LS-ITEI) STATES UEP;\liTh3ENT O F T H t IhTEKIOK NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

' R ECE~VEG NA'PlONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 1 . . . ..

SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATJONAL REGISTER FORMS i

TYPE ALL ENTRIES - - COMPLETE APPLlCABLE SECTIONS

~ N A N I E i HkSTOFIIC

Bell Rouse ANOlOA COMMON

303 W. Cherry

,NOT FOR PUBLICATlON CIW.50WM CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Jane sboro Fi r s t - - VtCIP:ITYOF

STATE CODE COUNTY CODE

Arkansas 05 Craighead 31 I

CATEGORY ,DISTRICT

XRUILDiNG[S]

-STRUCTURE

-OWEM w:>-i'

OWNERSHIP STATUS ,PUBLIC ~ZOCCUPIEO ~ R ~ V A T E -UNOCCUPIED

-BOTH -WOW IN PROGRESS

PU BLSC ACQU#SlTIDM ACCESS1 !3LE JfJ PROCESS XYES: RESTRICTED

,BEING MlNSlDEAEO ,YES: UNRESTRICTED

,NO

P R E S f fUT U S E AGRICULTURE -MUSEUM

,COMMERCIAL ,PAR%

,EDUCATIONAL XPAlVATE RESIDEME -ENTERTAINMENT ,IREEIGIWS

,GOVERNMEHi ,SCIENTrFlC

-VMOUSTRlAL -TflANSPORTATiON

-MIL ITARY -OTHER:

~ Q W N E X OF PROPEXTY I t ,I

NAME

Michael Dougan - STREET & NUMSER i

303 W. Cherry QrY. TOWN STATE 1

Jone s h r o - VICIN~TY OF Arkansas

=LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE.

1 nEGlsTRv OF Craighead County Courthouse STilEEf 4 NUMBER 1

Court Square CITY, f OWN STATE I

5ones3oro Arkansas a BEPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SUSVEYS I TITLE I

\ DATE I SU3VEY RECORDS - I GYT. iG*k S I A I ~ , i

CONDITION CHECK ONE ' CHECKOME

XORIGINAL SITE

-MOVED DATE -. b

- DESCRIBETHE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL [ IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The Bell House is located at Jonesboro was built circa bv J. V. Bell. T h e small, two-storey, Victorian house contains several different architectural influences. U s e of spindlework and bric-brae detai l ing and t he Xgh, multiple roofs suggests a Queen Anne influence, while t h e use of surhrsts, s ta rs , and moons reflects an O r i e n t a l influence common in Victorian houses.

Resting on a concrete foundation, the frame house has an irregular shape and floor plan. Several projections abut from the house. There are four bay windows on t h e facade and s i d e elevations and three gables r i s i n g from the high-hipped roof. .. . . .. .>

The facade,. whieh.£aees north, contains most of t h e architecturally interesting features. Across the entire first-storey facade and down the east elevation extends a one-storey..veranda. The veranda is enclosed about one-third of the way up, and its slender, turned spindle columns resemhle table Legs. Suspended from the bargeboard at the roof of the veranda is a borCer of cutout detailing featuring spindlework, bric-brac, and at each corner, a piece of bargeboard with cutout stars and half-moons. The overall effect of the d e t a i l i n g is to give the house an embellished, almost gawdy appearance, which was very popular in Vieto- rim houses around the turn of the century. A pedimented p d c o frames t h e entrance, The starburst desing dominates the portico..

On the facade of the second storey are two bay windows. One of the bay w h d o w s . -z

is contained wi th in a gable. The center panel of the bay has a large window with single-pane, double-hung windows. The windows on each of the sides of the bay are of narrower proportions, b u t also have two panes of glass. Above the bay window .in the gable is.a smal l . balcony, imbricated, scalloped shingles, and designs depicting sunburst at t h e apex of the gable, Suspended from the a r c h of the gable are turned-spindle extrados, fra+ng..the_center window.

Above t h e portico is a smaller bay window, which lacks the ornamental decora- tion o f t h e la rger one, but it is topped by a six-sided turret. The turret has six panels on the frieze, each embossed w i t h t h e sunburst design. Brack- e t s decorate the cornice Line o f the imbricated, scalloped roof that has a m e t a l finial an top.

