State nominates 6 properties to national historic register

The state review board of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program has nominated six Arkansas properties to the National Register of Historic Places, including the campus home of Arkansas State University’s first president.

The Victor Cicero Kays House at ASU in Jonesboro was originally set for demolition in May 2012, when the university began building several sorority houses. Officials halted those plans when a group said it could raise restoration funds to save the home.

The home is a 1936 Tudor-Revival-style house. Kays lived in the home after he retired; his family’s estate sold it to ASU in 2004.

Along with the Kays House, other properties nominated include:

The Mary H. Matthews Lustron House in Little Rock, a 1948 prefabricated metal residence that served as an example of porcelain-enameled steel Lustron houses of the late 1940s that could be built cheaply and quickly. By the end of 1949, 12 Lustron homes were shipped to Arkansas, and the Matthews House is one of four remaining in the state, historic preservation program Director Frances McSwain said.

The Dr. T.E. Buffington House in Benton, a 1928 English Revival-style building. Buffington was a doctor, politician andreal estate businessman.

The Morrilton Colored School in Morrilton, built in 1943 to serve the region’s black children.

The Northern Ohio School in Parkin, a 1910 Plain Traditional-style building. The one-room schoolhouse with Craftsman detail was built for the children of black mill and farm workers.

Hankins Store in Oil Trough, a 1904 country store. The store illustrates the design of the general store at the turn of the 20thcentury, which often included a square front facade, a permanent awning over the porch and advertising covering portions of the building’s exterior.

The board also listed the Lion Oil Co. Duck Hunting Lodge near Casscoe in Arkansas County on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places.

Those seeking more information can call the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program at (501) 324-9880 or visit www.arkansaspreservation.org.

Arkansas, Pages 15 on 04/04/2014

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