Downtown Heber Springs named to national historical register

By Michelle Wallace

HEBER SPRINGS — Driving - or walking - in downtown Heber Springs is like taking a trip back in time. So many of the buildings are reminiscent of days gone by, leaving visitors and passersby with a feeling of going back several decades into downtown Heber Springs' heyday.

The National Register of Historic Places noticed this and named the downtown district to its well-known list of landmarks back in May.

From its days as a haven for travelers searching for healing waters of the local springs to its current position as one of the state's prime tourist spots, Heber Springs has a rich and unique history recognized by historical experts.

Returning Heber Springs' downtown to the days of bench-sitting in front of the businesses took a lot of work on the part of a lot of people.Civic and historical organizations cooperated for a couple of years to make this happen, said Mary Margaret Couch, board president of Downtown Network Heber Springs.

Couch said that the key to getting named to the register was proving that Heber Springs was a city with a good sense of its own history and that being part of the register will have manybenefits.

"The more you can prove you're working on the historic aspect of downtown, the more likely you are to be assigned to the register," she said. "This is a prestigious register to be nominated for and accepted into. Being added to this register will bring more heritage tourism to Heber Springs, helping to boost our local economy."

Things kicked off in June 2007 with a walking tour of the downtown businesses, many of which retained their yesteryear appearance and several others that could be restored to their original condition, Couch pointed out. The next step was to get all the building owners on board with the downtown restoration effort. An open meeting was held with the business owners.

"We had to have a 51 percent approval rating from the building owners to get it assigned to the register," Couch said. "We got 100 percent."

Each building owner expressed their support of the project and their willingness to make necessary changes to their buildings to restore downtown to its former appearance. Some of the buildings merely needed to have facades removed; others needed more work, but the community quicklyunited to take the downtown back to the good old days.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program soon became involved, and the downtown commercial district was quickly nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. It was named to the list on May 1 of this year, the only commercial district to be so designated at the time, Couch noted.

Of the more than 80 late 19th century to mid-20th century properties making up downtown Heber Springs, the majority contribute to the historical importance of the area, Couchsaid. Three properties - the Olmstead Funeral Home at 108 S. Fourth, the Cleburne County Courthouse and the Women's Club Band Shell in Spring Park - were already listed on the National Register of Historical Places and add a great deal to the bygone feel of the area.

Built in 1914, the landmark courthouse building that presides over downtown Heber Springs was listed on the national register in 1976. In 1884, a year after Cleburne County was established as the 75th county inArkansas, the original courthouse was constructed. The two-story frame building occupied the current courthouse's spot and was the county's government center until it was taken apart, moved a block down to Searcy Street and reassembled as the Edwards Hotel in 1910. The current courthouse was built a few years after that, and the courthouse-turned-hotel burned 20 years after being moved down the street.

Named to the register in 1995, the Olmstead Funeral Home building was one of the first businesses to operate in Heber Springs. The Olmstead Furniture and Hardware Store began operating way back in 1896; soon thereafter T.E. Olmstead opened an undertaking business at 108 S. Fourth St. in addition to the coffins he sold in his furniture and hardwarestore. The wood frame undertaking shop burned in 1909 and was replaced with a stone building in 1910. Olmstead Funeral Home moved to Main Street in 1939; the Fourth Street Olmstead building is now a museum.

The Women's Community Club Band Shell in Spring Park was named to the register in 1994. Built in 1933 of native stone and concrete by the Work Projects Administration, it replaced the original band shell. The band shell has long been used as a gathering area for people coming to the historic 10-acre Spring Park, which features seven of the original 10 natural mineral water springs that drew people to Heber Springs many years ago.

The individually-listed historical buildings are far from the only properties of note in downtown Heber Springs. The district's rich historical past is told through buildings like the first brick building, now an art gallery at 101 S. Third St. It was builtby Samuel Morton in the 1890s with bricks made from clay retrieved from the banks of Sulphur Creek on the edge of town. It was an important landmark back then, with directions being given around "the brick building." It housed Morton's Mercantile in its early years and in 1918 became the home of the community's first chain store.

Other historical buildings contributing to the bygone era presented by downtown Heber Springs are the Heber Springs Post Office at 102 E. Main, the Loreen Hotel at 122 E. Main, the Studebaker Auto building at 107 S. Third, City Hall at 510 W. Main, the GEM Theater at 119 W. Main and many others.

Work continues on returning downtown Heber Springs to yesteryear.

"We are a member of Main Street Arkansas and hopefully through this program we will be able to assist more building owners with their renovation process through potential grants," Couch said.

Three Rivers, Pages 53, 54 on 06/25/2009