HISTORIC HOMES The following articles were written in 1924 for the Van Buren Press-Argus. Consequently most of them have changed ownership. The Col. John Drennen home, later known as the Scott home, is still owned and occupied by descendants of the original owner. The Knox house, is owned, but not occupied by descendants, also the Dr. ARSEBAST-L@rootsweb.com Pernot, later known as the Mathews home, is still owned, but not occupied by his descendants. The following houses are not now in existence: The Bearden House, the three boat houses, the Dr. McGee house, No.1, later known as the Commercial Hotel, the McGee house, No.2, the Morril and Marean house, the Jesse Turner No. 1, and the Walden house. -Clara Eno, The Author. The John Drennen Home This house is situated on an eminence in the northwestern part of the city, from which a fine view of the city and the Arkansas River is obtained. This house was erected the latter part of 1836 and early part of 1837 for Mr. John Drennen, one of the founders of the town, who moved his family from Columbus to Van Buren between February and May 1837. Much of the material used in this house was brought Cincinnati by boat, ready to be erected, and now standing for over a hundred years is in a fairly good state of preservation. The house is a one-story frame building which originally consisted of two large front rooms with a smaller at the rear of each, with a wide hall through the later other rooms were added until at the present are four front rooms in a row overlooking the one a little farther back. John Drennen was a prominent man in this part of the state. He represented Crawford County in the Constitutional Convention of 1836 and was also superintendent of the Choctaw Indians for several years. In this hospitable old Southern home were entertained many of the notable men of the state, among them Albert Pike, who was a frequent visitor. The Indian Chiefs in all their gorgeous apparel; could be seen wending their way up the hill to the door that always stood open to welcome them. If the walls of this old home could speak how much early history would be revealed. The house has always remained in the family and is now (in 1924) occupied by a son and the widow and daughter of a grandson, Mr. P. D. Scott. ********************************************** The Knox House This house located on Fayetteville Street is a rival of the Drennen home as to which is the older of the two buildings. Family tradition says part of the house was standing on the land when Mr. George Knox received a patent to it on the 20th of September 1838 from President Martin Van Buren. This house which is built of logs has two large front rooms with a wide hall between, and two in the attic. At the rear of the two large rooms are two smaller rooms. This home is located on the same hill as the Drennen home but much further northeast. It is only one block from Main Street, which it faces instead of Fayetteville Street. The grounds at one time were quite spacious, with a number of cedar trees, in latter years part of the land was sold for other homes; but that part containing the old homestead has always remained in the family, but for a number of years has not been occupied by any member of the family. It is now (1924) the property of a grandson, Henry C. Faber. **************************************************** Old Phelps Home, Later Known as the Dr. A. M. Bourland Home The frame building the second door from the corner of Main and North Third streets was built for Mr. Calvin Phelps about 1841. This is a two-story frame building with a hall extending the entire length of one side, with about four rooms opening into it. It is not known how long it was occupied by Mr. Phelps and family, but in 1861 it was occupied by Mr. George Gross and family. How long they lived there has not been learned but in 1873 the Gross family were living one mile east of Van Buren and the Phelps home was occupied by a daughter of Mr. Phelps. Later it was occupied by Dr. A. M. Bourland as a residence until his death, since which time it has been used as a rooming house. The old brick store which adjoins this building was built for Edward Cunningham for a store the latter part of the thirties and at different times has been occupied by the well known merchants, Cunningham, John Henry, D. C. Williams and others. The building has not been occupied for several years. Adjoining the Phelps lot on the North stood a historic building of two rooms, the South one being occupied by Judge Turner and the North one by Mr. Henry Wilcox. A short time previous to the Mexican war Mr. Wilcox shared his rooms with a young lawyer, Mr. John Selden Roane, who at the beginning of war with Mexico enlisted and was made captain of the Van Buren Avengers, later was made lieutenant colonel in Yell's regiment. He was elected governor of Arkansas in 1849 and served until 1852. He was a brigadier general from Arkansas in the War Between the States, and died at Pine Bluff in 1867. As Judge Turner survived Mr. Wilcox a number of years his name is better known to the present generation, but Mr. Wilcox was a very prominent lawyer in his day. ********************************************************** The John B. Ogden Home About the same time that the Morril and Marean house was being erected, Judge John B. Ogden was having built on the northwest part of the same block; he owned that half of the block. The large brick house stands near the center of the enclosure, that is from Broad Street to the alley. The original house contained two large rooms on the first and two on the second on the southwest side of the building with a comparatively wide hall extending the of the building into which the rooms open. The two rooms at the rear are supposed to have been built at the same time and used either for dining room and kitchen, or for servant quarters. The house was occupied by Judge Ogden and his family until his death in 1889, then his widow by his second marriage, the first Mrs. Ogden having died in 1866. It was rented for a few years, being used at one time for a school by the Roman Catholic Sisters. The home was sold by his children to Miss Zula Ribling who still occupies it as a home. Judge Ogden came to Van Buren during the early forties from Tennessee and lived for awhile in a house that stood just below the Haigler filling station. He was a very prominent lawyer and for a number of years was a partner of George W. Paschal. *************************************************** Dr. James L. Dibrell Home The Dibrell home which stands