F o v 10-30 UNITED STATES DZPARTMENY OF THE INTERtOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (HEY. 6-72]

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MATlONAL R E G I S T E R OF H1STORIC P L A C E S INVENTORY - EIQMINATZON F O R M FOR NPS USE ONLY

! E M T R Y D A T E

(Type all entries - complete applicable sections] 1

Cox House ~ N O I O R HISTORIC!

I 1

I STREET A ? J 3 NUMBER: I

Rrjdae Street - '

C I T Y on TOWN: CONGRESSIONAL D I S T R I C T :

ors silt on Sernnrl S T A T E ,-ODE C O U N T Y : CODE

Mrs. John Fletcher Cox STREET A N D NUUBER: 1

CATEGORY OWyFRSHfP ACCESSIBLE

(Chack One) STATUS

TOTHEPUBLIC

0 District • euilding a Public Pu ,tic Acquisition: [kcupisd Xmr:

Si te C] Structwr CX pri~apc In Process Unoccupied @ Resfrictsd

Q Obimet 3 Both ! Being Con*idared 0 ~ r c s o r v a t ; m n work Unrestricts$

In progress 17 No

B r i d g e Street C l f Y O R T O W N : S T A T E : S O O F

-P-R,EJET US E (Chack One or More as Approprfele)

0 AgriculturaF [3 Cavernmtnt Park 0 T teo*portotfmn a Commanm

Conmerciol Industrial Q Privms Rssidancs 13 Othsr fswc1rpl

Educatiamol a Military Religiwr

Entntainmont a Museum 0 Scicntifit - ... 13. d ' i r ~ ~ ~ OE: PPRQPER-TY - 2 '> . I

- > "

< -

Conway County Courthouse ST-REET A N D NUMBER:

j C W H k R ' S NAME. F

T I T L E O F S U R V E Y :

DATE OF SURVEY: 0 F4ar.l State Counvy Lacd

D E P O S I T O R Y FOR S U R V E Y RECORDI:

STREET A N D NUMBER:

c ~ s v qa T T N N .

t m -

C I T Y OR T O W N :

Morrilton , 1

S T A T E

Arkansas CODE

05,

' I

{Check Onr)

i I

The Cox House is an i n t e r e s t i n g interplay of contrasts of style. On the one hand there 5s the elegant scale and proportions of t h e house w i t h i t s weatherbaard sid- i ng , symmetrical arrangement of I-~indows, p l a i n i n s i d e end chimneys, and gable roof . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , the imposition of delicate ornamentation combines to make the b u i l d i n g a s t r i k i n g example of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of a period style by local craftsmen. V i c t o r i a n elements are a p p a r e n t in the paired, slender brackets w i t h pen- dan t s . These are set in a w i d e entablature and are symetrically placed over a l l window openings and at c o r w r s . Over most window openings the use of triangular pedimented arches w i t h small pendants .attached is an unusual feature. CII

m Of p a r t i c u l a r noteworthiness is the e n t r y por t i co to m the one-storey house, Barge baard is used in the heavy pedimented gable of the roof. The portico's mast - striking feature is the stylized co lu in s on classical z pedestals that carry the roof. ~n

4 The column shaf t is a cluster of f o u r slender posts x about one large pendant top and b o t t o m . A double door e n t r y with side and transon l i g h t s spans the entire e w i d t h of t h e portico. n

4 The C o x House w a s o r ig ina l ly an L-shape wiL9 central - hall and two rooms each side and a ki tchen in the rear. 0 The i n t e r i o r is devoid of elaborate ornamentation. Ar- ch i t r ave t r i m is used about doors and windows. I n t e r i o r z

flooring, doors and hardware of t h e t'rrree f r o n t rooms rn

are purportedly o r i g i n a l . Of p a r t i c u l a r note is one fireplace mantle with round-arched opening, paneled spandre l s , and a cartouche in t h e center.

Several additions have been made to the Cox House; how- ever, the o r i g i n a l c o n f i g u r a t i o n remains.

