Batesville, Arkansas Tour of Homes

I visited my hometown, Batesville, AR last week to see my family and do some writing there. Folks from Batesville, including me, are uncommonly proud of their town. Being the oldest functioning settlement in Arkansas, you might think historic domestic architecture would look something like this backwoods example from the 1850s (now at Lyon College), which I love:

But being a prosperous river town meant that there were more refined homes built in the “city.” Batesville is still a beautiful place even though right now there are FAR too many cheap aluminum buildings popping up on the landscape. My parents got sick of hearing me moan about them. They are the small town version of suburban sprawl, I guess, but I still hate them. Oh, and Riverside Park looks pretty skanky at the moment, too. Get on the stick city council!

The older parts of town are still very fine. For a break one day, I parked at the top of Main (beginning of the standard parade route for you homeys out there) and walked Main, College, and Boswell Streets. I tried to photograph at least most of my favorite homes.

The next few posts will be a tour of some (not all, there are actually many more that I didn’t photograph) of Batesville’s fine home and church architecture.

Garrott House – 1842

The church I went to as a child is across the street from Garrott House. Once we had an “old-fashioned day” at church. The entire congregation dressed up in old costumes. We had dinner on the grounds of the Garrott House. Even in the heat, it was the perfect setting.

Glenn House – 1849

Glenn House was not only a residence. It was once a Methodist school and served as a Civil War hospital. At one time it had a full porch across the front with double ionic columns. I love the side balcony.

Morrow Hall – 1873

Once part of Arkansas College’s (present day Lyon College) original campus, Morrow Hall is now part of First Presbyterian Church, most of which I did not photograph, though I should have. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful church in Batesville, and I’ve never even been to a service there! First Baptist, where I went, was catty-corner to First Pres. We used to all pray that our service would dismiss before theirs so tables at restaurants would still be free for lunch.

Wycough-Jones House – 1872

This home was originally three stories with fancy dormers and a tower. But the third floor was struck by lightning long ago and burned off (happened a lot). With its bungalow-style roof, it is probably more humanly scaled, at least in my opinion.

Moore-McCaleb House – 1872

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This house started off as a one story straight line home. Like a lot of houses it was both added to and subtracted from (by fire again) until it reached its present t-shape style. I like it’s simplicity.

Handford-Terry House – 1888

This house was built in 1888 along with its exact mirror image across the street. They were owned by two brothers. Now they are restored to period colors. They were featured in the book America’s Painted Ladies in 1992.

If you weren’t bored by the tour, check back in a few days and I’ll try to post more.