The Old Turner Home At one time there stood across the street from the Pernot home a house consisting of four one-story rooms in a row, it was built just off the pavement, one entered house from the pavement, there being a small stoop by one of the doors. As far as the writer has been able to learn the house was first occupied by a Dr. Stevenson and wife. Whether built for them is not known, nor the date, but it must have been one of the early houses in Van Buren. The next occupant was Mrs. T. J. Johnson, afterwards Mrs. D. C. Williams, grandmother of Messrs. Johnson and Norman Moore, after which Judge Jesse Turner, Sr., and his wife and son Jesse Turner, Jr., resided until he built the present Turner home which stands further back in the lot, now owned by Dave Partain. ********************************************* The Walden House This house, which is situated on Washington Street between Fourth and Third streets, has been known by so many names that it can hardly be designated by any special one. This house is a large, two-story frame and was built during the fifties, just at what time is not known. It is thought to have been built by a Mr. Thomas Walden, and in the appearance of the building it must have been erected for a hotel or boarding house. One person told the author that it was built with material from the old Union church when it was torn down; another one said it was there when they attended school at the old church. Previous to the War Between the States it was the stand for the stages running between Little Rock, and Fort Smith and the Butterfield stages between Springfield, Missouri, and south, and of course accommodating the travelers passing through Van Buren. The family moved to Texas during the latter part of the War Between the States. Who the next occupant was the writer does not know, but in the seventies it was purchased by Captain and Mrs. Levi Chapman, who occupied it, and kept boarders. There many of the young men of the town boarded. Mr. Chapman had kept boarders for a number of years at different places in Van Buren. Captain Chapman was a steamboat captain and for a number of years commanded boats that plied on the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers. After their death the house was rented and then sold and now it is known as the Tourist hotel, but it is not what it once was. ************************************************************ The Walker Or Thayer Home This home until some time during the War Between the States was known as the Judge William Walker home. Like the D. C. Williams home the date of erection is not known. They are both located on Cane Hill Street, but from the style one would judge sometime during the forties, as it has the two large front rooms and wide hall, the two front rooms being log plastered and weatherboarded. The place was given to Mrs. Walker by her mother, Mrs. Wharton Rector. It is not known whether or not Judge and Mrs. Walker were living there in 1857, if not earlier. Judge Walker enlarged the house by adding rooms. It remained their home until the close of the war when they removed to a place a short distance from the Van Buren Road between here and Fort Smith. Judge William Walker was one of the prominent lawyers of Van Buren and this part of the state; his office was a small brick building on Water Street between Main and Washington streets. Some of this information was obtained from Miss Margaret Walker, a daughter. Whether a Mrs. Wright was the next owner or not is not known but in 1876 Mr. and Mrs. Thayer rented the house and in 1879 bought it from a Mrs. Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer made it their home until they passed away, Mrs. Thayer, the last day of 1899, but it was retained by their sons Messrs. John and George Thayer until a few years ago, when Mr. George Thayer passed away and Mr. John Thayer removed to his niece's, Mrs. D. H. Miller. For a number of years the Messrs. Thayer were the editors and publishers of the Van Buren Argus. Mrs. D. H. Miller, a granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thayer and niece of the Messrs. Thayer, then became the owner. While she modernized it to a certain extent the old time architecture was retained. It is now the property of Mrs. Miller's daughter, Mrs. Florence Tibbs, but at the present time it is occupied as a home by Mr. and Mrs. John Brown. ******************************************************* Howell House The Howell House stands no longer in Alma. Its founder and proprietor for more than a quarter century is gone. But Sarah B. Howell, and her hospitality and good food, linger on in the memory of many people, who from far and wide came in contact with her and her home, and will never forget. The house, that was once the haven of rest for every traveling man who packed a grip in western Arkansas, stood on a lot near the Methodist church, and now is owned by O. V. Hall. The story of the Howell House is a story of a woman, who provided something more than "bed and board" in way of accommodations for the traveling man, and in doing so established a business that attracted visitors not only from Alma and Fort Smith, but from all over the state. After the War Between the States, Mrs. Howell, who had gone to Texas during the War, returned with her husband, Amasa B. Howell, who fought in the Confederate Army. They established their home near Alma. In 1881, after the death of her husband, Mrs. Howell moved to Alma and resided at the hotel operated by her brother, O.V. Miles. Here she became manager of the hotel, and under her guidance, the place became a Mecca of all traveling salesmen in the territory. The hotel was located on Main Street, at the corner block where the Alma Cash Store now stands. All went well until on the night of December 25, 1885, when the town's male population gathered in a nearby saloon to celebrate Christmas. The evening was cold, and the crowd jubilant with the spirits that had flowed freely during the day. A larger fire was needed, so boxes broken into bits and thrown into the stove. Before morning, the saloon, not only had been turned into ashes, but four stores, and the hotel in the same block were burned to the ground. Mrs. Howell resided with friends for a short time. Early in 1886, she purchased a five room house, located near the Methodist church, where she had planned to live with her daughter, who is now Mrs. E. L. Bailey and not be burdened with the cares of operating a boarding house. However, upon the first train coming into town after Mrs. Howell had located in her new house, was a traveling salesman, who insisted that she give him lodging and food. Other trains arrived, and others demanded that they be taken in. And so the little house grew. A wing was added here, another one there, and finally a two-story front building was tacked on, and then was realized the Howell House, a spacious and comfortable structure of fourteen rooms. Traveling salesmen were not her only customers. Alma people patronized the Howell House. People came from Van Buren regularly. On Sunday the Van Buren ferry transported Fort Smith people across to the railroad at Van Buren for a trip to Alma and a treat of good food and hospitality at the Howell House. Mrs. Howell remained in charge and operated the House, which she never permitted to be called a hotel, until in Dec., 1917, when she closed it because adequate servants and help could not be employed during World War I.