The east elevation also has the same type of $etailing.as.the facade. Extend- ing the entire IengEh of this elevation bn t h e first storey i s the veranda. On the second storey is a gabled window w i t h scrollw?rk, modi l l ions , and suriburst designs, A small chimney is on the southeast section of this elevation.

A screened-in sun porch spans one half of the first floor of the rear eleva- tion. - .

The interior of the house is not very significant architecturally. The irregular floorplan features ten rooms, five upstairs and f ive downstairs, There are no fireplaces in the house.

srm ?~.la 13 3303 ,ev 10-'ILL

hI.1-tD S6A'Ii:S Dt:I':lK1 hlkkT OF T t I t I hTCKIUK NATfDNAL PARK SERVICE

' TONAL REGISTER OF HZSTOZIC PMCES IN'JENTORY -- NOMINATION FORiV

CONTI NU ATlOfil SHEET I T E M NUMBER 8 PAG'E 1 -

There have been several al terat ians to the house. Paxt of t he upper rear porch has been h x e d i n and at least one addition has h e n made to the rear. Some interior changes have modernized the kitchen fac i l i t ies . However these alterations have not seriously affected the i n t e g r i t y of the house. The facade, the most architecturally s igni f icant feature of t h e house, remains i n t a c t .

The Bell house has remained for over seventy years with much the same appearance. A change in k3e paink colors has removed-some of t h e aura of Victorianfsm, but the signif icant architectural features still exemplify a Victorian house of the t u r n of the century.

~ M A ] O R BIBLIOGRAPHICAE REFERENCES I

.. 1 . Hetherington, Mrs. Earl S., Personal interview by Dr. Michael Dougan,

at Jonesboro, Arkansas.

1 Jo~esboro Enterprise, December 12, 190C-. - -

Janesboro Sun, December 4, 1905. - Times-Enterprise blaqaziae, April 12, 1906. On f i l e at Jonesboro Public Library- 1

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA 1; I ACREAGE OF NOUlMAfEO PROPERTY

UTM REFEREHCES

* w u w ZONE EASTING NORTHING ZONE EASTING NORTHING

4.J u L A \ c w w u VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION

Longitude 90° 42' 25'' I LtST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPEST!ES OVERLA'PBING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES

STATE CODE COUNTY COO E

STATE COOE COUNTY CODE I F OXM PREPARED BY NAME I TITLE

Donna DuVall - .

ORGAKIMTIOPd DATE

Arkansas Historic Preservation Pxagram June 8, 1976 STREET L NUMSEFI TELEPHONE

300 West Markham 501-371-1639 ClTY OR TOWN STATE

L i t t l e Rock, Arkansas

=STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS P R O P f R T f WITHIN THE STATE IS: I

NATlONAL - STATE - LOCAL - I As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Presenration Acl of 1966 (Public Law 89-6651, 1 I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certiiy that it has been evaluated according ;o the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

STATE HISfORlC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE Anne Bnt-ev I TITLE DATE

t~ Historic Preservation O f f i c e r 5-8-76 d ." . , , l

4 HEREBY CERTlW THAT THIS P~OPER'IY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL-REGISTER I .

. . ". 7 ,

. . D A T E . . . . .. -

-1

DIRECTTOR, OFFICE OF ARCHEOLOGY AND HkSTORIC PZESERVAT1O:J r

APFEST: - DATE I

KEEPER OFTH E NATIONAL REGISTER I 1 GPO **@.-445

I I

I

13-JC.3a 7Y

I I ~ I ' T ~ U S T ~ % ~ E S D1:I':lKTXILhTOk THE 357k.KIOK NATlONA t PARK SERVICE

. IONALREGIS~ITEROFHISTORICPLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM

RECEIVED

CONT1 N U A T I O N SHEET I T E M NUMBER 7 PAGE 1

several changes have been made to the B e l l House. Perhaps the nost no t i ce - able is the paint inq of the house. Orig ina l ly the house was painted a dark brown, in keeping with the characteristic use of somber colors by the Victo- r ians . The house was painted white by a l a t e r owner and the present owners, M r . and Mrs. Michael Dougan, have chosen to leave the house white. H o w e v e r the Dougans decided to brighten the exterior by contrasting t he detail work.

