In 1935, Newt Hailey bought the Ford dealership in Rogers at 314 S. First St. (now a vacant lot) when he purchased the Davis Motor Co. Hailey introduced the Mercury car line into the company in 1939. In 1947, Hailey built a new home for Hailey Motor Co. that was one of the most beautiful business buildings in Rogers. The building at 313 S. Second St. (most recently The Morning News) housed the Ford/Mercury automobile and truck sales and service departments.
The unveiling of the new car models every year was a big event in Rogers. John Atchison wrote on a Rogers website: "I remember when the new models would come out each year. They would cover the windows with paper, and the new cars would be brought in covered during the night and placed in the show room lobby. Most people couldn't afford a new car; however, it was nice to dream. All would clean up for the big unveiling on Saturday and head to town. All of the horns and whistles were beyond one's imagination."
Hailey sold the dealership to a group of investors headed by James D. Yates in March 1961. The name of the new company became Benton County Motors, and it remained on South Second Street, according to The Rogers Daily News. The dealership again changed names in May 1965 when it became Randall-Sanders Ford-Mercury. It was owned by Clyde Randall of Fort Smith and managed by Bob Sanders. In 1967, you could buy a brand new Mustang hardtop for only $2,461. On July 31, 1967, Randall-Sanders Ford moved from downtown into new facilities on the southwest corner of U.S. 71 and New Hope Road.
The Rogers Daily News bought the Newt Hailey Ford building, renovated it and moved in on Nov. 24, 1969. The name and ownership of the newspaper has changed several times through the years, and when the newspapers of Northwest Arkansas consolidated earlier this year into the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the company closed its offices in the historic Hailey Ford building.
The vacant building was made available for sale and after inspections, analysis and study by Rogers Historical Museum staff and city officials, Mayor Greg Hines immediately began the negotiations to acquire the property for the city.
Plans for a much-needed expansion of the Rogers Historical Museum began about 10 years ago with the idea to build a big new building at the corner of Poplar and Third streets. The expansion received new energy with the acquisition of the vacated Morning News building.
"Museum staff and city administration have worked together over the past few months to pursue a unique opportunity to secure the space the museum desperately needs for our growth, to revitalize and reuse a well-known, historic downtown building," said John Burroughs, director of the Rogers Historical Museum. "Instead of building a new structure on Third Street, the 14,270-square-foot Morning News building will accommodate all of the galleries planned for the new building at half the cost. Another benefit is the historic building will be restored and saved, and the front will be returned to the appearance of the original 1947 Hailey Ford dealership."
NAN Our Town on 09/03/2015