NATIONAL REGISTER OF HFSTORIC P L A C E S . - INVENTORY - NOMINAT IOH FORM

{Type af l entr ies - complete applicable sections)

1. NAME ' : > .

' -. . .,\' > , I I' . , . = .

I CGMMOM:

County Line School and L G ~ E AHOJOR HlSTORlC:

County L i n e Academy ,OCATSGN , . 171 - ~ : - -

AhC NUMBER: West of Baxter-Fulton County l i n e , 2 miles soutb of the Missouri--4rkansas state l i n e

C t r Y O R TOWN: 1 C O n G R E 5 5 1 0 W A L D l S T R I C T : ,

Rura l Route, G ~ n n F i r s t 1 t o O ~ ~ C ~ V N ~ V : CODE

Arkansas 1 0 5 I F u l t o n 1 04 . 2. CLASSlFlCATfON , <. , c - .

I CATEGORY I - (Check One)

D i r t r i c ~ firJ Building ID Pubtic

Structure Privata

Obiact

Public Acquirir ion: Occupied Yes:

D In Prrrcsss Restnietad

a BeFng Considarsd Unrsstrictsd

0 Agricultural Q Govsrnmant IJ Pork Q Trorrsportotien Commsnta

Cammarein! 0 Indudria! 13 Privafs Residence O h r (Sped&]

0 Educational Militav a Religiovs M a c n n i r

Ij Enterrcrinmsnt Museum Sciantific - 1 < >

,?, , 3WNER OF PROPERTY , , , t -, I OlYMEP'S N A M E I -1:

-1

County L i n e K a s o n i c Lodge /John Morris, Secretary) * -i

STREET R H D NUMSER: m

Rura l Route C I T Y OR TOWN. S T A T E ' C O D F

G ~ P P 477 - Arkansas

,OCAT!O~OF CECAL D E S C R ~ S T I O ~ . ' - - . - . 1 , > -

I , I I

<: <

C O U R T H O U S E . R E G i S T R Y O F DEEDS. E T C : 2 Recorder* s Office

STREET A N D NLIWBEA:

Fulton County Courthouse C I T Y , P R T O W N ' S T A T E

1 4 C l T Y OA TOWN: S T A T E : CODE - r <

0 * -I m

Allcred 0 Unalterad I n Movrd a Original 5 i l s /'

O R I G t N A L (if known) P H Y l t C A L A P P E h R A H C E

DESCRIPTION

The County Line School and Lodge is a tw3-storey frame structure built circa 1879, The basic f l o o r p l a n is rec tangular and measures approximately 40 feet by 25 feet, White clapboard walls and a gable roof of shingles e n c l o s e the structure. Though q u i t e steep w5en originally con- structed, the ridge ljne was l o w e r e d a b u t f o u r feet when t h e roof was r e b u i l t in 1972,

CONDITION

Pine trees cut from a nearby l o t were handplaned to use in c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e b~ilding. The o r i g i n a l schoolroom furnishings were also made from handplaned lumber.

0 ~ x t c I l c n t ' - G m d F-if D Deteriorotad Rwins !+iin~1~~1s~d - (Check One)

T h e s imp le exterior lines of the s t r u c t u r e are broken only by window and door openings, a l l of which have overhead trim suggestive of a pediment, Aluminum storm doors now cover the double-door e n t r y and t h e three w i n d o w openings along the e a s t and west elevations of the first f l o o r . Six-light double hung s a s h windows are located on the second floor.

A fourteen-inch w i d e sill cover surrounds t h e exterior, resting ahow t h e cast stone f oundaHon f i l l added about 1920. Other alterations of t h a t decade include a concrete porch at t h e entry, and a brick f l u e and chimney added to the northwest interior corner .

