In Arkansas, we love the smell of asphalt in the morning.
During the same session in which they reduced income taxes for the wealthiest Arkansans, legislators approved a bill raising fuel taxes and tapping into expected casino revenue for roads. Those legislators also referred to the November 2020 ballot a proposal in which voters will be asked to extend a half-cent sales tax permanently for roads. The bills were part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to provide an additional $300 million annually in highway funding.
I expect the ballot proposal will be approved by voters. As I said, we like our highway construction in Arkansas. But in the rush to improve roads, it's important to remember those historic and natural treasures that make Arkansas unique.
Here's one example. It's a proposal to take out a curve on Arkansas 7 just north of downtown Hot Springs. The issue has galvanized local residents. Part of an old rock wall along the highway (the road is also known as Park Avenue at this point) would be destroyed, along with much of the front yard of the Hilltop Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn. Hilltop Manor has been rated one of the top inns of its type in the country.
I've written a lot since the Majestic Hotel fire five years ago about the new hotels, restaurants and boutiques that are revitalizing Central Avenue in downtown Hot Springs. There's also an effort to bring life back to Park Avenue, and this part of that street is among the most storied areas in Arkansas.
The beautiful home now known as Hilltop Manor was built in the 1890s. Rock structures in the back make it clear that the home was once part of a dairy farm. The five acres surrounding the house have been named a "beauty spot" by the Garland County Beautification Committee. Hilltop Manor also has been rated one of the 10 best bed and breakfast inns in the country by the website bedandbreakfast.com. It's the sort of business Hot Springs needs in its efforts to attract well-heeled tourists.
I'm walking through the yard with longtime friend and noted Arkansas lobbyist Len Pitcock, who lives next door with his wife. Len, the son of legendary former KATV news director Jim Pitcock, owns the adjacent Peter Dierks Joers House, a single-story wood and limestone structure built in 1955 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The house, which is among the finest examples of Mid-Century Modern architecture in the country, has been changed very little through the years.
Joers was part of the family that founded the Dierks Lumber Co. Joers and his wife were living near Oaklawn Park when they purchased 10 acres from Hot Springs merchant Mose Klyman for $10,000.
According to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program: "Local plumbers, millers, craftsmen and electricians were all involved in the work as Dallas builder Hal Anderson oversaw the $138,000 project. Cardinal Pools, also of Dallas, built the swimming pool at a cost of $10,522. Meticulous attention was paid to the interior work of the home. Premium-grade wood, supplied by Dierks Lumber Co. and its affiliates, was chosen with hand-selected cuts of curly pine, red oak, ash, cherry and walnut used in different rooms of the house, often with ornate and detailed trim and cornice work.
"In addition to the local materials, Texas limestone brought in by Texas Quarries Inc. of Austin was used in the ranch-style home's exterior walls as well as internally. The limestone indoor grill and kitchen island were accented by custom copper work provided by Scandinavian Art Metal of Pasadena, Calif. The Dunbar Furniture Co. of Indiana provided the built-in dining room table and chairs along with a matching sideboard. The house's Mid-Century Modern style of architecture is a design form that describes mid-20th century developments in design, architecture and urban development from roughly 1933-65."
Joers died in 2006, and Len Pitcock purchased the home from his estate. Since then, he has spent countless hours researching the history of this neighborhood and its Big Chalybeate Spring. The spring was mentioned by those involved in the 1804-05 Hunter-Dunbar Expedition, which was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The property later was purchased by Hiram Whittington.
Whittington, who was born in 1805 at Boston, learned the printing trade at age 15 and spent three years at a newspaper in Massachusetts. He later moved to New York, where he was introduced to William Woodruff. Whittington moved to Little Rock in 1826 to work for Woodruff's Arkansas Gazette. When he began to experience health problems in 1832, Whittington moved to Hot Springs to see if the mineral waters there would improve his condition. He established a mercantile store and a novaculite factory to manufacture whetstones used for sharpening knives.
In 1839, Whittington opened the Chalybeate Spring boarding house to serve sick people who were using the spring. Whittington later served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives. He donated the land for St. Mary's Catholic Church and the First Presbyterian Church. Nearby Whittington Avenue and Whittington Park were named in his honor. He died at Hot Springs in 1890.
"We're attempting to convince the folks at the Arkansas Department of Transportation that the wall fronting the highway is well worth saving," Pitcock says.
I wish him well in his efforts, which are uphill in a state where we love asphalt more than history.
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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial on 03/20/2019