkansas. Richard Morris Knox moved to Pine Bluff after the Civil War and ran a successful mercantile business for more than three decades, making him one of the wealthiest men in the community at the time of his death in 1915. Generations of the Knox family occupied the house until the 1990s. Now in a dilapidated state, the home retains many of its original architectural features, including a mansard-roof tower topped with iron cresting, scalloped shingles, intricate woodwork, and decorative window surrounds. The Knox House was included on Preserve Arkansas’s Most Endangered Places list in 2011, and it is being included again to raise awareness of its significance and new efforts to save it. The nonprofit R. M. Knox Preservation Foundation was formed with the goal of purchasing and restoring the Knox House to serve as a community space and museum. They lack just $20,000 to own the house. In the meantime, the organization cleaned the interior of the house, removed overgrown vegetation and the collapsing front porch, repaired a portion of the roof, and tarped the tower to protect it. Because of these efforts, the Knox House may have a chance to be saved.

High-resolution photos of these properties are available here.