The simplicity of the exterior is repeated in the i n t e r i o r . The o r i g i n a l fldor on the first storey has been twice covered by new flooring, bu t the o r i g i n a l hand-planed f l o e r i n g on the second storey remains. The f i r s t f l o o r cons i s t s of a single open room w i t h no interior w a l l s dividing the space, Lying across the east wall is a six- inch h igh , five-foot wide pla t form. The o r i g i n a l school benches, with the writing surfaces removed from t h e back of each, now serve t h e church congregation which meets weekly in t h e bu i ld ing . The o n l y new f u r n i s h i n g s are a speaker's podium and a p i a n o , both used d u r i n g religious services,

An enclosed stairway rises along the w e s t inkerior wall to a hallway on the second floor, The main room on this f l o o r is s t i l l used as the meeting place for the County Line Masonic Lodge , Its purpose is reflected in t h e furnishings used in Masonic meetings and ceremonies. A three-foot wide, s i x - i n c h h igh p l a t fo rm lies across the- e a s t wall of t h i s f loor .

Farm 10.3000 (July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE IN f ERlOR STATE I NATlONAL PARK 5 E R V l C C,

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Ark 7-ns as

INYEHTORY - MOMENAT ION FORM

(Numbsr all sfitrlss) 1

F u l t o n FOR NPS USE owLr

(Continuation SheetJ

1 7 . Description (County L i n e School a r d IRdge - Page 2) I

B H T A Y NUMBER

I

The simple fea tures af t5Fs late 19th c e n t u r y s t ruc tu re reflect i t s utilitarian p2rpose. T h e cornnunityls reed f o r a school and lodge was m e t in this o n e b u i l d i n g . T h e County Line School and Lodge remzins i n t a c t and much the sane today as wl.,en f i r s t constructed a lmos t 100 years ago.

G P O 9 2 1 - 7 2 4

P E R l o e (chuck Ons or mom aa kpproprief*>

0 Pro-Columbicrn 0 16th Canlurr 0 18th Century Q 20th Csnkurr

0 15th Century 5 17th Century a 19rh Scnfvfy

SPEC1 FI C W A T E ( 3 1 ( I f ApplFcabJr and KrrowM

AREAS a~ S L G N I F I C A N C E /Check One or Mare as ~ppropriate)

Urhn Planning Abdr iginol Educstim 0 Polit ical

P~sh i r to r ic Engineering Rsligion/Phi. O t k r (S~sci&)

0 Historic Industry l o ~ o p h y f r a t e r n a l [3 Agriculture n Inwention Science

13 Archi t~cturc i Landscopa 0 Sculpture

kt Areki recture Sociol/Hman.

Tornrnw~. 0 Li tsro lura ilorian

Comrnvnicati~ms Ij Military Q Thcoter '

Cnnssrvetion Q Music a Tronsportotion

S T A T E M E N T O F S I G N I F I C A N C E

The County Line School and Lodge, built circa 1879, ori- g i n a l l y housed cn i t s lower f l o o r a one-room school f o r students from a two c o u n t y area. The second f l o o r of the building krzs designed to serve as a meeting place for the local E'Iasonic Lodge. Decendants of t h e early Lodge members report t h a t the building was also us&d for-Sunday w o r s h i p services by the Oak H i l l Baptist C h u r c h congregation;

11

i/ 11 t

!

I

i

The County Line School and Lodge was built almost one hundred years ago to serve a rural area af the n o r t h Arkansas Ozarks, B u i l t wlth a t r i - f o l d purpose it represents one of Arkansas1 ear l ies t cornm~ni ty buildings.

C o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e County L i n e School and h d g e was completed by November, 1 8 7 9 , The two-s torey frame s t r u c t u r e w a s functionally d e s i g n e d , and, except for trim a h v e the w i n d o w s and door, was deviod of o r c a m e n t a t i o n ,

!I )I I!

It was o r i g i n a l l y i n t e n d e d that t h e school and Lodge l i e square ly on the Baxter-Fulton County l i n e , thereby serving both c o u n t i e s . ?iswever, a later sgrvey showed t h a t the s t r u c t u r e lies e n t i r e l y i3 F u l t o n County? m i s s i n g the county l i n e by a fe~-f feet,

The building w z s constructed by loca l c i t i z e n s , primarily John Milton Durham and Thomas B e n t o n Caldwel l . Accowding to his son, John Durham arrived in FuLton County about 1867. A nat ive of N o r t h C a r o l i n a , M r . Durham was a skilled car- penter, and reputedly built a nurnber of structxres in the area.