I

I

PERIOD ( ~ h s c k O n e o r ore m a ~pprnprlale)

0 Prc-Columbion l a T ~ ~ ~ c o " I ~ ~ ~ a lath Centvry 20th C e ~ e n t ~ ~

Q 15th Ccnrury t7?h Canturf 19th Centuv

I P E t l F l c PATE(SI flfApplitabfe andftnown) 1871 A R E A S OF SIQNIFIC IHCE (Check One or .Wore as Appmprlals)

Abor iqinol 0 Education a Politieol 0 Urban Plomnins

Q Ptohistmic 0 Engimaring fl Religicm/Phi. Other {Spaclk)

[3 Hiataric Q Industry lorophy

Agricuttum a Inverttien Q Seicncm

@ krchitscturm Landscops Q Sculpture

0 Art Architwciure S ~ t i o l/Human- 0 Commsrc* 0 Literotv~m iPorian

0 Communieu?i ons Militmy 0 Theoler Consmrvotion [3 Music 181 T rolrspomtion

S T A T E M E N T O F ! I~GN~F~GANCE

. . Lewisburg was once a f l o u r i s h i n g t rade center on t h e Arkansas River. During a part of t 3 e n i n e t e e n t h century it w a s the county s e a t of Conway County and c o n t a i n e d many businesses and private homes. Waxever, in the Late 1 8 7 0 ' s when t h e L i t t l e Rock to Fort Smith r a i l - road was completed and Lay about one m i l e nor th of Lewisburg , the old tovim began to die. R i v e r t r a f f i c zould no t compete w i t h t h e r a i l road , znd merchants 2egan l eav ing Lewisbusg f o r the nearby depot at Morri l t o n . By 1890 Lewisburg was a deserted town. According to a contemporary account, only kwo #'pleasant and hand- some residencesw remained to show t h a t Lewisburg was once a prosperous and t h r i v i n g comnunity. One of those houses, the 3urrow-Cox House, s t i l l stands today as a l i n k w i t h t h e almost f o rgo t t en past.

In 1871 Colonel Hance Wesley B u r r o w b u i l t a b e a u t i f u l 1 home on t h e north edge of L e w i s b u r g . Today the same home stands on its o r i g i n a l site , north of the s i t e of Lewisburg but w i t h i n t h e s o u t h ci ty l i m i t s of K o r r i l t o n ,

The Burrow f a m i l y exern~l i f ied the pioneer movement of many American families in t h e n i n e t e e n t h century. Both the maternal an2 pa te rna l grandparents 05 H. W. B u r r o w had moved f rom North C a r o l i n a to eas t Tennessee, and la ter , to west Tennessee. The westward move was continued by Burrow's f a t h e r , Hiram Burrow, when he and all his family moved to Arkansas in 1858.

B ~ r n in n e s t Tennessee in 1630, H. W, Burroit- was reared on h i s father's farm. A f t e r several y z z r s of t e a c h i n g scbool he married in 1857 and began farming. In 1858 Burrow moved w e s t ~ j i t h h i s fa ther to Arkansas, a journ5y

Farm 10.300~ UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (JULY 19691 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

FHVEHJORY HOMIHA3lON FORM 1 C o n w ~ y I FOR NPS USE ONLY

8. Significance (Cox House - Page 2 )

(Continuation Sheet)

which took almost t h ree months. He bought some land in the Arkansas River Valley and began farming, but was soon i n t e r r u p t e d by the C i v i l W a r .

E N T R Y NUMBER O h T E

D u r i n g t h e Federa l occupa t ion of t h e Conwzy County area Mr, Burrow r e t u r n e d to Tennessee, where he stayed u n t i l the end of the Civil I.?ar. In August, 1855 he moved back to Arkansas to resume his f a r r i n g operations. A f t e r being widowed f o r s i x years, Mr. B u r r o w remarried in 1871, I n t h a t same year he built his home on a f i v e zcre t rac t . j u s t n o r t h of Lewisburg.