A screened-in porch on the r e a r has been boxed in on the upper storey, and at l e a s t one addi t ion has been added to the rear, The high-hipped, m u l t i p l e roofs, once wooden shingles, have been covered w i t h asbestos, simulated shin- gles, except for the turret, which retains wooden shingles.

AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW

ARCH€!!LUtiY-PREHISTORIC -COMMUM!TY PLANNING ,LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE -RELlGlON

AFICHEOLOGY-HISTORIC ,CONSERVATION -LAW ,SCIENCE

AGRICULTURE ,ECONOMICS -Llf ERATURE ,SCULPTURE

Xn ACHlTECTUR E -EOUCATION ,MILITARY _SOCIhVHUMANfTAR14FI

A R T ,EP4GlNEERING ,MUSIC -THEATER

-COMMERCE ,EXPLOR&T;fON.liSEnLEMElUT ,PHILOSOPHY -1RANSPDRTAYlON

-COMMUNICATIONS ANDUSTRY -POEIJICS/GOVERHMENT -OTHER (SPECIFY)

1 M V E N T l O H

SPECIFIC DATES BUlLDERlARCMlTECT

STATEMENT OF SiGNlFlCANCE

The significance of the Bell House lies primarily in i t s architecture. As is true with many V i c t o r i a n homes, the Bell Rouse has elements of Queen Anne architecture and Oriental influence. Quean Anne elements include the bay windows, high and multiple roofs, turret, multiple gables and the irregular floor plan. The frequent use of the sunbuxst design, the-stars,-and the half-moons reflects the influence of the Qrient.

- J. V. B e l l , builder of the Bell House, came to Jonesboro from Tennessee, B e l l opened and operated one of the first bookstores in J o n e s h r o fo r sev- eral years. Later he became secretary of Jonesbro Savings and Man. In 1919 Bell sold the house to Thomas Hardy, a cotton speculator, His daughter l a t e r converted it to a barding house. . .

The condition of the house deteriorated and i t . t w i c e was threatened with demolition, once during t he Great Depression and again in 1965. Briefly it

* . . : served as a fraternity house.

. - . . Architecturaliy the house contains-Several Titekesting features, . ~ x t e n d i n ~ across the facade and down the east elevation is a one-storey veranda with a gable above-the entrance way. The most decorative element o: the veranda is the border of cutouts suspended f r o m the bargeboard of the roof of the veranda. The cutcjuts feature spindle work, hric-brac and corner-ka-ds w i t h stars and half -moons.

The mult ip le roofs and t h e projections are also architecturally significant. Four bay windows and three gables decorate the house. The most elaborate bay window is Located on-the house's northwest corner an the facade- A false balcony and tuned spindle extrados are.feat;ured; Abwe the smaller bay window, also on the facade, is a six-sided turret roof w i t h imbricated scal- loped shingles and topped by a metal weathervane. Each of the side eleva- t ions also has a gabled bay window.

The use of the starburst design is irery abundant, and it is made more notiee- able by the very bright colors which t h e present owners have used for the detai l ing. Also the use of s t a r s and mmns add to the Oriental influence,

''THE OLD ST,ITE HOUSE" 304 14ES"Z l*pLU<itfil LITTLE ROE:, mE*".'s_;9 btu* ,23 TELZPi!O:iE - 501. :t73+-1<33

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P;ICPEP;TY O1rlNER'S APPROVAL - . * . . . - I

* . . . . . - . a . . . . . - - .

- * . . .t & f l :' \30;~7 L- , am the l e g a l ' . .

' *.". . . 1 , - m, -7k. 80.\'1-~ )+p- w n e r of t h e

. - . . . - located at

. - 1 'hereby acknowl e d g ~ t h a t I have been f ul 1 y t nfornzd and

: undar'stand t h e slgnif;.cance of havjng t h e a fo r c~sn t i onad prcporty placed on t h e Hational Register o f H i s t o r i c ' C

j :

- Ptzces- *

I hereby approve i h z i ~ c t usion of the. aForernentioned - . . zb A . property on t h e t!aticmal RegFster o f H i s t o r i c Places, .

-L