Thomas B e n t o n Caldwell, zlso reported to have been o r e of tPte builders, was born in 1543 in Fulton Cgunty, Miss~uri. As an artklleq sergeant w i t h the ?? i s sou r i Confederate v o l u n t e e r s , Z s ~ i c i b t e l L b r a s captxrec! k7r t ' n i c ~ . f c r r ~ s i.n t h e spring of 1862. L a t e r that year he was freed 3s p3rk of

Form 13-3000 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF f HE INTERIOR . Ifuly 7769) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

M A T IONAP U E G S T E R O F HISTORIC PLACES

IHVEHTO3Y - NOMIHATION FORM

(Continuation Sheet)

S T A T E

Arkansas

F u l t o n FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER O A T E

I (Number all entrfss)

8. Significance (County Line School and Lodge - Page 2 )

a p r i s o n e r exchange. Following the C i v i l Was, CaldwelL moved . to Fulton County Arkansas, where he made h i s living by

farming and educa ted h i s f i v e children at t h e County Line Academy.

Across the front of the f i r s t f l o o r school room was a Lecture pla t form raised about six i nches off the f l o o r . Hand-made benches serped as desks f o r the students. A board extended beh i2d the top of each bench and served as a w r i t i n g surface for the student on tke Sent? behind. Other than t h e removal of t h i s rear ex tens ion , the'benches reaain much t h e same today as when used 5y 19th c e n t u r y s t u d e n t s .

Professor G. W T o m k i n s , whose name appears on a school cer t i f i ca te issued in 1881, was probably the first p r i n c i p a l af t h e C o u n t y Line Academy. In 1887 James H. Caldwell , eldest s o n of Thomas B. Caldwel l , became p r i n c i p a l of t h e school in w5ich he ha6 been a s t u d e n t j u s t a few years before.

The County Line School was opera ted c o n t i n u a l l y u n t i l 1948. By khat tern@ improved roads and methods of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n made poss ible the creation of consolidated school syskens which replaced one-room neig5borhood schools. The County

. L i n e School is representative ~f the effects of consolidation on r u r a l schools.

The f ra terna l purpose f o r which the County Line School end Lodge was built is s t i l l being fulfilled. S i n c e it was chartered on Xovernber 2 8, 1879 , Masonic Lodge #173 h a s con- t i n u a l l y m e t on the second f l o o r of t h e County L i ~ e School and Lodge. John M. Durham, who built t h e s t r u c t u r e , was a char te r m e m b e r and f i rs t Master of the County Line Ledge. A n o t h e r of the s i x t e e n charter members w a s Thomzs Eenton Caldwell,

Though c h i l d r e n no l o n g e r l e a r n to read and write w i t h i n i ts walls. the o l d building c o n t i n u e s to house Its o r i g i n a l I.lasonic 1,odge. and to serve as a Sunday rneeticg place f o r a small B a p t i s t congrega t ion , O t h e r than t h e loss of i t s educa t iona l role, very l i t t l e of its purpose or appearance h a s chanqed in t h e a lmos t 100 yezrs since the County Line School and Lodge %as first c o n s t r u c t e d .

1

UMETED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR S T A T E

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER Of HISTORlC PLACES

INVENTORY - NOMIHATION FORM I F111 tnn FOR NPS USE ONLY

I E H T R Y NYMEtER O A T E (Continuation Sheet)

(Nmbsr all en.nMes)

8. s i g n i f i c a n c e ' {County Line School and Lodge - Page 3 )

This multi-purpose b u i l d i n g which served early sett lers in two counties of the Arkansas Ozarks, i s s t i l l needed and '

used today. Its preservation and upkeep w i l l c o n t i n u e because of both s e n t i m e n t a l attachment and the c o n t i n u i n g need for such a s t r uc tu r e .

