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| Old Federal Building completed 100 years ago |
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| Question: I vaguely remember what the interior of the Harrison Post Office looked like about 1940. Does the museum have pictures that might show the interior? And any history on the building would be appreciated. |
| Answer: On February 27, 1904, it was announced that Harrison would have a new government building. City fathers were elated, and considered the area very fortunate to be the beneficiary of a small part of Uncle Sam's $20 million building boom. One must realize that this announcement came only three years after Stephenson Street had been opened from the square to the railroad depot. Even then, a plank sidewalk - instead of stone - led to the depot. So you can see, our town was still in the early stages of growth and improvement. |
| Architects stated that the building would be of hard-burned, dark red brick, with white mortar and facings of hard limestone, sandstone or granite and terra cotta cornices. |
| But in March 1904, government architects, finding that stone trimmings (instead of terra cotta) would come within the amount of the appropriation, asked the successful bidder to amend his bid. Having rejected the lowest bid, the government accepted the bid of the Shackleton Construction Company of Butte, Montana for $78,863. |
| Specs on the building included the following: It was 90 x 56 feet; three stories and a basement, which would extend several feet above the ground line and general ornamentation would be a quiet classic style, but at the same time, be massive and imposing. The basement would be finished in cement and plaster in good style, and be occupied principally by the engine and heating apparatus, with room for the engineer, janitor, fuel, etc. |
| The first floor was 16 feet high and was occupied by the post office. It had a large public lobby with tiled floors and marble wainscoting, a large work room, two large vaults, restrooms (called closets at that time) with hot and cold water, and a private office for the postmaster. |
| The second floor was devoted to the United States Court. The main room was 30 x 50 feet and reached to full height of the second and third stories. Seven rooms furnished offices for the judge, U.S. marshal, district attorney, clerk and witnesses. The third floor was occupied by the Government Land Office and furnished a main hall and four large rooms for the officers and clerks. |
| A wonderful, tall flag pole stood 90 feet in the air, some 30 feet higher than the building, which was fitted throughout for both electric and gas lighting. But here is one fact I found very disturbing: Sewer pipes were laid for discharge at the creek below town. Ugh. Thank goodness, this was changes years later when the city sewer plant was built. |
| With work completed in Harrison, contractor J. W. Shackleton and J. W. Middleton, who were in charge of cement and plaster work on the building, left on the train for Tulsa, Indian Territory, on May 12, 1906, where they had another large building contract waiting for them. |
| In checking old 1906 records, it was a busy time for Boone County. A few of the happenings for that time included: |
| The first semi-annual County Singing Convention; |
| New benches had been placed around the trees in the court house lawn; |
| A "fire company" was organized and fitted with a hook and ladder wagon; |
| Work on the Christian Church tower was completed; |
| Everton was growing rapidly and became a shipping point along the railroad; |
| Official announcement came that the St. Louis and North Arkansas Railroad name would be changed to the Missouri and North Arkansas (M&NA). |
| The Boone County Historical & Railroad Society strives to preserve the history of our county and its people. We invite you to visit the museum Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Located on the corner of South Cherry Street and Central Avenue and housed in the historic 1912 Harrison High School building, the staff of volunteers welcomes your visit. |
| This column appears Fridays in the Harrison Daily Times. Mail questions to Boone County Heritage Museum, P. O. Box 1094, Harrison, AR 72601. Marilyn Smith can be contacted at bchm@alltel.net |
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