on the South side of Broad Street was built in 1845 or '46 for Dr. Dibrell. It is a one-story brick with two large front rooms and two smaller ones at the rear which are connected by folding doors opening into the wide hall from the two front rooms. By this method all the front of the house could be thrown together. Two smaller rooms extended along Fourth Street. The land owned by Dr. Dibrell extended from Broad Street to Drennen and included half the block. Where Dr. M. S. Dibrell's home now stands was a small brick building which was used by Dr. J. L. Dibrell as an office. The home was occupied by Dr. James Dibrell and his family until some time during the War Between the States when he removed to Little Rock and remained there until after the close of the war when he and his family returned to Van Buren and occupied the old home once more until his death in 1897. It was then occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Albert Shibley for several years when it passed into the possession of Dr. Edwin Dibrell, a son. It was rented for several years when Mr. and Mrs. Dunham Scott purchased it from the heirs of Dr. Edwin Dibrell for a home. While improved it still retains the same old time appearance. *********************************************************** The Boat Houses The three houses situated on the South side of Broad Street and known as the "Boat Houses" derived their name from being built of lumber from the cabin of the steamboat "Resolute," which was sunk about half way between Van Buren and Fort Smith, several years prior to the War Between the States. The cabin of a steamboat covered the greater part of the second deck, therefore there was sufficient lumber to build the three houses. Mr. H. C. Hayman bought this cabin and from this lumber had Mr. Mooney build these houses in 1858. It is impossible to tell the different persons who have occupied them as they have always been for rent, with the exception of the East one which was bought a number of years ago by a Mr. Miller and later occupied by his daughter, Mrs. John Ward. The writer attended private school in the middle one for a few months taught by Miss Belle McLean. The pilot house of this same boat was bought by Mr. Charles Scott and used on his farm as a dairy. *************************************************************** The Dunham Scott House That Fort Smith and Van Buren have the greatest number of artistic homes of any two cities of their size in the Southwest is acknowledged by practically every casual visitor to the "twin cities," while residents pridefully make the assertion with no qualifying statement. There are new homes, old homes, and just homes. And there are new old homes. The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Dunham Scott 400 Broadway, Van Buren is one of these. A year ago it was merely a landmark in Van Buren's history. Today it is one of the most beautifully arranged homes in either city. The transformation was planned by Mrs. Scott herself, who without the aid of an architect conferred with a contractor for reclaiming an old brick house which for nearly a century had stood on the grounds. Reclaiming is used advisedly. The house was not remodeled to any great extent. It presents practically the same appearance which it did when built in 1845 for Dr. James Dibrell, pioneer Van Buren resident, so far as architecturally construction is concerned. Hardwood floors have replaced the wide and worn floors of the original home. The walls and woodwork have been gone over, sagging beams have been straightened and a Spanish court added, but little else has been changed. Mrs. Scott, who is an artist, saw the possibilities in the old residence. She determined to try to make the old home into a livable lovable residence without destroying its picturesque beauty. She has succeeded beyond even her own expectations. The quaint little portico in the front of the building was restored but not rebuilt. From this, one enters a long room with a fireplace at either end and with high ceiling adding to the spaciousness. With the aid of folding doors of amazing height keeping with the high ceilings, the huge room can be separated into three smaller room. The doors are the original ones. They fold like a fan and are themselves one of the unique features of the building. Small-paned windows were left intact with their green shutters proclaiming the period of the architecture. The woodwork was not changed, merely repainted. From the huge front rooms the building goes back into two "L's" with sleeping rooms and sun parlor on one side and dining room, breakfast room and kitchen on the other-and the court between. The court opens from the conservatory which has has been built back of the big living rooms. Windows open from either L on to the conservatory presenting an artistic view straight through all the rooms, and which with the draped windows presents the appearance of the interior of an old English home. In the court is a fountain and an aquarium of gold fish. Brick instead of flagstone are used. On one side is a "stoop" just large enough for garden chairs. The furnishings of the home are in keeping with its designing. Some of the most beautiful old furniture in the state was inherited by Mr. and Mrs. Scott and has been arranged by Mrs. Scott to fit in with the artistic plans of the new-old home. The Scott residence until a year ago was owned by the Dibbrell family. It was for thirty years the home of Dr. and Mrs. James A. Dibrell. The late Mrs. E. R. DuVal, of this city, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Dibrell, only three years old when the family took up its residence there, was married from the homestead. The ceremony was performed at the Presbyterian church and the big wedding party returned to the residence for a reception which is remembered by the old residents of the twin cities as one of the most elaborate of early-day social history. Two reasons prompted the purchase by Mr. and Mrs. Scott of the ancestral home. One was the desire to restore a beautiful old residence. The other was the sentiment which made Mr. Scott want to own ground originally deeded to his ancestors. The property was first settled early in 1837, records show, by Daniel and Thomas Phillips, elderly men and bachelors, who "squatted" on the land. A few months later it was deeded to John Drennen and David Thompson and patented for them by Hugh Pierce. In 1839 it was sold by Mrs. Caroline Scott and John Drennen to the late Judge Jesse Turner, and deeded by him to Dr. Dibrell two years later.