As the designetcd State Liaison Officer far the Na-

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public I,sw

89-6651, I hereby nominate this property for inclusion

in the Na tiona 1 Register and cert i fy that i t h a s been

*valuated accordinq to the c-iteria and ptocedu t t s set

forth by the Nntianaf Park Serv~ce. T h e recommended

level o I significance or this nomimtirrn is:

N a t i m l Stak Loerl a

- .

I taereby certify that this property is included En the

NatiwtaI Register.

T L ~ I C s a t e Histor ic P r e s ~ r v a t i o n

1 Of fi ce-r Keeper el Thu Nat!ortal Pegisler

D,, Dlc~rnber 10, 1974 bate

* U.S. GO'IERHWENT PRIMTIN6 OFFICE : \673-729-lL7/1742

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR F O R M TQ*301 A NATIOWAL PARK SERVICE (* /72J HATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM (Type ell entries - attach to or enclose m'lh photabraphl -

1 , NAME - COMMDN I n ~ . r a / o ~ H l S T a n l C INUMLAIC CODE (Anatdncd by N P S ~

I I

2. LOCATION

County L ine School & Lodge County L l ne Academy I S T A T E

Arkansas

I I Preservation Program

COUP4 T Y TONH

Fu l ton near Gepp

3. Pno-ro R E F E R E N C E

4. IDENTI FlChTlOhl P E S C R I B E V I E W . D IAECTldN. ETC.

S T R E E T &NO PIUMBER

on rura l road a t point Just west of Baxter-Ful ton county 1 ine, and about two miles south of Arknasas-Missouri s t a t e l i n e .

Facade and north elevation, vlewed from northwest

N e d A T l V E F I L E D A T

Arkansas Historic

- P H O T O C R E D I T

Robert Dunn

- - -

GPO 812.009

CEAf E

September, 1974

F O R M 10.301 A ( & / 7 a 1

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL P A R K SERVtCC

NATIONAL REGiSf El? OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPER? Y PHOTOGRAPH FORM

County Line School & Lodge I County Line Academy

(Type all entries - o r t ~ h to os en cI-e with pihafagraph) __C/.-

1. NAME COMMON A N D / O R H I S T O R I C NUMERIC CODE (Aa.!@ad ~ F N P S )

2. LOCATlON

9. IOENTlFICATlON - - D E J C R t 8 6 V I E W . D I R E C T I O N . E T C .

h- PHOTO REFERENCE

Second floor i n t e r i o r

T O W H

near Gepp ' S T A T E

Arkansas

G P O 1191.D09

S T R E E T AMD NUMBER

on rural road a t pdint j u s t west sf Baxter-Ful t on county l ine, and about two m i l e s s o u t h o f Arkansas-Missouri s t a t e 1 Fne

C O U N T Y

Tul ton

N E G * T I V E PILED A T

Arkansas H i s t o r i c Preservat ion Program

PHOTO CHEDlT

Robert Qunn D A T E

September, 1974

GAMALIEL QUAD ARKANSAS - M I S

2.5 M I N U T E SERIF:: 'TC

Form 18-301 (July 196Bl'

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE lMTERlQR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY MAP FORM

UYDE all entries - attach to or encIose with map1 1. MAME COMMON AND/OR HISTOR~C NUMERIC CODE (nsslgnmd NPS)

Cd.unty Line School and Lodge County Line Academy

2. LOCATION S T A T E C O U N T Y T O W N

Arkznsas Fulton near Gepp STFZEET &NU NUMBER

w e s t of the Baxter-Fultan cour ty line; t w o miles s o u t h of the Nissowri-Arkansas s t a t e line I .

3. MAP REFEREHCE ; I : SOURCE D A T E I SCALE ;! i

U.S.G.S. 7 . 5 M i n u t e I 1 j j - .

Gar.aliel Quadrangle 11965 11/?409Cl ~ E O U I R E M E N T S : PRQFERTY SOWNDD,R~ES, W ~ . E R E R E W U ~ S E O . AND NORTH A R S O H ~

k -- 5 9

+

E G P O 4 3 Z . C I P L