(Number all m t r i a e )

The Burrow-Cox home, built by a moderately wealthy p l a n t e r in the post-Civil War era, is representative of t h i s l i f e - style and t h i s era in the Arkansas River Valley, ?Tow owed by t h e C o x family and used as a children's schoo l , t h e Rurrow-Cox House is one of the last r emz in ing l i n k s b e t w e e n Morrilton and the p a r e n t conrnunity of O l d L e w i s - burg-

*.

7 . , <.., . - ' .'. . 19. ,hlAJqR 51BLIOGRAPH'tCAt REFEPENCES . I . > , - . > 2

B l ~ c k , K r s . Iblabel Bur row. Letter to Mrs. John F l e t c h e r Cox, J u n e 19, 1968.

Goodspeed company. His tor ical Reminiscences a n b Eiographical Nemoirs of Ccnmy Col~n!y? Arkansas . L i t t l e R o c k : Arkansas His tor ical Pubii shi ng Company ,. 1890,

Thomas, David Y., ed. Arkansas and Irs People: A History, 1541-1930, I11 and 1'7, Nex Y o r k : hnerican H i s t o r i c a l Socie ty , Inc. , 1930.

m I. P E 0 - -. I I A P P R O X I M A T E A C R E A G E O F NOMlNATED P R O P E R T Y : p C ; S +b3* - V-IST ALL S T A T E S AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERPCES OVERLAPPING S T A T E

, . , - - . > > : "

I . : .

S T A T E :

LAT IT 'dDE A N 0 C n N G l F U D E C O O R 3 1 N A T E S

DEFINIHG A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PRO-FRTY

S f h f E: CODE

COUNTY: CODE

0 R

C O R N E R

N w N E

SE

C O U N T Y CODE

- L 4 T l T U D E 4 W C CC'UGI* 'JDE C O Q R p h l A T f S

O E F ~ ~ ~ N C tk= L ~ + T = R ~ 0 l l u l O F 4 F-cOPERTY

. O F L E S S T U h N TEN A C R E S --_-. . - - - - - L A T I T W D E - LONG1 * W O E

Degraes ktinvfes Sseonds Degrees Minvras Seconds 0 0

35 08 30.5 92 44 05.8

I N 4 M E b N D TIT, 5: I

L A r I T U O E

Degrees Minutes Smconds 0 I

o - 0 -..

\

Anthony S . R i e d l e , A r c h i t e c t and D j a O R G A N 1 ZATtON D A T E

Arkansas His tor ic Preservation Program May 6 , 1974 S T R E E T AND N U M B E R :

L O N C l l U O E

Clegrses M i n u ~ r Sseonds 0

a r

0

l ~ u i t e 1030, Plaza W e s t B u i l a n q

'.' ,' > ' I ' .. ' <,I r .

f? F: FORM PREPARED BY ,' - r < "

S f A T E :

CITY OR TOWN: ISTATE I CODE I

CODE

As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na-

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1466 (Public Law

89665), Thereby nominate this property far inclusion

in the National Register and certify that it bas been

*valuated accdinq to t h e r i t e r i a and pmcehrts set

forth by the National Park Serwrcc. The recommended

level of ~ i g n ~ c a n c e of this nomirimtion is:

National a State Local

COUNTY: CODE

tLi'ctle Rock ,

r12. ~?A'?E L!.UISON O F F ~ C E U ' ~ ~ U T ~ F ~ C A ' ~ ; ~ O $ ' ' , .

I

I Nae W i l l i a m E . Henderson

Arkansas I 05 f ' ' - .NATlONht REGIST~R VERJF~CA?IOM. '. : I

I Title S t a t e Hi storic P r e s e r v a t i o n //

I hereby cert i fy that this property is included in the

Eational Register.

Director. Qfl lcs~of A r c h e d o g y a d Hiator!c Prasarwtfan

C-ate

ATTEST:

I of f i ce r !I J C P R ~ R I OF fie N a i i ~ a l R e g i s t e r

Dnte, bate

G P O 93t-119