Clinton home closed in Hope; park reopens

The Clinton birthplace home in Hope opened its visitor center Saturday but kept the actual home off-limits as authorities continued their investigation into a case of suspected arson.

The home, where the 42nd U.S. president first lived with his mother and maternal grandparents, is closed until further notice, park superintendent Tarona Armstrong said.

On Saturday, Hope Police Chief J.R. Wilson said officers had not interviewed anyone about the fire except two youths, who were arrested on the morning of the fire several blocks away from the home. They face criminal mischief charges unrelated to the fire. He said the department had no suspects in the Clinton home fire as of Saturday afternoon.

While investigators continue to search the site, park employees have not been allowed to enter, Armstrong said. She said she had not been given a timeline for when park employees would be able to re-enter the home.

A Hope police officer estimated the damage at $20,000 to the exterior of the house and an interior room, Wilson said. The interior room was damaged by smoke and water.

"That's going to be a very rough estimate," Wilson said. "I can say this: The damage, for a fire, was minimal. The structure is sound. It's going to be easily repaired."

Park employees will have a better idea of the damage costs when police allow them to re-enter the home, Armstrong said. She said she did not know which room had caught fire or what, specifically, had been damaged inside.

Local police officers and firefighters, National Park Service special agents and the Arkansas State Police have been investigating the fire since Christmas morning.

Clinton was born at the Julia Chester Hospital in Hope in 1946 and lived in the home with his widowed mother and her parents, Eldridge and Edith Grisham Cassidy, for four years after his birth. The home was built in 1917, and Clinton's mother, Virginia Blythe, moved into it with her parents in 1938, according to a National Park Service website that features the home.

The site was acquired in 1994 by the Clinton Birthplace Foundation Inc., which transferred the property to the National Park Service in 2011.

Clinton referred to Hope and his Hervey Street home during his 1992 acceptance speech when he was the Democratic nominee for U.S. president.

At 3:17 a.m. Friday, a passing motorist called 911 after seeing flames from the home on 117 S. Hervey St. Detectives suspected arson after smelling an accelerant where the fire started at the base of the home but did not locate any gasoline containers nearby.

Police also found graffiti spray-painted on a door and on a wooden walkway leading to the home but did not find any spray-paint cans nearby. The graffiti included the number "55" and a crudely drawn face with "Xs" for eyes and a tongue ticking out. Wilson has said that "55" is used in texting to indicate laughing. The Thai word for "five" sounds like "ha," and "55" is used by those texting for "haha."

Wilson said two youths were apprehended about 5:30 a.m. on the day of the fire on criminal mischief charges unrelated to the home's fire.

Wilson said an officer was gathering as many videos from surveillance cameras as possible from nearby businesses that might have footage of the fire. That officer had obtained some footage, but Wilson said he was not sure if the officer was finished gathering it.

A police report on the house fire was still not available Saturday afternoon, he said.

The park had guests Saturday at its visitor center, as well as some participants in its junior ranger program, but they could not enter the house.

"They understood," Armstrong said, adding that some said they would try to visit again.

The visitor center is a separate building that includes exhibits on Clinton's life while he lived at the home with his mother and grandparents. It's open daily, except for certain holidays, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It was closed Friday for Christmas when the fire at the house occurred.

"I would like to thank the city of Hope, the Fire Department, the Police Department for responding. ... We're thankful that no one was hurt," Armstrong said.

In the summer, at the height of tourist season, 60-70 people a day visit the home, the National Park Service has said.

Information for this article was contributed by Kenneth Heard of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Metro on 12/27/2015

Upcoming Events