Local home added to historic list
William and Wanda Lehman stand in front of their historic home on Hickory Street in Jacksonville on Monday. (Kate Knable)
One of Jacksonville’s oldest houses has been added to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places. The Hickory Street house belongs to William and Wanda Lehman, who have owned it since 1972.
The Department of Arkansas Heritage listed the Martin-Hudson House, better known as the Hudson house, on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places on Dec. 1 due to the home’s association with early Jacksonville history.
According to information published by the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Hudson house is built on property that belonged to Jacksonville’s founder, Nicholas Jackson, and on which early Jacksonville resident John Martin built a log cabin to house railway workers who traveled along the nearby train tracks.
“Martin, according to local tradition, built the log cabin that is the foundation of the existing house,” said Carolyn Kent, an amateur historian and Jacksonville resident of more than 40 years who filled out the application to have the house nominated to the registry.
A doctor, Charles Hudson, purchased the existing house in 1913. Hudson went on to become a prominent fixture in Jacksonville society, practicing medicine for 43 years in the city and serving a term as mayor.
Mark Christ, community outreach director for the Department of Arkansas Heritage, said the house was selected for the Arkansas register because of its connections to people important in Jacksonville’s history.
“The Arkansas register recognizes properties that have historical significance, but don’t meet the criteria for the national register, typically because of alterations,” Christ said. “This one has additions and also has artificial siding. That precludes most properties from being nominated to the national register.”
Christ said the setting, materials of the house and an appearance of at least 50 years or older were considered when properties were chosen for the Arkansas register.
“It still has a lot of Folk Victorian elements,” Christ said. “It was a style trend … popular in the late 19th century and it has things like fish scale shingles, ornamental wood on the porch shingles, turn spindles, things like that.”
Kent said she had planned to try to have the house nominated to National Register of Historic Places for years.
“I think it’s really importance to recognize the history,” Kent said. “If we don’t remember where we came from, then we don’t know about life. The history tells you where we came from.”