Historic Washington Foundation Wins Parker Wesbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement at Arkansas Preservation Award
The Historic Washington Foundation was awarded the Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement on January 14th at the Arkansas Preservation Awards hosted by Preserve Arkansas on January 26th in Little Rock at the Robinson Center. Foundation President Missy McSwain accepted the award.
Former Howard County resident Nate Coulter made the presentation. The following is an excerpt from his presentation…
Named in honor of Preserve Arkansas’s founding president, the Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizes significant achievements in historic preservation over a period of years. The award may be presented to individuals, organizations, businesses, or public agencies whose activities may be of local, statewide, or national importance. The 2023 Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement goes to the Historic Washington Foundation.
For 65 years, the Historic Washington Foundation – formerly the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation – has been a leader in organized preservation efforts in Arkansas. With its incorporation in 1958, it became the first historic preservation organization in the state, predating the second-oldest, Little Rock’s Quapaw Quarter Association, by a decade. In addition, the Foundation has been directly involved in the preservation of more historic structures than any other preservation organization in Arkansas.
Official recognition of Washington’s important role in Arkansas history began in 1929, when, for the first time, the Arkansas General Assembly allocated funds for a preservation project. This first-of-its-kind project restored the 1836 Courthouse, saving a significant building while also foreshadowing interest in Washington’s history that eventually led to the creation of the Historic Washington Foundation and, arguably, prevented the town from disappearing entirely.
Though it never had more than 730 residents, Washington became uniquely important in Arkansas history. It was merely a collection of log structures when, in 1825, it was designated Hempstead County seat. Thanks, however, to its location on the Southwest Trail, Washington witnessed a steady stream of travelers in the early 1800s, some of whom – Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, James Bowie, Davy Crockett – became notable figures in U.S. history. James Bowie’s famous knife was forged by a Washington blacksmith, giving the town a lasting claim to fame.
Traffic up and down the Southwest Trail brought prosperity to Washington and surrounding plantations, resulting in the construction of more refined buildings – especially homes in the Greek Revival style – in the 1840s and ‘50s. Adding to Washington’s significance was the role it played as capital of the Confederate State of Arkansas during the final two years of the Civil War. In 1874, however, the Cairo and Fulton Railroad bypassed Washington, dooming the town to decline. Businesses and residents relocated to Hope, a new town incorporated along the railroad in 1875. Eventually, in 1939, the county seat also relocated to Hope.
Washington’s important early history, including the Greek Revival homes and other historic buildings that survived, was its salvation. Judge James H. Pilkinton, who lived in Hope but had grown up in Washington, organized a meeting in Washington on April 29, 1958, inviting townspeople to hear his vision for revitalizing the town by focusing on its history and restoring its historic buildings, as he had seen in visits to Colonial Williamsburg and St. Augustine, Florida.
From that meeting was born Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation. A small army of volunteers spruced up the town for a Fourth of July 1958 “homecoming” that served as Washington’s debut as a historic place worth visiting. The homecoming raised $1,000, allowing the Foundation to restore its first historic structure, the Block-Catts House (ca. 1832), which opened to the public for tours during the following year’s Fourth of July celebration.
The preservation projects subsequently undertaken by the organization now known as Historic Washington Foundation not only saved many historic buildings but also generated badly needed economic activity in the town and created educational opportunities for people of all ages. From touring restored antebellum homes to learning bladesmithing, Washington offers many reasons to visit, thanks to the work of the Foundation.
Historic Washington Foundation has been directly involved in preserving some 22 historic structures. The organization also reconstructed a handful of important buildings that had been lost, bringing the total number of Foundation projects to 26. Among the Foundation’s most important restoration projects are several of the graceful Greek Revival homes for which Washington is known, including the Royston (ca. 1845), Trimble (ca. 1847), and Sanders (ca. 1845) Houses, all on their original sites. Other notable projects, which saved endangered structures by moving them to carefully-chosen sites in Washington, include the Peck House (ca. 1835) and Woodlawn House (ca. 1853).
Besides its direct preservation work, the Foundation was instrumental in having the Washington Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The Foundation also worked to create Old Washington Historic State Park – now Historic Washington State Park – which opened in 1973 to partner with Historic Washington Foundation in preserving and interpreting the town, a partnership that remains strong today.
Last but hardly least, in 1975, Parker Westbrook, a native of nearby Nashville, Arkansas, and an ardent preservationist, was elected to the Foundation board. He remained actively involved, eventually serving as volunteer executive director, for more than 30 years. Now, in recognition of its ground-breaking work in historic preservation in Arkansas, it is fitting for the organization that Westbrook served to receive the award that bears his name.
Preserve Arkansas is pleased to recognize the Historic Washington Foundation with the 2023 Parker Westbrook Award for Lifetime Achievement. Congratulations!
In addition to McSwain, other officers include Vice-President Keenan Williams, Treasurer John Wilson, Secretary Jeanice Neel, and several local directions who live in southwest Arkansas or have strong ties to the area. These include Teena Pilkinton Carter, Gary Chambless, James Hunter, and Jim Jackson. Ex Officio members include Washington Mayor Paul Henley, Historic Washington State Park Superintendent Pam Beasley, Carl Drexler of the Arkansas Archeological Survey, and Melissa Nesbitt, Manager of the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives. Dolly Henley serves as Development Director.